20% cut to fares for all public transport operators from April

Personally I always thought that one of principal aims of the Taxsaver Scheme was to aim at getting higher tax rate payers out of their cars and onto public transport. Let’s be honest they are the ones least likely to move, and halving the cost of the tickets as an incentive was a logical move.

The problem is that subsequent governments and then the NTA decided to erode the levels of discount that the tickets offered at gross level, by taking the tax effect into account in deciding the price that monthly and annual tickets were offered at, and hiked the prices of season tickets up.

This in my view should never have happened, but that is where we are at.

I'm back commuting five days a week, and I am certainly seeing more and more people doing the same, so I think it will continue to benefit people.

At EUR 115 gross for a month's travel on a single mode, or EUR 55 net, that is very good value when you factor in using the bus at weekends, and maybe the odd additional weekday trip. I certainly wouldn't want to lose it.

Some of you seem to forget that people don't just use these tickets to get to/from work!!

Well they've missed the boat this year to introduce the same on public services given the volume of taxsaver renewals occurring at this time of year, which is all the excuse they need to delay until January next year.

Most people seem to be working at home at least one day a week now. In the future we may have a 4 day week as standard across all office based employment plus a wfh day. The standard rate cut off point is up to 40k this year and a new 30% rate may be introduced next year for 40k to 80k. It's not clear how the tax saver model can adapt to such a fast changing new world we have.

Similar issue to the cycle to work scheme which could encourage lower paid workers to cycle more and save money going forward. Make over 40k? Here's a €1k bike for 500 quid. Make 25k? Well that same bike is going to cost you 700.

There's surely a fairer way of doing all of these things, that said I guess these people are paying more tax but the benefits of these schemes would still be felt by all if there was a flat tax credit across the board or something

There was an announcement in work of an upcoming deadline to apply for taxsaver passes beginning in February. As others have alluded to, living in Dublin and not commuting every day I don't see the value in getting one. I looked up the prices for other areas out of interest, see what family members would have to pay etc...

Kildare to Heuston €2,100 or €2,430 with the luas/bus add on to Connolly.

In contrast public transport seems a lot better value other countries. There are probably places where it is more expensive too. Take Austria as an example. "These include, for example, annual tickets, student tickets and senior citizen tickets. Annual Pass: Costs €365 for all Wiener Linien transport in the state of Vienna. An annual ticket including Lower Austria costs €730 and €1095 for all of Austria."

And this in a "climate emergency". Surely public transport could be made cheaper if we are serious about tackling climate change. While I don't think the €2 fare is terrible value, I commute minimum twice a week so that's €8 a week. Add on trips into town at the weekend a couple of times a month etc. In Vienna unlimited access costs €7 a week.

Maybe the ringfenced carbon tax proceeds could be used to subsidise public transport further. The relative referred to above says the train gets packed in Sallins because everyone drives there to avail of the short hop zone. Public transport policy encouraging car journeys...

I must be imagining the discounted fares available on every Bus Éireann PSO bus service across the country and most Local Link services then?

The capping in provincial cities needs addressing for sure, but LEAP is far from useless outside of Dublin.

I have travelled extensively recently on a variety of rural routes and availed of the discounted LEAP fares that would be far higher otherwise.

Your first line is a bit a of an oversell...

From Irish rail FAQs "The Leap Card can be used for rail travel between stations within the 'Short Hop Zone'."

It’s also reducing cash handling costs for operators.

Cork city ticketing will likely change to a similar model as Dublin when the new BusConnects network starts rolling out.

Being able to use a single card across the country from locations such as Carraroe and Tullow, Schull and Cavan and so on on PSO bus services (and some commercial operators) is a benefit.

With the recent enough fare structure changes, the only time you should go to the driver's TVM is if you desire the short distance fare, otherwise the validator's your friend, as there are only two single fare levels in the Dublin city network now.

Interesting must read more about it and try and understand how more beneficial it is compared to current 10 journey ticket which although convenient has become very expensive in recent years, now being €15 a day return Drogheda/Dublin. Obviously better value on Dundalk /Dublin route. Cheaper to drive for me at present as long as I have parking, which doesn't really make sense. Annoyed me when Govt was announcing reduced fares on public transport Matthews fares increased by 20%.

I don't understand this cheaper to drive saying that people always state when not using PT. You have to pay insurance, tax and factor in wear and tear costs on the car aswell as any depreciation. Using PT and not driving (owning) a car is obviously the most economically prudent way of getting around.

Typical Irish disjointed approach to everything. Gas to see Govt coming out clapping themselves on the back for helping commuters but as always its only a cohort of commuters they are actually helping, the rest can muck off.

Its not just Dublin it's the same in Limerick. My bus is every 15mins so I happily use it despite the cancellations. But a few years ago when it was every 30mins those cancellations made it unusable for me.

Galway the same. One route I use a lot is every 20 mins. Except is suffering a lot of cancellations.

This day in mid-December was particularly special:

Not one person has said here that all of the RTPI systems are fully working correctly.

But, in my own experience, the DB app does seem to be working more or less correctly now, as are the live positions of Dublin City buses on the map on the TFI app. I found the latter by accident some time back and it’s what I use most of the then now.

However the predictive times on the TFI app and the on-street signs are still far too unreliable.

On a separate note one thing I never understood was why Bus Eireann never introduced Autofare on city services in Cork and still to this very day take cash and give change on buses in regional cities. Always thought it was the most logical way of taking cash on city services.