Honesty apparently not the best policy for Dart users

DESPITE being a committed non-driver, I seldom find myself using public transport. This is largely because the various places I’ve lived over the past 25 years or so have all been pretty much within walking distance of wherever I needed to be on a daily basis.

That said, the part of Dublin where I grew up was very poorly served by bus routes during my youth. Anyone who ever

tried catching a No. 44 heading southbound from Hawkins Street throughout most of the 1970s and 1980s will know what I am talking about.

Nobody disputes that things have improved in recent decades. From my limited experience, the Luas system seems to run like clockwork; I’m told that the national bus and train services are far better than they used to be. Even Dublin Bus seems to have smartened up its act.

And then, of course, there is the Dart, probably the best way to see Dublin Bay.

Yet the Dart now finds itself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. As reported in yesterday’s Irish Mail on Sunday, passenger Barry O’Neill from Tipperary was fined €100 for having the wrong destination on his ticket – even though he had actually paid the correct fare. Mr O’Neill only realised he had the wrong ticket when he was already on board the Dart. So when he arrived at his intended destination, Blackrock, he asked whether there was any excess fare outstanding. It was at this point that an Irish Rail jobsworth issued the fine, even though the €2.20 fare originally paid was the right one. Only when the IMoS got involved was this ridiculous situation resolved in Mr O’Neill’s favour. All I can say is if that’s is the way Irish Rail treat an honest customer – I sincerely hope they are equally vigilant with genuine fare-dodgers.