Some local Bus Eireann routes to see 4 per cent ticket price drop

There's some good news on the way for hard pressed commuters of Co Meath with news of a decrease in monthly and annual ticket prices on some local Bus Eireann routes

Annual tickets for Bus Éireann passengers in the Eastern Commuter areas will drop by over 4 per cent. Passengers in towns such as Ashbourne, Kilcock, and Celbridge will see their fare fall from €1,548 to €1,480.

Passengers in Drogheda, Trim, Newbridge, and Baltinglass will be saving over €100 when their annual fare drops from €2,448 to €2,340, with passengers in Dundalk, Mullingar and Arklow making an even greater saving of €118.

The Authority is setting fares for 2020 by way of two fares determinations. The first determination outlines adjustments for all monthly and annual tickets (including taxsaver tickets) with an effective implementation date of 1st December 2019. The second determination will address adjustments for all other fares and will be published in March 2020 with changes effective in April 2020.

The NTA say this approach was taken this year for a number of reasons. By delaying the process of determining a large proportion of fares to April 2020, the Authority will have greater clarity with regard to the level of PSO subvention available for the incoming year, and therefore on the revenue requirements for subsidised public transport services.

Secondly, the Authority, "being mindful of prevailing economic conditions, wishes to ensure that adjustments in fares can be equitably made for the benefit of the travelling public and operators alike, in light of these circumstances.

"Furthermore, the introduction of fare adjustments in April 2020 will allow the Authority to have a much clearer indication of the most up-to-date trends in public transport usage from the preceding year when making its determination."

Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority, said: “The NTA will continue to work to make fares as simple and consistent as possible. In today’s determination we have seen some fares go up slightly and some come down.

“Overall fare revenue will increase by less than 2%, which is in line with inflation, so this is certainly not a revenue-generating exercise.”

Details of other cash and Leap fares will be published in February and will take effect at the end of March.

More information on the fare determination can be found at: https://www.nationaltransport.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Fares_Determination_2019_Monthly_and_Annual.pdf