Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 May 2022
120. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider including commercial bus operators that operate scheduled services under licence from the National Transport Authority in the 20% fare reduction scheme for public service obligation routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21869/22]
View answer125. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Transport if he will review correspondence from a company (details supplied); the reason that the company has been excluded from accessing Exchequer funding or financial subsidies in order that it can also introduce a reduction in passenger fares similar to the scheme which was announced on public service obligation serviced routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21977/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 120 and 125 together.
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.
In acknowledgement of the continuing difficulties facing the sector, these supports have been extended up to 30 June 2022 and to date, over €60 million has been provided to support the commercial bus operators.
The Government is strongly committed to helping combat the rising cost-of-living being experienced throughout the country. In this context, as part of the suite of new measures being introduced, a 20% average fare reduction on all PSO public transport services is being made available nationwide until the end of 2022.
These discounted fares will benefit the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who use PSO public transport every day. The Government allocated €54m in Exchequer funding to provide this measure; however, this funding does not include an extension of the scheme to commercial operators. As the Deputies 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.
However, in recognition of the importance of incentivising young people to use public transport, as part of Budget 2022 I secured funding to provide for the introduction of a young adult card (YAC) on both PSO and commercial services. This exciting initiative will entitle anyone between the ages of 19 and 23 to discounted travel costs and to increase the level of discount over and above the current student discount level to an average of 50% across all services, including city, intercity and rural services.
The discount will initially be made available on all subsidised PSO bus, rail and Luas services next month. It will then be broadened to include commercial operators later this year. Intensive work is underway with representatives from the commercial bus sector, the NTA and the Department to devise a mechanism to implement and expedite the deployment of the Young Adult Card in the commercial bus sector.
