Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 November 2023
20. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Transport the up-to-date position on the roll out of the new national fare structure for County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52770/23]
View answerOn the 27th of April 2023, the National Transport Authority published a new National Fares Strategy. The Fares Strategy follows the previous implementation of a simplified fares structure for Dublin, and proposes an approach that is more equitable, consistent and easy to understand for passengers.
This new approach will apply to fares outside the Dublin metropolitan area for PSO bus and rail services provided by the NTA under contracts with bus operators and Iarnród Éireann. It will complement the planned roll-out of changes to public transport networks in rural and urban areas, such as BusConnects and Connecting Ireland.
Following the publication of the National Fares Strategy, the NTA intend to publish its annual fares determination before year-end, which will introduce a number of specific changes to fares, simplified Leap capping, as well as changes to some Intercity Rail and town bus fares. The upcoming fares determination represents the first step in delivering the National Fare Strategy and it is the Authority’s intention to roll this out further across the country in future determinations.
To this end, it is the NTA’s intention to roll-out the National Fare Strategy across the country over the next couple of years including the review of city and town fares outside of Dublin.
The NTA intends to bring forward proposals for the Cork city and commuter area in a further fares determination in 2024, as part of the Cork Bus Connects project.
Ultimately, the National Fare Strategy will deliver more consistent and equitable fares and reduce the disparities which currently exist for some passengers.
