Jordi has spent over 15 years behind the wheel of long-distance buses in Spain, but the hardest part of his job isn’t the hours or the kilometers. It’s the sense that few people understand what the work truly demands. “People don’t put themselves in your place,” he says, recalling a New Year’s Day spent 15 hours away from home. For Jordi, the job means constantly balancing personal life against the demands of time and money.
Speaking on the podcast Rutas de Éxito, Jordi describes a profession under pressure. He covers regular routes that rarely exceed 600 kilometers a day. The base salary for drivers is around €1,600, while his net pay typically reaches €2,500 to €2,600 after allowances and bonuses for distance services. Yet, he insists, “We’re in a period where we’re losing a lot of money.” After years on international routes, Jordi now prefers to sleep at home every night, even if that means giving up the highest-paying assignments.
For those without family ties or major responsibilities, Jordi admits the discretionary sector, touring across Europe, can be lucrative. “My brother used to make €9,000 a month; now it’s the same work for almost half the money,” he notes. Urban transport, he says, is the best-paid segment, with drivers earning between €2,000 and €2,400 for seven-hour shifts. Another perk is seeing a new place each day. But pay varies sharply by region: a driver in Barcelona can expect to earn more than one in Lleida or Zaragoza. Spain’s passenger-transport pay is shaped in part by territorial collective agreements, so comparisons depend on the province and transport segment, as well as whether figures refer to fixed gross pay, net income or allowances and bonuses. Jordi also points to industry practices that erode earnings, including companies refusing to pay for airport waiting hours or manipulating schedules to cut costs.
A 2026 labor dispute in interurban passenger transport in León illustrates the regional differences Jordi describes. CCOO and UGT called nine strike days from 30 October through 30 December over an agreement covering about 450 workers. Luis Villares, CCOO’s transport and logistics coordinator in Castilla y León, said the provincial agreement set an annual base salary of €19,000. That was about €5,000 less than in neighboring Zamora, while Asturias was €8,000 higher. The unions also cited workdays of up to 15 hours and sought to raise the base to €24,000 by the end of a three-year agreement. These annual base-salary figures are not directly comparable with Jordi’s reported net earnings, which include allowances and bonuses.
Recruitment offers also show how operators pitch stability and working arrangements alongside pay. In October 2026, Monbus advertised indefinite, full-time jobs for Santiago’s urban bus service, with immediate incorporation. The offer included training and legally required rest periods. Predictable employment and shifts matter in a market where drivers weigh income against time at home.
In Madrid, a city bus driver for EMT earned €36,835.38 gross in 2021, while the 2022 to 2023 agreement set the base at €1,844.08 per month, or €65.86 per day. The risks are real, too. Jordi lost a colleague in a road accident, a tragedy that changed his approach to the job. “Now I lead at 100 km/h, sometimes less. What do I lose, ten minutes? I gain peace of mind. You leave for work today, but tomorrow, who knows if you’ll make it back.”
Jordi’s experience echoes the challenges faced by many in Spain’s transport sector, where personal choices often outweigh financial incentives. His story also resonates with people who have changed careers for stability or family life, such as Sandra Ruiz, who rebuilt her life as a truck driver in Valencia after leaving engineering in Venezuela, a journey detailed in this report on career transitions in Spanish transport.
Data from elespanol motor show that the profession remains demanding, with pay and conditions shaped by regional differences and company practices. Drivers must also weigh the time they are willing to spend away from home. For Jordi, returning home each night outweighs the promise of higher pay abroad, even as the sector continues to evolve.
