Andalusia is moving ahead with what the regional government describes as the largest renewal of regular public road passenger transport services in the region’s history. Twenty-five new concession contracts, covering 158 bus routes across all eight provinces, are scheduled to begin service on 1 October 2026. The regional minister for Development and Mobility, Mario Muñoz-Atanet, announced the start of the services at an event at the Port of Huelva, where 20 new vehicles for operator Interbus’s concessions in Andalusia were presented. He was accompanied by Huelva Mayor Pilar Miranda and Interbus CEO Miguel Ángel Blazquez.
The new contracts include 129 vehicles across the provinces. The regional government’s stated aim is to complete the renewal of all public road transport services in Andalusia before the end of 2026, through contracts worth more than €800 million. The 158 routes are distributed as follows: Almería, 31; Cádiz, 8; Córdoba, 35; Granada, 11; Huelva, 10; Jaén, 7; Málaga, 29; and Seville, 27.
The renewal is part of a process covering the 988 bus routes that currently make up Andalusia’s regular public road transport network. It began earlier in the summer with the first concessions. When the process started, 119 of the 122 concessions had expired, many of them in 2012 or 2013. The regional Department of Development and Mobility says the new contracts provide a stable framework for services and allow operators to make investments, propose improvements and renew their fleets. Contract specifications also include measures concerning service quality, fleet age and technology to support fare integration and passenger information.
Three of the concessions starting on 1 October are operated by Interbus: one in Huelva province and two linked to Seville. In Huelva, the new concession will maintain and strengthen ten routes connecting the provincial capital with inland towns including Beas, Valverde del Camino, Nerva and Aracena, as well as routes between places such as Zalamea la Real, Aroche and Puebla de Guzmán.
Interbus is adding 20 vehicles—19 buses and one minibus—that the company describes as fully accessible and more efficient. They are intended for an anticipated ten concessions, which have been awarded or are in the process of being awarded in different provinces.
The regional government is also working on a new concession map, currently being drafted, and on plans to adapt services to current mobility needs in metropolitan areas, towns and rural areas. A regional Public Transport Management and Control Centre is expected to enter service in 2027 and is intended to improve system management and passenger information, including through real-time information systems and displays.