Dublin Bus is facing calls to reconsider its decision to stop offering customers refunds to passengers who do not have exact change.

Since the operator stopped giving passengers change some 15 years ago, customers have been obliged to claim refunds from company headquarters.

However, it has now announced that from September 9th the refunds will no longer ba available.

Fianna Fáil transport spokesperson Robert Troy has lashed out at the move, pointing out that the company is still at least 18 months away from introduce cashless services – payment by credit or debit card.

Deputy Troy said many people can't afford to go without the refund.

“The figures shown will indicate that over the past five years somewhere in the region of €1.54m has been paid out,” he said.

“That is not an insignificant sum and for certain people, they can’t quit simply afford not to look for their refunds.”

He called on the company to hold-off on the decision until cashless services are brought in.

“Everyone is in agreement that Dublin Bus should move to a cashless service as soon as possible,” he said.

“However, I believe customers should continue to have the option to claim a refund until a cashless service is actually introduced.”

Dublin Bus has earned almost €1m a year from unclaimed change since 2012.

The operator was pulling almost twice that on an annual basis before the Leap card was introduced in January 2011.