asked the Minister for Communications the basis of his recent claim that each DART journey requires an Exchequer subsidy of £1.92 while each bus passenger journey requires a subsidy of only 10p; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Dart Subsidisation.
14.
The total subvention payable to CIE in respect of DART in 1985 amounted to £22.459 million including £15.49 million in respect of interest costs. The total number of passenger journeys during the year was £11.7 million. These figures represent a subvention of £1.92 per passenger journey.
In the case of Dublin city bus services, the total subvention amounted to £16.8 million in 1985 and there were 161.8 million passenger journeys. These represent a subvention of 10p per passenger journey.
I have used these figures to present in a way which would be readily understood by the general public the costs to the taxpayer of these two public transport modes in the Dublin area.