Neale Richmond
Question:160. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Transport the steps that he is taking to make public transport more affordable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21068/22]
View answerTuesday, 26 April 2022
Questions (160, 162)
Duncan Smith
Question:162. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Transport his plans to reduce public transport fares to combat the cost of living crisis as is being done in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20891/22]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 160 and 162 together.
As Minister for Transport I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport, nor decisions on fares. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.
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 all PSO services until the end of 2022.
On Monday 18th April, the first phase of the 20% discount was rolled out with online fares for Irish Rail intercity services, as well as for Bus Éireann and TFI Local Link services. Fares for Dublin Bus, Go-Ahead Ireland, Luas, DART & Commuter Rail and all other Iarnród Éireann services will also reduce by an average of 20% from 9 May.
These discounted fares will benefit the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who use PSO public transport every day. €54m in Exchequer funding was secured to allow for the introduction of these discounted fares. Local Link services will also apply the 20% fare discount – under Connecting Ireland €5.6m has been allocated in 2022 alone to enhance and expand rural connectivity.
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 discount 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.