A new simplified fares structure is to be introduced on Dublin’s Luas tram network in December. The new fares are all part of the National Transport Authority’s 2017 proposals to introduce a flat fare across not only Luas but also bus and rail services.
In order to prepare for the simplified fare structure the current zone fares will see some increases. Going forward there will be just two fare stages – a short distance fare and a 90 minute fare and 2018 is all about preparing for this. Although there will still be four different stages from the start of December they will be starting to come closer together ahead of the new fare structure. The main change for 2018 will be the removal of peak and off-peak tickets with just one type of ticket available to passengers, giving the advantage that it won’t be necessary to check the time before purchasing.
Unfortunately, these changes do mean that some fares will go up from 1st December. The largest of these is the Leap off-peak adult zone 2 which will go up by 23% whilst the adult Leap off-peak short distance (currently zone 1) will go up by 10% to match the peak fare. It’s not all bad news, however, as the current zones 5-8 fares will be decreased by between 2% and 4%.
By 2019 the fares on Luas will match those on Dublin City bus and DART (local rail services). It is also planned that pre-paid tickets will be withdrawn with Leap tickets now providing better value and meaning very few pre-paid tickets are now purchased.
Anne Graham, NTA Chief Executive, said: “Part of the BusConnects plan is revamping of the fare system to provide a simpler fare structure, allowing seamless movement between different transport services without a financial penalty. To deliver on this part of the programme, a revised fare structure is required for public transport in the city which will support seamless movement between different public transport services and modes without a financial penalty. The fares determination presented in this report, builds on last year’s determination by taking another step toward this new fare structure. Ultimately, there will be a two fare system comprising a short distance fare and a 90 minute fare on any combination of PSO public transport services within the Dublin area. To achieve a balanced transition to this two fare structure, it is necessary to adjust a number of fares for Dublin Bus, Iarnród Éireann, Go-Ahead Dublin and Luas this year to enable a move towards this simpler fare structure over the coming years.”
* A full list of the new fares can be found here.