LAST UPDATE | 3 Sep

THE ’90-MINUTE’ FARE that applies for Leap cardholders travelling in the Greater Dublin area is to be increased from €2 to €2.30, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has confirmed. 

Adult fares on buses and trains nationwide are set to increase by an average of 15% as part of the increases, which were announced at a press briefing this morning. 

The change comes into effect from January. 

Young adult fares within Dublin are to be increased from €1 to €1.15. Child fares in Dublin will also increase by 10c to 75c.

Fares for town bus services, of which there are now 11 in Ireland, will increase for adults, from the current €1.50 to €1.65. For young adults there will be an increase from 75c to 80c. Child fares will reduce from 65c to 50c.

A new flat fare of €1.70 will be rolled out in Galway, Limerick and Waterford to support the future introduction of an equivalent 90-minute fare.

There will be no change to Cork City bus leap, cash, daily, or weekly cap rates. 

Announcing the change, the NTA’s chief executive Anne Shaw said it is intended to standardise fares as well as provide additional revenue for investment in the transport network. 

Young adult fares will remain at 50% of adult fares and child fares will be 33% that of adult fares.

“The fares’ strategy is really about making things simpler, fairer for many passengers, and more consistent across the country,” she told journalists at the NTA’s headquarters in Smithfield.

It’s the first change in the fare structure since 2018, she added, and fares remain lower than in 2018.

In the wake of reported changes in fares, the Green Party’s transport spokesperson Feljin Jose said the decision will “cost us far more in congestion and emissions than it will raise in revenue”.

Asked about these comments by The Journal, Smith said that a more sustainable funding model will allow the NTA to invest in services and provide more choice, leading more people to avail of public transport.

“We’re in the process also of introducing decarbonised transport as well – through Bus Connects, for example, transitioning to an all-electric fleet in the 2030s.

“That will actually help remove things like carbon emissions and things like that as well.”

The Greens aren’t the only political party unhappy with the planned increases: Independent Ireland and the Social Democrats both cited the current struggle many people face with cost-of-living.

The NTA were at pains to point out that Irish public transport fares will remain lower than many other major European cities, comparing Dublin fares to those in Vienna, Berlin and Brussels.

‘Government is not in the position to fund everything forever’

Asked by reporters today about the fare increases, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said: “Government is not in the position to fund everything forever”.

“There has already been a substantial increase in funding towards public transport over the last number of years, right, close to a billion now in subvention and in supports. So, to expand that even further, we will require significant more funding, and this is one contributory aspect to it,” he said.

Speaking in the wake of last year’s Budget, Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien said he couldn’t rule out a future increase in fares, telling reporters: 

“I’m not writing anything off because what I want is to expand on the transport network.”

In recent answers to Dáil questions, the minister noted that in line with last year’s Budget the department had committed to initiatives like the 90-minute fare, free travel for all children up to the age of 9 “and reduction in fares for Young Adult Cardholders for those aged 19-25, as part of the NTA’s National Fares Strategy”. 

Significant reductions to transport fares were introduced as part of the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/Greens government back in 2022. 

Answering a Dáil question before the summer break, the minister argued public transport fares “remain comparatively low in Ireland”.

Opposition parties called on the government to make public transport free in the weeks following the start of America’s war on Iran, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

Ciaran Ahern, Labour’s transport spokesman, criticised planned increase after news of the expected move was reported early this morning, saying it was unwarranted in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. 

“Last week Government spent a further €400m on excise cuts for drivers – yet it won’t act to stop fare increases on commuters,” Ahern said. 

The planned increase, he said, was ”anti-worker and proves this Government’s failure to take any leadership on climate”.