For some people in Spain, getting to work, taking children where they need to go or reaching essential services comes with a bill they cannot easily escape. The average household now spends €4,020 a year on transport, and cutting back is not always an option when daily life depends on being able to get from A to B.

The figure is up from €3,158 in 2015, an increase of €862 over a decade. Transport accounts for 11.5% of household spending, according to a report by EAE Business School published on Thursday, October 15. Its findings highlight the growing problem of transport poverty, where people cannot afford to travel or lack access to reliable public transport, making it harder to reach work and essential services.

Where you live can determine how much you pay

The biggest divide is between people who have several ways to travel and those who depend on a car. In municipalities with fewer than 10,000 residents, 73.5% of people rely primarily on cars, compared with 29.6% in larger towns and cities. Public transport shows the opposite pattern. In the most populated municipalities, 48.8% of residents use it as their main means of getting around. In smaller municipalities, the figure falls to just 10.9%, according to the EAE report.

For people living in areas with limited bus or rail connections, owning a car can be a necessity rather than a choice. Fuel, insurance, maintenance and other running costs are difficult to avoid when there is no practical alternative for getting to work, shopping or appointments. That leaves some people with an awkward choice: absorb the expense or travel less. Spending less on transport does not necessarily mean someone is better off. It may mean turning down work, missing appointments or giving up journeys they need to make.

A cheaper home can mean a more expensive commute

Housing decisions can add to the problem. A property outside a town or city may cost less to rent or buy, but the saving can shrink when the journey to work requires a car every day. The report warns that poor transport connections can make a job financially inaccessible even when the salary looks attractive. Distance and the available transport options matter alongside income when calculating whether taking a job is worthwhile.

This can leave people with fewer choices about where they live and work. Someone may spend less on housing but more on getting to employment, while a person without reliable transport may struggle to reach jobs in the first place. Miguel Ángel López Gómez, an EAE Business School professor and author of the report, argues that transport should be seen not simply as another household expense, but as the price people pay to reach work, services and opportunities.

Transport costs can also push up prices

The impact does not stop at household budgets. Spain relies heavily on road transport to move goods, and the report puts road freight activity at 272 billion tonne-kilometres, around 15% of the EU total. Food, agriculture, construction, manufacturing, retail, distribution and tourism all depend on goods being moved around the country.

When transport and logistics become more expensive, businesses can face higher operating costs, which may feed through into the prices customers pay. The pressure can therefore reach people who are not making long commutes as well as those who rely on a car every day.

Transport costs put jobs and essential services out of reach

The cost of getting around leaves people in poorly connected areas with fewer options. Those who can rely on public transport have an alternative to paying for a car, while others face the expense of fuel, insurance and maintenance simply to get to work or reach essential services. For people on lower incomes, those costs can make everyday journeys harder to afford and job opportunities more difficult to access.

EAE calls for better mobility alternatives, particularly for people on lower incomes, those travelling longer distances and households heavily dependent on private vehicles. The figures suggest that access to transport is about more than the cost of a journey: it can determine which jobs people can accept, which services they can reach and how much choice they have over where to live.

A journey across the Channel has turned into a nightmare this Thursday evening when a minibus carrying lorry drivers was overturned at the entrance of the underground after colliding with a stationary freight train in France, leaving 19 people injured. Several were reported to be in critical condition as emergency crews rushed to the Eurotunnel terminal in Coquelles, near Calais, to help those caught up in the collision. 

The crash happened at around 8;00pm on the French side of the Channel Tunnel, where lorry drivers board LeShuttle trains to travel between France and UK. The minibus was carrying drivers whose lorries were due to make the crossing by train, according to local media. 

Several in critical condition

The first reports gave conflicting figures for the most seriously injured. French broadcaster TF1, citing the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, has reported five people in critical condition, however current updates, at around 10.15pm, from other sources puts critically injured to two with both men are airlifted to Lille by emergency medical teams from the SAMU services covering Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Four other injured people have been taken to hospital in Calais, three in Boulogne-sur-Mer and one in Montreuil. Nine people are still being examined at the scene in the latest report.

The prefecture confirmed that 19 people were involved in total, including the minibus driver. Despite the severity of the injuries, authorities said no lives are in danger. No deaths had been reported in the initial official assessment and the precise circumstances leading to the collision have not yet been established. 

🚨 Accident sur le site d’Eurotunnel à Coquelles

Un accident impliquant un minibus transportant des chauffeurs poids lourds en partance à bord d’une navette Le Shuttle s’est produit ce soir, au niveau du quai de chargement du site d’Eurotunnel.

D’importants moyens ont été mobilisés immédiatement par Eurotunnel, puis sous l’autorité du préfet du Pas-de-Calais.

Le premier bilan fait état de 19 personnes impliquées, conducteur compris. Aucun décès n’est à déplorer à ce stade et aucun pronostic vital n’est engagé.

La sous-préfète de Calais est actuellement sur place. Un premier point de situation sera communiqué lors d’un point presse prévu à 22 h 15.

— Préfet Pas-de-Calais 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@Prefet62) October 15, 2026

Emergency services sent to the scene

Around 55 firefighters and 25 emergency medical personnel are involved in the response, alongside approximately 20 officers from the French border police, the Police aux frontières (PAF). Around 100 Eurotunnel staff also attend. According to French regional newspaper La Voix du Nord, this is the first accident of this scale on the tunnel’s loading platform.

Eurotunnel initially mobilised resources before the response came under the authority of the Pas-de-Calais prefecture. The incident involved drivers travelling separately from their lorries, which are carried through the tunnel on dedicated freight services. 

Eurotunnel traffic resumes after 90-minute interruption

Passenger traffic through the Channel Tunnel was interrupted for around an hour and a half following the collision but had resumed by the time of the latest local report. Freight train traffic continued throughout. Eurostar services were not affected. The company confirmed that the accident happened several kilometres from the tunnel itself and did not involve any of its trains. Services to and from London were expected to operate as planned.

LeShuttle and Eurostar are separate services. LeShuttle transports cars, coaches and lorries between Coquelles in France and Folkestone in Kent, while Eurostar carries passengers between London and destinations on mainland Europe. Reports of cancellations affecting the final London–Paris services on Thursday night related to planned engineering works, rather than the crash.  

What caused the accident?

Authorities have not yet confirmed why or how the minibus overturned or provided a full account of how it came collide with the train. The investigation is ongoing, and the initial reports do not establish whether a mechanical problem, human error or another factor contributed to the collision.  The immediate focus remains on those injured and on establishing exactly what happened at the terminal. Further details may emerge as authorities continue their investigation.

Spain’s shopping basket has some surprising price changes hidden among the weekly essentials. Fresh berries have soared by 47.4 per cent in a year, eggs are up 12.3 per cent and citrus fruit costs 15.1 per cent more. Yet train fares have fallen by 11.2 per cent, making the latest inflation figures a mixed picture of steep increases and a few welcome reductions.

The latest figures, reported by the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU), show that 29 categories of goods and services have become more than 5 per cent more expensive over the past year, while just three have fallen by that amount. Spain’s annual inflation rate reached 4.9 per cent in September, its highest level since February 2023, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE). The figure, confirmed on 14 October, was up from 4.3 per cent in August. 

Fresh berries, tomatoes and eggs among the biggest food price rises

For shoppers, some of the sharpest increases are affecting everyday food. Fresh berries recorded an annual price rise of 47.4 per cent. Fruit-bearing vegetables, including tomatoes and peppers, rose by 17.3 per cent, while citrus fruit became 15.1 per cent more expensive. Egg prices increased by 12.3 per cent and tropical fruit by 11.6 per cent. 

Leafy and stem vegetables, green legumes and several types of meat, particularly beef and lamb, also recorded notable increases. These are regular items on many shopping lists, so price rises can quickly add up for households buying them every week. The OCU says the increases are particularly significant because many of the affected products are basic, frequently consumed foods.

The food price rises are part of a broader increase in the cost of living, with energy, transport and other services also contributing to inflation.

Fuel prices push inflation higher in Spain

Fuel has been one of the biggest drivers of the latest inflation figures. INE data show that liquid fuels, including heating gasoil and fuel oil, rose by 64.7 per cent over the year. Diesel increased by 34 per cent and petrol by 27.5 per cent.  The increases have been linked to supply pressures following the outbreak of the Iran war in late February. By the end of September, the average price of petrol had reached €1.939 per litre, while diesel stood at €1.934, according to the European Union’s Oil Bulletin cited by 20minutos. 

Drivers will retain some relief in November, with the €0.20-per-litre reduction on petrol and diesel continuing under the government’s existing measures. The extension does not guarantee lower pump prices, however, as the final cost will still depend on fuel prices.  The rise in energy costs also affects businesses that rely on transport, potentially adding pressure to the prices of goods and services.

Travel, jewellery and clothing become more expensive

The increases extend beyond food and fuel. Jewellery and watches rose by 22.8 per cent over the year, while passenger air transport became 15.3 per cent more expensive. Baby clothing recorded a rise of 13.6 per cent. Housing-related costs also contributed to inflation. The INE reported a 7.2 per cent annual increase in the housing category, which includes expenses associated with water, electricity and gas.

The statistics agency also identified fuel prices and package holidays as key contributors to September’s overall rise.  The headline inflation rate does not mean every item has risen by 4.9 per cent. It measures the change in the overall consumer price index compared with the same month a year earlier, while individual products can rise or fall by much more.

Which prices have fallen?

There have been some reductions, although far fewer categories have become substantially cheaper than more expensive. Passenger rail transport recorded the largest fall, with prices down 11.2 per cent over the year. Sea passenger transport dropped by 7.3 per cent, while newspapers became 5.9 per cent cheaper. Other price falls included sports equipment, down 4.7 per cent; coffee and substitutes, down 4.3 per cent; and video game equipment, down 4.2 per cent. 

The OCU recommends comparing prices across areas such as food, energy, fuel, insurance, travel and electronics, where shopping around may help consumers find savings.  But with 29 categories recording annual increases of more than 5 per cent and only three falling by that amount, the overall picture remains one of widespread price pressure. The biggest increases are not confined to one part of the household budget: they affect food shopping, transport, fuel and other everyday expenses.