Commuters face increases in cost of travel tickets

HARD-PRESSED Wicklow commuters may face increases in the cost of their travel tickets from next month.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) announced revised fares for monthly and annual tickets on bus and rail services last Thursday. The revised fares come into effect from December 1.

Depending on their mode of transport, commuters may see the cost of daily journey rise or fall.

Prices are set to rise slightly on bus-only tickets for Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland routes. Commuters who use the Luas will also see their fares rise. However, rail-only passengers will face no increase in fares. Some Bus Eireann passengers will also see the cost of their monthly and annual tickets remain the same or decrease slightly.

For rail-only annual or monthly ticket for the Rail Short Hop Zone (SHZ), which extends to Kilcoole, fares will not change and remain at €1,450 and €145 respectively.

Bus-only tickets for routes operated by both Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland will increase slightly from €1,400 and €140 to €1,450 and €145 respectively.

Customers using a Luas/Dublin Bus/Iarnród Éireann ticket for the SHZ will see their monthly fare fall 4.9 per cent from €205 to €195 and from €2,050 to €1,950 for an annual ticket.

For rail-only tickets, there will be no increase in fares for passengers who use a monthly or annual ticket between Dublin city centre stations and Wicklow town.

There will be no change to the price of monthly Bus Eireann tickets. Commuters with an annual ticket will see fares decrease by around four per cent. Baltinglass commuters will see the cost of their annual ticket fall by €100 from €2,448 to €2,340. Commuters from Arklow will also save as the annual fare decreases by €118 from €2,738 to €2,620.

Outlining the reasons for the fare changes, the NTA said that a ‘revised fare structure’ was envisioned under the BusConnects plan to ‘support seamless movement between different public transport services and modes without a financial penalty.’

The authority also argues that as the new bus network becomes operational, monthly and annual fares in the Greater Dublin area will become ‘consistent across all public transport, regardless of operator’.

A Government subvention freeze for the free travel grant also impacted their decision.

‘Overall fare revenue will increase by less than 2 per cent, which is in line with inflation, so this is certainly not a revenue-generating exercise,’ said Anne Grahame, CEO of the NTA.

The NTA has said it will publish its determinations for other fares, including cash and Leap, in March 2020.