First week
Time
15 min
Cost
€4.50 card + €21 to 40/mo
Difficulty
Easy
What to bring
Photo ID (passport works)
Cash or card
Not needed: NIE
Not needed: A local address (any email works for the app)
Your options
T-usual (on T-mobilitat)
Unlimited rides, 30 days
€21.35/month (1 zone)
Unlimited metro, bus, tram, and Rodalies in zone 1. Which covers almost all of Barcelona. Personal card, your name on it.
T-jove
Under 30? This is the one
€40 for 90 days
Three months of unlimited zone-1 travel for under-30s. By far the best deal in the system.
T-casual
10 single rides, shareable trips
€12.15 (1 zone)
Pay-per-ride. Only cheaper than T-usual if you take fewer than ~18 trips a month.
Prices checked August 2026
Do it
- 1
Go to a TMB customer service point
Diagonal, Universitat, and Sagrada Família stations have staffed desks. Or start in the T-mobilitat app and skip the queue.
- 2
Ask for a personalised T-mobilitat card
They photograph you and print the card on the spot. €4.50 one-time fee; bring your passport.
- 3
Load T-usual (or T-jove if under 30)
At the desk, any metro machine, or in the app. The 30 days count from first validation, not purchase, so buy it whenever you like and start it the day you actually need it. Check your zone before paying: almost everything inside Barcelona is Zone 1, and the airport metro line is the common exception people get caught by.
- 4
Tap in everywhere
Same card works on metro, TMB buses, trams, FGC, and Rodalies within your zones. Keep it topped up in the app.
Words you'll hear
T-usual
The unlimited monthly transit pass on the T-mobilitat card. Currently subsidised at about €22.
Common questions
T-usual or T-casual?
Above roughly 18 trips a month the T-usual (unlimited, subsidised) wins. Below it, T-casual packs of 10 are the better deal.
Does it cover the airport?
The metro airport stations charge a separate fare, standard passes don't cover L9 to the terminals, but the Aerobús or R2 train fill the gap.
Phone or plastic?
T-mobilitat works on a contactless card (€4.50) or your phone. The card is the low-friction start; the app account reloads either.
Full checklist tracking and task completion live in the Ternli app for Barcelona.