Darren O'Rourke
Question:
295. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Transport if he will further reduce fares on public transport to help drive down road emissions; if he will extend the 20% fare reduction to private bus operators and cut the price of fares for under-18s to help increase passenger numbers; the estimated carbon emission savings that the increase in passenger numbers as a result of the 20% fare reduction has achieved in 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2393/23]
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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. It is the National Transport Authority (NTA) that has responsibility for the regulation of fares charged to passengers in respect of public transport services, provided under public service obligation (PSO) contracts.
The 20% average PSO fare reduction was introduced earlier last year as part of a suite of Government measures to help combat the rising cost of living. I am pleased to advise that I secured funding for the continuation of this discount on PSO services in 2023, however, funding was not provided to broaden the discount to include commercial operators.
I can further advise that in October 2022, the Young Adult Card initiative was broadened to include third level students aged 16- to 18-year-olds, who can now avail of the 50% fare discount. On PSO services, those aged under 18 can avail of child fares across the network.
In light of the NTA's responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's specific questions in relation to the passenger numbers and carbon emissions to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
A referred reply was forwarded to the Deputy under Standing Order 51.
I am writing to you concerning the matter you raised in Parliamentary Question No. 295 of 18 January last which has been referred to the National Transport Authority (NTA) for reply.
The fares determination in early 2022 implemented the 20% cost of living fares reduction for all fares on subsidised public transport services and 50% discounted Young Adult fares on Leap. The cost of living fares discount will also continue to apply in 2023. There was a notable acceleration of passenger journey growth following the introduction of these measures, with month on month increases averaging 5% recorded across all services.
While full year passenger numbers are yet to be confirmed with operators, patronage on all forms of public transport has improved significantly, having moved from -30% compared to 2019 in the first quarter of 2022, to approximately -15% by the end of the year.
It appears evident that the fares reduction certainly encouraged a significant increase in journeys on public transport; many of which would otherwise be done by car. We can infer from this that significant carbon reductions occurred; and continue to occur. We do not, however, have estimates for how much carbon reductions occurred as we would need to make too many assumptions about the type of journey that was substituted and the type of car that would have been used by the customer to calculate this estimate.
What we can however state from observed data showing volumes of traffic on the M50 in Dublin as well as traffic passing through the Dublin City canal cordon during 2022, is that following a period of sustained increases in traffic at both locations as the economy emerged from the worst of the pandemic in 2021, decreases of approximately 4% were seen following the introduction of lower fares on public transport in June 2022. A further month on month decline was recorded in July of -1.4% on the M50 and -1.6% at the canal cordon. Whilst we cannot say that this is as a direct result of the fares reduction (with fuel price increases inevitably being a factor), the timing of these changes are very similar and coincided with a relative upturn in passenger journeys on public transport services in the capital.
In relation to commercial bus operators, 16-18 year old’s in third level education now qualify for a Student Leap Card which gives them access to the discounted fares on these services. It is worth noting that whilst some measures have been facilitated, the Authority has no regulatory role in the setting of fares on commercially operated bus services.
