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Updated 22:54
BAD NEWS FOR passengers: the National Transport Authority has announced fare increases for buses, trains and Luas from next week.
Fares for monthly and annual tickets on Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Iarnród Éireann and Luas will increase from 1 November, while fares for cash tickets, Leap Cards and pre-paid tickets will go up from 1 December.
Dublin Bus cash fares will rise by between 15 cent and 25 cent depending on the length of the journey, while Bus Éireann cash tickets will increase by up to 9 per cent.
Pre-paid tickets will increase by between 5 and 7 per cent on Bus Éireann and by approximately 10 per cent on all Dublin Bus pre-paid tickets.
Luas cash tickets will rise by between 3.4 per cent and 8.3 per cent, with single peak-time tickets on both the Red and Green lin rising from €1.70 to €1.80.
The head of the NTA Gerry Murphy said that the fare increases were needed as passenger numbers dropped and fuel costs grew. He said that the hikes would help “protect service delivery at a time of reduced incomes for the operators”.
The price hikes had been widely anticipated after the Government reduced its payments to the State-subsidised companies in Budget 2014.
Dublin Bus cash fares will rise from €1.65 to €1.80 for a journey of 1-3 stages, and from €2.15 to €2.35 for journeys of 4-7 stages – an increase of 9.3 per cent.
Fares for journeys of 7-13 stages will rise from €2.40 to €2.60 – an increase of 8.3 per cent – while journeys over 13 stages will rise from €2.80 to €3.05.
NTA boss Gerry Murphy encouraged passengers to use Leap Cards where possible as the fares as significantly cheaper than cash fares.
He also said that the national public transport companies need to stabilise their financial situation quickly in order to minimise service cuts and return the companies to a stable financial footing.
“Cost reduction programmes have been put in place by the operators, but these have taken time to implement, and costs have not fallen to the same extent as the subsidy and revenue base,” said Murphy.
“Public transport fare increases have been necessary in recent years as the [NTA] has had to protect the services as much as possible,” he said.
The fares will be in place for 12 months.
First published at 11:57
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Hang on a second. One of the reasons for increasing fares was a “decrease in passenger numbers”
One of the reasons for increasing fares is decreased Government support/subvention.
Fare increases are a transport tax imposed by FG / LAB.
The tricky bit about the job is coordinating with all the other drivers so that you can all drive the route in convoy :)
That’s a skill!!!
Great wages considering you don’t need much of an education to get the job!
Says the idiot who posted his comment twice….
Lol !
Post one comment then outta nowhere comes another
They need more drivers for the 84 route. Dying of the cold wind and rain waiting for one tonight!!
impressive line-up – where are they when we need them?
Not great wages if it is gross for the amount of responsibility the job carries.
So what do you think should be the going rate, it’s unskilled labour after all
Over €700 is pretty good money and a lot more than I expected them to be on. You do start very early in terms of the commute then getting your bus out and ready for the first 6am bus and vice versa about finishing late.
I personally wouldn’t do it, I’d be like the bus man out of Intermission.
Coming out with 700 a week flat would be reasonable. Bus drivers have to deal with traffic and both awkward people and s.um. Train driver paid better as far as I know for far better working conditions. They deserve it but bus drivers deserve more. Why do people call it unskilled work??? Accountant is skilled bit bus driver not??
Paul, accountants study for at least 3 years in college and then a further 3 years of intense training and challenging professional exams. With no offence intended against bus drivers, I think it’s fair to say that becoming an accountant requires a lot more skill than acquiring a driving license.
Enda yes, but if you fek up in accounts it can be sorted out (or maybe even Tesco accounts can have a job for ya lined up), but if you fek up on the bus there are 40 or 50 lives to think of. You can’t compare and in fairness any hard job deserves decent pay, it’s not all about exams ok.
“any hard job deserves decent pay”
The pay on offer is perfectly decent.
At the end of the day, the people who have to pay are the people using the service, who’ve just seen their travel costs leap™ up yet again.
I suppose sitting behind a desk pushing buttons is easier than guiding a bus threw traffic and J walkers is easier alright!
John s unskilled labor you clearly never drove a bus in Dublin come back when you have and say it takes no skill.Also D license and CPC required just to apply that’s before you pass the company tests.
Well aware of that but I still don’t consider driving a bus carrying passengers as unskilled. Driving itself is a skill
Exactly unfortunately, passing academic exams isn’t everything, far from it
So thats where all the buses are
Where?
Doesn’t sound bad, I assume that is the basic pay with shift pay and overtime on top of that. Could do a lot worse.
Great wages considering you don’t need much of an education to get it!
Maybe I’m wrong but I thought another article (possibly from another news source) stated earlier that part of the reason for fare hikes was due to decreasing passenger numbers? Then this article is saying that they are hiring more drivers because of increased passenger numbers! Am I missing something????
Nope. That’s just Dublin Bus for you.. They’ll say whatever is necessary to justify themselves, the truth is a foreign concept.
Overpaid
I agree Enda is overpaid
Rubbish wage, rubbish hours, rubbish job
You sound bitter Anto, yes the hours are not sociable but you are paid shift pay,the money is pretty good if you want to make extra cash there is a facility to work overtime, and it is far from a rubbish job.
Most of the people that you encounter on a bus a decent respectable people and a tiny minority of junkies and moaners.
Anto is a part-time brain surgeon and commando in the Vatican Air Force, earns lots of money and trolls here as a hobby.
Spot the guy whose application was turned down.
Mick Wallace!!
Kevin i don’t know what job your talking about but it certainly isn’t a Dublin Bus job i can assure you
That’s me fook3d No need to apply I wont pass No4
But didn’t they state that the fre increases were down to a drop in passenger numbers?….which is it?
*fare
No thanks, they’re slow, too warm, they smell, unreliable.
… and that’s just the drivers !
To people saying its a poor wage for the responsibility that goes with it, its more than I earn nursing full time in an acute hospital. Nurses apply here!
Always nice to see some new jobs.
It’s not the worst job to be honest, anyone hired will only work weekends for at least 4 years so goodbye to work/life balance. Also,expect the worst duties available, ie 8 hours 49 minutes driving with 1 hour break. Note that the absolute legal maximum driving time for a bus in city limits is 8 hours 50 minutes! If anyone thinks that’s not too bad then I suggest you try it. It’s unfair & unhealthy to say the least. As for the wages… what’s quoted in this article is the maximum, not the standard. Best of luck to anyone who applies.
Some of the last batch of new recruits at Harristown have already moved up of the weekend only roster
How would you do worse? Go work in McDonald’s? I get more cash into the hand labouring on normal hours than that shite. Collect dole on top and it’s a decent wage. Yup
Troll much?
So how much did you fork out for those kinky plimsolls?
Just put the revenue and social onto your Facebook profile, you may get a bit more cash in hand to pay back what you owe em
Some quiet advice Anto. a lot of people don’t like to hear of other people sponging off the dole, there is a tendency to report them to the Dept of Social Protection, oops.
Ret*ard much!
This article is a bit misleading what Dublin bus don’t tell you is it takes a driver six years to get to the top rate of €769.74. The money starting off is not that good.
Bad boys??? Its a bus, no danger of any off road or high speed pursuit situations.. bit of a flop advertorial there …
Nice jobs!
With the price of barrel of oil down to 67 dollers Should the fare price not be reducing even without gov support hmm
Insulting me clothes
And your slippers!
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