FARES ON MOST public transport services outside the greater Dublin area have been reduced by an average of 20% from today.

The price cut will be in place on Bus Éireann and Local Link services as part of a government plan to help ease the burden of rising living costs.

As The Journal reported on Friday the cut can’t yet be rolled out on Dublin Bus services as on-board fare machines on each vehicle need to be manually updated. 

A technical file update is sent from headquarters to bring in the change through the system, but each machine on every bus and ticketing machine needs to upload it.

Sources state it is “most complicated fare change since the launch of the Leap card”.

People travelling on Bus Éireann city services in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, as well as town services in Athlone, Balbriggan, Drogheda, Dundalk, Navan and Sligo will benefit from the reduced prices today.

Bus Éireann’s inter-urban and commuter services are also included in the price drop. However, its Expressway services are not included.

Passengers on TFI Local Link rural services around the country will also see their fares drop by 20%.

The fare reductions also apply to TFI services including Kilkenny City Bus Service KK1 and KK2, and TFI commuter services in the Kildare area operated by Go-Ahead Ireland.

Both Leap fares and cash fares have been reduced.

For town services, the Leap fare will drop by more than 20% – from €1.40 down to €1.10. On city services in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, the €1.68 Leap fare will drop by 20% to €1.35.

Fare cuts in the Greater Dublin Area won’t be introduced until May as they are more complex to implement.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD said: “People are coming under more and more pressure as the price of essentials continues to increase. As one element of a suite of measures being introduced by the government, this fare reduction will go some way to easing some of the financial strain that households are experiencing.

“Choosing public transport over the private car, even for one trip a week, can begin to help us reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. It will also help improve the air quality and cut down on congestion in our cities and towns throughout the country.

“And at a time when fuel security is a greater concern than it has been in decades, leaving the car behind, if at all possible, is one of the best things we can all do to help reduce our energy use,” the Green Party leader added.