3.8% Fare Rise Coming in 2006

Fares rise unveiled
20/12/2005 - 19:33:05

Bus, rail and and Luas fares are to rise by 3.8% in the New Year, it emerged tonight.

Both CIE and Luas had applied for fare increases of up to 7.5%.

But Transport Minister Martin Cullen said that he had decided the 3.8% increase was more appropriate.

He said he was conscious of the requirement to achieve a balance betwen the impact on the CIE and Luas customers and the need to sustain the financial health of the companies.

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by IrishTimes

Bus, rail and Luas fares rise of nearly 4% smaller than sought
Martin Wall and Emmet Oliver

Fares on CIÉ's bus and rail services and on the Luas are to increase by nearly four per cent from next month.

The increases, which were sanctioned by the Cabinet yesterday, are expected to add about five cent to the cost of most journeys on Dublin Bus and Dart services.

snip An Post snip

Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said last night he had rejected requests by the CIÉ companies (Iarnród Éireann, Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann), as well as from Luas, for increases in fares of up to 7.5 per cent. Government sources said Dublin Bus had sought an increase of up to 15 cent per journey.

The Minister said that following detailed examination of the applications from Iarnród Éireann, Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and Luas, he had decided that an increase of 3.8 per cent in fare revenue for 2006 was more appropriate.

There will be no increase in fares for Luas passengers who purchase smartcards or who buy tickets through sales agents such as newsagents.

This move is aimed at encouraging people to pre-purchase their tickets and to reduce queuing at ticket vending machines at Luas platforms.

The increases approved by Cabinet yesterday will come into effect from early January.

Mr Cullen said that in making his decision to reject the fare increases sought and to sanction lower rises, he was "conscious of the requirement to achieve a balance of the impact on the customers of CIÉ and Luas with the need to sustain the financial health of the companies".

The Department of Transport said last night that it understood Iarnród Éireann, Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and Luas would now finalise the details of their new fare structures.

A spokesman for CIÉ said it welcomed the fare increases sanctioned by the Government.

It is understood that the annual Exchequer subvention for the CIÉ companies will also increase in line with the rate of inflation next year.

A spokesman said the three CIÉ constituent companies had experienced significant increases in costs, particularly in relation to fuel and labour, in the last year.

Bus and rail fares were last increased a year ago. In December 2004 Mr Cullen approved increases of 3.5 per cent.

© The Irish Times 2005
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ire...VERTISING.html

[PaulM]

Originally Posted by Thomas Sheridan

He said he was conscious of the requirement to achieve a balance betwen the impact on the CIE and Luas customers and the need to sustain the financial health of the companies.

Yet the government couldn't possibly give more subvention to LOWER prices.

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by Paul Mulcahy

Yet the government couldn't possibly give more subvention to LOWER prices.

Considering IE are one of the most inefficent operators in Europe it would do more harm then good

[Kevin K Kelehan]

In comparison to your average Rural County Council they are quite efficient at providing a service that is reasonably uncongested and keeping tea making to a minimum.

[Mark Gleeson]

Point is the passenger km per staff member is shocking, even NIR do better, quite a few UK operators make IE look like a joke in staff efficency and they still have guards on most services, some services even have 2.

There is a lot of fat to cut out, far too many people standing around and what is shocking is staff numbers are not falling against a backdrop of the closure of many tens of manual signal cabins, automation and closure of many level crossings and almost network wide driver only operation combined with railcars appearing everywhere. Pouring money at it won't make it go away unless you want to use it to lay several hundred off

As we all know CIE and the RPA played the usual game of asking for twice what they really needed next year will be the same

[Kevin K Kelehan]

IE are a long way behind the UK in terms of staff management and in particular facilities managment; the one area that one notices in the UK are the number of unmanned stations. However I still believe that IE are infinately more efficient than your average local authority roads department

[PaulM]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Considering IE are one of the most inefficent operators in Europe it would do more harm then good

That is a good point. However now, the passengers suffer with extra costs. Why should we, the users suffer from a bad company rather than the government increase subvention/order them to fix up and become more efficient.

[Thomas J Stamp]

Interesting point regarding the use of railcars. Presumably the guards on the services which have been replaced by railcars have been redeployed somewhere - the is new timetable providing enough extra services to accomodate them?

Also, on an unrelated point, but relevelnt as we-re talking about money, will someone in Heuston powerwash the train wash thing? All it's doing now is moving the dirt around the trains not actually cleaning them. It's all very well having lots of new carraiges but when they're filthy looking it just does my head in. I've been stuck behind cleaner tractors on the road.

[Mark Gleeson]

Either way I'm paying either indirectly by tax or at the ticket office

We are talking about a crowd who took the DART from a £770,000 surplus in 1997 to making a lose close to €10 million the fundamental issue is efficiency, pouring money at the problem won't fix it unless there is major reform and by that I mean several hundred people leaving the company. Its a carrot and stick game you want the money you need to adapt and thats not something the DoT are going to touch

On the railcar front as of November driver only operation extends to Sligo and requires only one staffed signal cabin in Mullingar when in days of old they had 8, next year they won't need to staff it, same happened Mallow Tralee, Kildare Waterford and Athlone Galway, the numbers don't stack up

In real terms the subvention figure is actually huge, the capital investment money is on a different account (Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann seem to cover the bulk of new buses from day to day operations). IE got €317 million in 2004 out of the state, total fare revenue was €163 million

[PaulM]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

On the railcar front as of November driver only operation extends to Sligo and requires only one staffed signal cabin in Mullingar when in days of old they had 8, next year they won't need to staff it, same happened Mallow Tralee, Kildare Waterford and Athlone Galway, the numbers don't stack up

I sense union problems... "The public don't respect us buuud"