Commuters waiting at Greystones railway station in Co Wicklow on Monday morning were distinctly “unimpressed” by fare increases brought in under changes by the National Transport Authority (NTA).
“Unfair” was how Loretta McDonald, waiting for a Dart to Dublin, described the rises.
She said the increases – which raised the cost of a single cash fare from Greystones to Dublin Connolly from €3.90 to €5.10 and a return cash fare from €7.20 to €9.20 – were wrong.
Ms McDonald, originally from Co Offaly, said she worked “seven days a week with every second weekend off” when she liked to travel and visit friends.
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“But there is often no Dart. There is no Dart this weekend for three days,” she said referring to the lack of train services between Grand Canal Dock and Wicklow Town over the coming Bank Holiday weekend.
“It is not fair,” she said, also saying that local bus services often arrived just as trains departed without waiting for passengers. She was also critical of the loss of Greystones’s Aircoach service.
Thinus Mentz said he travelled from Greystones to the city centre and returned three times a week and had been using a Tax-Saver Leap Card. “I just hope mine is okay, I have not thought very much about it,” he said.
[ Irish Rail fare changes: Check how journey prices will change in your area ]
He said his Leap card was due for renewal in August and he would look at his options then.
Sarah Gallagher said the fare increases were a regressive step. “I think the new way they have four commuter zones in the Dublin area makes some journeys cheaper. I think it will be cheaper from Wicklow Town, but it is more expensive if you are travelling from Greystones.”
She said Bray was in a different, cheaper zone, so she might drive there in future “if I can find parking. Otherwise I might as well drive in all the way.”
Another woman, who asked not to be named, agreed, saying: “It is cheaper to drive.”
She is from Kilcoole, but said not all trains stopped there. Travelling to Phibsboro in Dublin, her commute is by car, Dart then Luas. There is a train from Connolly to Drumcondra, which is near Phibsboro, but she said walking times added up. “It is not an integrated system,” she said. The latest price increases made commuting from Bray a cheaper option and she has travelled from there before.
Another passenger, who did not wish to be named, said the fare increases were a regressive move in terms of converting people to use public transport and combating climate change. The increases, she said, were “a mad thing to do”.
Irish Rail said there would be a “mixture” of reductions and increases across the new fare structure, which was devised by the NTA to make fares more closely reflect the distance travelled.
Under the new structures there will be a new Dublin Commuter Zone (DCZ) divided into Dublin city zone one, then zones two, three and four based on the distance from the city centre.
The move means reduced fares to and from Drogheda, Laytown, Enfield, Newbridge, Kildare, Wicklow and Rathdrum.
Monthly and annual ticket prices for zone two, which includes Greystones, will be adjusted on renewal.
The adult ePurse maximum tag-on will rise from €4 to €7.50, the student/young adult maximum tag-on will go from €2 to €3.75, and the child maximum tag-on will increase from 65c to €3.75.
All LeapCard ePurse customers are being advised to remember to tag-off at the end of their journey to ensure they are charged the correct price.
A number of ticket types are to be discontinued, including adult, student and child weekly and monthly tickets, and offpeak fares from Drogheda, Laytown, Gormanston, Newbridge and Kildare.
There has been some political resistance to the changes. Social Democrats TD for Wicklow Jennifer Whitmore said the changes would be “counter productive”. She said the State was facing fines of €20 billion for failing to meet climate objectives and said the transport sector was continually increasing its emissions.
“We are penalising people for doing the right thing,” she said.
Fianna Fáil senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee called for changes to the “unjust and unacceptable” rail fare disparity affecting daily commuters from Balbriggan and Skerries.
She said Balbriggan and Skerries “have been grouped into the Dublin commuter zone – along with towns in counties Kildare, Wicklow, and Louth – rather than being included in the Dublin city zone like other Dublin stations”.
As a result, rail users in Balbriggan and Skerries faced far higher fares than commuters from other parts of Dublin.
