Last year, a ‘Fairer Fares’ scheme promised commuters living just outside of Dublin that cross-border county fares would be reduced.

Despite the National Transport Authority (NTA) initially promising that fare reductions would kick in by the end of September 2024, it now seems that prices will remain the same until April of this year.

Siobhán from Meath joined Lunchtime Live to detail how transport costs have impacted her family.

“We’re County Meath, so once you come out of County Dublin and you go into County Meath of County Louth or Kildare or one of the surrounding close areas, your fare is doubling – in fact it’s more than doubling,” she said.

“So, what they suggested was that we would get the same price fares from Drogheda as you would get from Balbriggan.

“It would make it a lot fairer because so many people use the train for work, for college.”

31/3/2017. Dart, Irish Rail and Dublin Bus affected as unions involved in Bus Eireann strike place All-Out pickets. Photo: RollingNews.ie

Siobhán said her son started college in Maynooth in September and pays around €16.90 a day for a return ticket each day – as opposed to €8 under the Fairer Fares scheme.

LeapCards cannot be used for these fares, so there are no student discounts available.

Siobhán also said that when she made enquiries into the delay, the NTA had said changing the website proved “complicated”.

An Irish Rail train standing at the platform at Claremorris station, Co. Mayo, Ireland

Chairperson with the Dublin Commuter Coalition Jason Cullen said that current prices are costing people huge amounts of money.

“If you were someone expecting that fare reduction in September and you’re coming from Drogheda, to April you’re probably out €1,000 – and that’s for each person who’s a daily commuter on the train,” he said.

“This is massive money it’s costing people, which is even further exacerbated by the housing crisis, which is pushing people further and further outside of Dublin into those commuter towns.

“While they are avoiding higher rents in the city, they’re having longer travel times and higher fares and the NTA just don’t seem to want to prioritise this.”

NTA response

The NTA responded to Lunchtime Live with the following statement:

“Bus Éireann, Irish Rail and Luas are currently working with their ticketing contractors to enable implementation of the Phase two fare changes,” a spokesperson said.

“The implementation of the rail fares is being led by Irish Rail and the work requires updates to the ticketing system; to the machines and the installation of the new LeapCard validators at stations that will come under the new fare structure.

“We’re in contact with Irish Rail on the matter. In that context, Irish Rail have informed us that the changes are currently expected to be completed by the end of April 2025.”

The spokesperson said the NTA was “disappointed with this delay”.

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Main image: A man boarding a train in Heuston Station, Dublin, © PA Archive/PA Images