Dublin Coach N7 Free Child Policy

foggy_lad

I was on the Dublin Coach N7 service from Naas to Portlaoise(ballybrittas) yesterday and something really ugly happened. In Newbridge Two women boarded with a baby about 6months in a car seat type thing and a young child about 3years old. The older woman got a ticket and the other woman who may have been the daughter of the older woman showed her free travel pass to the driver. The driver then told her she would have to pay a fare for one of the children because she could not have a free child under 12 with her when she had a free travel pass.

I though this was very unusual and it caused a lot of aggro with two passengers giving out to the woman who was getting very frustrated as she claimed never to have had to pay for her child or baby before but the driver was having none of it and insisted she pay the €5 fare for a 6 month old child. Another passenger then started argueing with the poor woman and telling her that she should "pay her way" and not be expecting others to pay for her because "we are all part of Germany now!".


Anyway I have just now checked out the Dublin Coach website and in the terms and conditions I found this

http://www.dublincoach.ie/customercare/terms-conditions.php

Dublin Coach have a policy of facilitating parents traveling with children. A maximum of 2 children under 12 years, if accompanied by an adult, travel free. Additional children under 12yrs will travel at normal fare.

I have emailed Dublin Coach to ask them if these terms and conditions have changed or if they will comment and they have received and read my email.

veryangryman

The Ts&Cs do indeed seem to back the woman up.

That said, its frustrating that the rest have to subsidise this. Bad enough the travel pass itself so i can relate to the heckler.

January

Surely the older womans ticket would have covered the kids?

foggy_lad

An update from Dublin Coach from this morning, the terms and conditions have changed and only fare paying passengers are entitled to have 2 children under 12 travel free with them but unfortunately the website was not updated but that is being addressed now. they had been in contact with the woman and explained the new terms to her but I also don't understand why the other woman's ticket did not cover the two children?

Peppa Pig

foggy_lad wrote: »

An update from Dublin Coach from this morning, the terms and conditions have changed and only fare paying passengers are entitled to have 2 children under 12 travel free with them but unfortunately the website was not updated but that is being addressed now. they had been in contact with the woman and explained the new terms to her but I also don't understand why the other woman's ticket did not cover the two children?

That's an interesting one - does the government not give Dublin Coach a certain amount of money per ftp trip?
I understand where they are coming from,but "fare paying" does not specify the amount of fare paid. They've handled this one poorly.

L1011

Peppa Pig wrote: »

That's an interesting one - does the government not give Dublin Coach a certain amount of money per ftp trip?

No, they get a lump sum per year. There is no individual fare paid per trip made.

This is why some operators only accept the FTP on specific routes and some not at all.

devnull

MYOB wrote: »

No, they get a lump sum per year. There is no individual fare paid per trip made.

This is why some operators only accept the FTP on specific routes and some not at all.

Services/routes that commenced in the last couple of years are not even allowed to join the scheme.

Vic_08

Peppa Pig wrote: »

I understand where they are coming from,but "fare paying" does not specify the amount of fare paid. They've handled this one poorly.

Is it not a simple binary equation? If you have paid a fare, any fare, then you can bring children for free, if you have not paid a fare as in nothing then you can't.

As said they are paid a flat rate for DSP passes and nothing at all for allowing them to bring extra passengers for free. You could make a commercial argument for allowing fare paying passengers bring children for free in that it may increase usage overall but the only thing they will get for taking pass holders offspring for free will be less seats available for fare-payers.

Peppa Pig

Vic_08 wrote: »

Is it not a simple binary equation? If you have paid a fare, any fare, then you can bring children for free, if you have not paid a fare as in nothing then you can't.

They have received a "fare" for carrying FTP passengers. It never said that the fare had to be paid by the passenger. That's what was poorly done.

They have now changed their website to say free children with "paying passengers". That is a different requirement, but one that explains it a lot better.