Morning and evening peak time travel restrictions apply in relation to free travel on bus services operated by the CIE group in the major urban centres. namely, Dublin, Cork and Limerick, and on certain long distance services from these cities on Friday evenings. There are no peak time travel restrictions on DART or on suburban rail services in Dublin and Cork, or on services provided by CIE and private transport operators in other parts of the country. These restrictions have been in operation since the inception of the scheme in 1967.
The purpose of these restrictions, instigated at CIE's request, is to ensure that adequate space is available on the bus services of Dublin Bus and the city bus services in Cork and Limerick for commuters to and from work and school. An exception to the peak time travel restrictions is made in the case of people in receipt of disability allowance and blind person's pension who attend recognised long-term rehabilitation courses and for certain invalidity pensioners engaged on work experience programmes. These clients are issued with an unrestricted free travel pass which enables them to travel during the normally restricted travel times.
Extension of unrestricted access to urban services at peak time on a more widespread basis would cause capacity problems for CIE and would give rise to additional cost. However, the Department will continue to monitor the situation in consultation with the CIE group to assess the scope for improvements having regard to the capacity and cost constraints.