The 20% reduction in public transport fares has boosted the number of people using public transport, Green party leader Eamon Ryan has said. 

Earlier in the year, as the cost of living crisis began to bite, the Government slashed fares in order to help people struggling to pay their bills and encourage the use of low carbon transport. 

Five months on and CSO figures have found that the number of car journeys in Dublin is 4% lower than it was pre-pandemic, rail journeys are matching 2019 levels, while the number of bus journeys are 3% lower than they were previously. 

For Minister Ryan, the figures are a vindication of Government policy. 

“Public transport numbers are going up, quite dramatically actually,” he told The Pat Kenny Show. 

“The fare reduction we put in [place] seems to be working. 

“But what there isn’t coming back is, you don’t have huge commuting patterns like of old. 

“Take for example, Dublin city centre; people are using remote working, they’re probably staying at home for a day or two a week and therefore we’re not seeing the same patterns of everyone driving in and everyone driving out.” 

Security staff walk the platforms at Heuston Station, Dublin in November 2017. Picture by: PA Images/Alamy Stock Photo/Brian Lawless

Pathfinder Projects

The Government hopes to further boost low carbon travel by funding 35 “transformative” Pathfinder Projects submitted from thousands of local authorities applications. 

The projects range from making Dublin’s College Green car free to a Bus-it-2-school project in County Meath. 

“This first selected list shows clearly that there is a real appetite for change across the country,” Mr Ryan said. 

“Shortlisted projects, while all unique, have three key things in common; they are innovative, they are ambitious and critically, they will be delivered at speed. 

“Decarbonising transport presents an enormous challenge, one which requires a fundamental change in how we travel including a shift in our mindset and choices.”

Main image: Eamon Ryan during the announcement of a new fleet of fully-electric double-decker buses. Picture by: RollingNews