Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 February 2005
361 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Transport the progress to date with regard to the introduction of integrated ticketing by the Railway Procurement Agency; the amount which has been granted for this project; if this money has been ring-fenced by the RPA solely for this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3423/05]
View answerIn March 2002, the Railway Procurement Agency, RPA, was given statutory responsibility under the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001 (Additional Functions) (Integrated Ticketing) Order 2002 for the delivery of an integrated ticketing system. The contactless smartcard-based integrated ticketing system, which will enable a passenger to use a single ticket on one or more scheduled public transport services, by road and by rail, irrespective of the transport operator involved, is being developed by the RPA and will be introduced on a phased basis, initially in the Dublin area.
A first step was the launch in April 2004, in conjunction with the RPA, of smartcards by a private operator, Morton's Coaches, on its services. Another important step will be the launch of smartcards on Luas services which, I have been informed by the RPA, will take place shortly. The RPA expect that Dublin Bus and possibly some additional private operators will follow with smartcards on services this year, with the DART expected to follow next year. By early 2006, passengers will be able to travel on both bus and Luas services in Dublin using one smartcard. Integration using smartcards with other operators is projected to follow shortly thereafter.
The delivery costs of the fully integrated ticketing project are currently estimated to be €29.6 million for the total project including a 10% contingency cost. This funding is included in my Department's capital envelope. Procurement procedures and processes are matters solely for the RPA.
