Public transport fares to rise next month

Fares are set to increase for public transport services including Dublin Bus, Iarnród Éireann, Bus Éireann and Luas services.

The National Transport Authority has confirmed the cost of monthly, annual and tax-saver tickets across these operators will jump from November 1.

Cash tickets, Leap card and pre-paid ticket fares will also increase from December 1.

Dublin Bus users will see an average cash increase of 10%, with Leap cards due to rise by more than 2%.

Irish Rail prices are to jump on average between 2-9%. Bus Éireann prices will increase between 4--6% approximately.

On average, Leap fares for Luas services will stay the same. However, peak cash fares are expected to jump between 4-8%.

Chief executive of the National Transport Authority Gerry Murphy says the increases are required to protect transport service delivery at a time of reduced incomes for the operators.

"The bulk of the fares are people paying cash and Leap cards in the Dublin area, and there's a mixture of price increases there," he said.

"Generally, we've kept the Leap fares at about a 3% increase, while cash fares may be up to 10% increased.

"In the round, we see that it's a mixture of, in the Dublin area, Leap is really offering value for people and we would encourage people to use that.

"On the positive side, public transport service quality – also an important factor influencing passenger demand – has been improving due to a number of new and creative initiatives driven by the National Transport Authority, such as Real Time Information at bus stops and on an app, the Authority’s National Journey Planner, the Leap card, investment in the bus fleet, improved public transport maps and the reconfiguration of city bus services that to date includes Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.

"Cost reduction programmes have been put in place by the operators, but these have taken time to

implement, and costs have not fallen to the same extent as the subsidy and revenue base.

"Public transport fare increases have been necessary in recent years as the Authority has had to protect the services as much as possible."