Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 October 2004
209 Mr. Curran asked the Minister for Transport if, in advance of the smartcard ticketing system for public transport becoming operational, he will implement an interim measure to allow commuters to purchase some form of single ticket giving them access to bus, Luas and rail rather than purchasing different tickets for each different form of transport. [23806/04]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 401 of 5 October 2004. The Railway Procurement Agency has statutory responsibility for the development of a national integrated ticketing system, based on smartcard technologies, for implementation initially in the Dublin area. The contactless smartcard-based integrated ticketing system will enable a passenger to use a single ticket on one or more public transport services, by road and by rail, irrespective of the transport operator involved. A first step was the launch in April of this year, in conjunction with the RPA, of a smartcard ticketing system by a private operator, Morton's Coaches on its services. Another important step will be the launch soon of smartcards on Luas services. In addition, it is expected that Dublin Bus, Irish Rail-DART and some additional private operators will follow during 2005.
Meanwhile, tickets using magnet strip technology are available for travel on Dublin Bus and Irish Rail services, and the RPA has concluded a similar arrangement with Dublin Bus and Irish Rail in respect of Luas services. A combined bus, Luas and rail ticket is under discussion.
