€600,000 credit on unused Leap cards

Unused credit of €600,000 in inactive Leap Card accounts is to be used for initiatives to encourage more use of public transport.

The National Transport Authority confirmed that it intends to use credit deposits and travel balances held in dormant accounts for the benefit of all public transport users. The NTA said it has the necessary legal powers to access all credit held in Leap Cards that have been inactive for more than five years.

More than 4m Leap Cards have been sold since the scheme was first introduced in December 2011.

The NTA has estimated there are 110,094 cards which have remained dormant for five years or more which contain approximately €0.6m in unused credit.

A NTA spokesman said the amount has to be put in the context that public transport services generated €600m in revenue last year. He emphasised that account holders who seek the return of any credit on their Leap Card balances after a five-year dormant period would still be entitled to a refund.

He said a similar approach is being adopted in how banks and other financial institutions treat funds in dormant bank accounts.

NTA figures show a high level of commuters leaving unused credit on Leap Cards for long periods with an estimated 744,000 cards inactive for at least two years.

A NTA spokesman said one of the first initiatives introduced as a result of the decision to access dormant funds was the current Kids Go Free campaign which runs during July. It permits all Child Leap Card holders to travel free on all Dublin Bus, GoAhead, Dart, and Luas services as well as Bus Éireann services in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Sligo, and Athlone, Cork-Cobh/Midleton rail services, and journeys in the ‘Short Hop Zone’ on Dublin commuter rail services between July 1-28.