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Sponsorship has powered many of the “free love” innovations we’ve covered over the years, including free mobile internet, free schoolbus transportation, free photo printing, free e-book streaming and sharing, and free notepaper for students, to name just a few examples. The latest spotting? Barcelona subway tickets offered at reduced prices thanks to the sponsorship of advertisers. Launched in January, Promobilletes aims to sell public transport tickets in Barcelona at discounts of between 10 and 50 percent, according to an El Economista report. As well as benefitting travelers, the brands sponsoring the tickets can gain exposure on the Promobilletes website and can send personalized notes out with the tickets to travelers making purchases. After the legality of the effort was called into question by the city’s Metropolitan Transport Authority soon after its launch, Promobilletes temporarily suspended its efforts. Now, however, it looks like the initiative will soon be back up and running. Promobilletes brings commuters respite from increasing ticket prices while giving advertisers an opportunity to generate considerable exposure and goodwill. Governments and transport entrepreneurs around the world: an idea to try out for yourselves? Spotted by: Borja Domínguez Fernández