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Move towards BusConnects sees fare changes on a range of public transport

Passengers travelling medium distances on Dublin Bus are set to see a rise in fares next year. Th...
Newstalk
Newstalk

20.24 18 Oct 2018


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Move towards BusConnects sees...

Move towards BusConnects sees fare changes on a range of public transport

Newstalk
Newstalk

20.24 18 Oct 2018


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Passengers travelling medium distances on Dublin Bus are set to see a rise in fares next year.

The National Transport Authority announced its fares for next year this afternoon.

The cash price for passengers travelling between four and thirteen stages is rising from €2.85 to €3.

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Meanwhile the Leap for the same journey is rising from €2.15 to €2.25.

There is no change to the cash fare for passengers travelling longer distances, while the Leap fare for over 13 stages is dropping from €2.60 to €2.50.

NTA director of public transport services Tim Gaston said the changes aim to encourage the use of leap cards.

“There are some changes for Leap fares, but they are modest enough,” he said.

“There are some changes for cash fares, generally going up because we are generally trending towards encouraging people to use Leap.

“When the bus stops at the bus stop; the people using cash are the slowest at boarding.

“The Leap payer pays less; the cash payer pays more – typically about 30%.”

BusConnects

He said the changes are part of an effort to simplify public transport fares in the Dublin area to support the move towards BusConnects.

“We want to remove the fact that if you want to change from one service to another you are penalised for doing so,” he said.

NTA chief executive Anne Graham said the ultimate plan is to have a “two-fare system comprising a short distance fare and a 90 minute fare on any combination of public transport services” in the Dublin area.

In all, the changes will see the total annual revenue from NTA public transport fares rising by around €1m.

Fare structure

The process will see fares on the Bus, Luas, Dart, and commuter rail moving towards a flat average, as well as an end to the distinction between peak and off peak Leap fares on the Luas.

Meanwhile, Leap fares on Iarnród Éireann and the DART within the city’s Short Hop Zone are also moving towards a flat fare. The NTA said the change will see some fares increasing and others dropping.

It noted that the new Leap fare is always cheaper than the cash fare.

The price of monthly and annual tickets in the Short Hop Zone are dropping by around 6% - with the monthly fare dropping from €154 to €145 and the annual fare dropping from €1,540 to €1,450.

Intercity

Most intercity Iarnród Éireann single fares are due to drop by 5%.

In Cork, the towns of Bandon, Fermoy, Kinsale, Macroom and Mallow have been added to the Cork Green Zone for passengers travelling in and out of the city.

The NTA said this will result in significant reductions in fares for passengers in these areas.

In Waterford the 360 service to Tramore is being brought into the city fare zone – resulting in fare reductions on the root. The change will also allow passengers take advantage of Leap and schoolchild fares on the route.

Meanwhile, students in Galway, Limerick and Waterford are being offered transport for a 24-hour fare of €4.


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