Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
191. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider extending the fares reduction scheme to Limerick city route 307/308 private bus operator (details supplied) due to the suspension of its service from 8 July 2022. [39621/22]
View answer192. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider extending the fares reduction scheme to private bus operators given the increasing cost of fuel and inflation. [39622/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 191 and 192 together.
As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the provision of public transport services nationally and for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.
Licensed bus and coach operators are an integral part of the overall public transport system, particularly in areas around the country which are not covered by existing public service bus and rail services. In recognition of the important role these operators play, the Government provided temporary financial supports throughout the Covid-19 pandemic for certain licensed commercial services, with a view to protecting capacity across the public transport sector throughout the crisis. These supports were extended up to the 30th of June 2022 with c. €65m provided to support the Commercial Bus Operators during this challenging time.
Further, in recognition of rising fuel costs for all citizens and businesses, on the 10th of March the Government introduced an excise duty reduction of 15 cent per litre of diesel, initially introduced until the end of August but later extended out to Budget Day.
As the Deputy will be aware a 20% average reduction is being introduced on PSO services as part of a suite of Government measures to help combat the rising cost of living. This fare reduction was applied to all services outside the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) from the 11th of April and nationwide from the 9th of May. The fare reduction will be in place until the end of the year and €54m in Exchequer funding has been secured to allow for the introduction of these discounted fares, this is in addition to the REV22 allocations. The Government decision did not include broadening this initiative to include commercial bus operators.
In addition to these measures, and in view 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.
The YAC was initially launched on PSO services on the 9th of May, and will be broadened to include commercial operators later this year, with the aim to have it in place before the recommencement of third level colleges. 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.
The time lag is due to the fact that it is technically more challenging to roll-out fare initiatives, such as the YAC, on the commercial bus network than it is on the LEAP enabled PSO network. An array of various ticketing equipment is in use on fleet used by the commercial operators and needs to be catered for. To expedite the process, the NTA has established a joint working group with commercial bus operators to consider options and develop a plan to implement the Young Adult Card in as timely a manner as possible.
