Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022
209. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Transport his Department's policy with regard to uncertainty with fuel prices leading to very difficult trading conditions for private operators in which volatility in prices cannot be offset by operators increasing fares at this time due to competition from State service providers which may lead to a reduction of private operations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14920/22]
View answer210. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Transport his Department's understanding that passenger numbers for private bus operators has not recovered to anything near pre-pandemic levels with many operating at 60% or less of pre-pandemic levels and with the prospect of the current direct award contract scheme ceasing at the end of March 2022, which will severely impact on the viability of certain services; the plans his Department has to deal with the suspension of vital services for rural communities due to the lack of Departmental support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14921/22]
View answer211. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Transport if he has considered the way the proposal to grant 20% fare reduction to persons availing of PSO services is grossly unfair to private operators and will impact dramatically on the viability of services, the way that it will result in much needed transport services terminating due to the inability of operators to provide services commercially as approximately half of the travelling public will not be able to avail of this scheme; the reason private service operators are excluded from this scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14922/22]
View answer212. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Transport if he has decided that the youth card travel scheme, which will offer a 50% fare reduction to 18 to 23-year olds, will not be available to commercial bus operators until a time into the future to be determined by the National Transport Authority; if he has considered the way the exclusion of the commercial bus operators from this scheme will distort competition within the market place rendering many commercial services commercially unviable resulting in route terminations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14923/22]
View answer213. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the fact that commercial bus operators are currently operating in a direct award contract with the National Transport Authority and that the Authority is provided with monthly reports detailing revenue and passenger numbers which is overseen by a company (details supplied) in which submissions to the scheme are self-certified thus placing full responsibility for the accuracy of the information provided on to the operators and yet the authority claims that it does not have the capacity to include commercial operators from the outset of the youth scheme; if, given the aforementioned, the reason and the grounds on which commercial operators have been excluded from the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14924/22]
View answer214. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Transport if he will review the real-life example of inequity in the proposed policy system regarding bus transport (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14925/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 209 to 214, inclusive, together.
The Government is strongly committed to helping combat the rising cost-of-living being experienced throughout the country. In this context, a suite of new measures is being introduced by Government to help with this issue, including a 20% average fare reduction on Public Service Obligation (PSO) transport services until the end of 2022. These discounted fares will benefit the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who use PSO services every day. €54m in Exchequer funding has been secured to allow for the introduction of these discounted fares; this funding does not include an extension of the scheme to private coach and bus operators. As the Deputy will be aware, unlike with PSO services, the National Transport Authority (NTA) do not set, monitor or regulate fares on services run by commercial operators.
Also, in recognition of the importance of incentivising young people to use public transport, as part of Budget 2022 I secured €25m of funding to provide for the introduction of a young adult card (YAC) which will allow any person nationwide who is between 19 and 23 years old, to avail of an entitlement for discounted travel costs, and to increase the level of discount over and above the current student discount to an average of 50% across all services, including city, intercity and rural services. It is envisaged that the discount will initially be made available on PSO services, and then broadened to include commercial operators at a later date. This will not only promote modal shift in the transport sector among this age group but should also contribute towards a reduced reliance on private transport with associated benefit of transport emission savings.
Licensed bus and coach operators are an integral part of the overall public transport system particularly in areas which are not covered by existing public service bus and rail services. In recognition of this, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic the Government have provided temporary financial supports for certain licensed commercial services with a view to protecting capacity across the public transport sector throughout the crisis.
The temporary support was initially introduced for a period of 6-months in June 2020, however owing to the continued fall in passenger numbers and associated drop in fare revenue, the support has been extended a number of times. I am aware of the issues facing the sector and am pleased to inform the Deputy that I recently approved an extension of this support for a further 3 months, up to the 30 June 2022.
Given the NTA's statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally, I have also referred the Deputy's questions to the NTA for direct reply. I ask the Deputy to please contact my private office if he does not receive a reply within 10 days.
Question No. 212 answered with Question No. 209.
Question No. 213 answered with Question No. 209.
