Dublin Bus is jingling all the way to the bank, as its passengers are turning their backs on the chance to collect £1,500 a week in loose change.
Since the no-change policy was phased in for most of the capital's buses in June, the company has collected over £30,000 which customers are owed but have not collected.
Under the scheme, passengers who do not have the correct fare are given a receipt on which they can obtain a refund at the O'Connell Street offices of Dublin Bus. But in the latest indicator of the country's growing prosperity, hundreds of passengers are leaving the change behind.
Of the £8,000 in change receipts issued each week just £6,500 is collected, Mr Joe Collins, the Dublin Bus media and public relations manager, confirmed yesterday. In case it is inconvenience rather than prosperity which is making their passengers slow to come forward, the company wants to appoint up to 20 agents around the city who will also issue refunds.
This money was not regarded by the firm as revenue, Mr Collins said, and it is anxious to return it. "It has been suggested that we give it to charity, but this is money which people are entitled to collect."
The trouble it takes to reach O'Connell Street is not a deterrent to most passengers, he claimed. "People usually wait until they have a few receipts. We get people coming in with bags of them." Receipts have no expirphasing of the no-change policy was introduced last March, the value of change receipts issued each week has doubled from £4,000 to £8,000. However, Dublin Bus claims the policy and new security screens have combined to reduce dramatically the number of attacks on drivers.
At the height of the problem three years ago, 115 of the firm's 1,800 drivers were out sick recovering from assaults. Attacks on drivers were then costing Dublin Bus £1.5 million a year.
In contrast, this week only seven drivers were out because of injuries.
Despite the introduction of prepaid tickets, 60 per cent of journeys are still paid for in cash. But the company is hopeful that an extension of ticket-vending machines, greater use of pre-paid tickets and the development of smart-card technology will significantly reduce cash transactions.