Sir, – Opposition parties have criticised the Government’s announcement that the basic public transport fare on the Dublin commuter network is set to increase from €2 to €2.30 for 90 minutes of travel, with some protests taking place at a number of rail stations.
The National Transport Authority indicated early in the summer, before the fare increase announcement, that it had no plans to add new services or increase bus services’ frequency with existing funding available. The pool of funding available from public service obligation support has clearly been in need of significant optimisation.
I sincerely doubt many commuters encountering packed buses on their journeys almost every day – and who have many times suffered the experience of “ghost buses” – would have intrinsic difficulty with the 30 cent fare increase if it meant a marked improvement in bus frequency, or indeed the introduction of a new service in their community, in return. – Yours, etc,
Cllr JOHN KENNEDY,
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Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Offices,
Co Dublin.
