Irish Examiner view: How to win support for climate action 

The NTA's dismal verdict is reached in the absence of other improvements to the network — a reliable and frequent service in environmentally acceptable vehicles, for example. 
Picture: Damian Coleman

Can it really be true, as was suggested this week when research from the National Transport Authority (NTA) resurfaced in the Irish Examiner, that free fares in the local bus systems of the future will have a near-zero impact on demand and usage? Because if it is, then, to borrow a phrase from Private Frazer in Dad’s Army, “we’re doomed”.

If free fares would only stimulate a 1% reduction in motor vehicle trips, as the NTA concluded, then such an initiative would not be worth the candle.