How do Dublin bus justify a 30 cent increase on a fare

colly10

Normally pay 1.85 in the morning, that's just gone to 2.15. I though maybe the driver was confused at it will be 1.90 tomorrow but just checked the website and he was correct.
How can you justify 60 cent a day for 2 journeys in a recession?

Edit: I just see that it's 1.95 if I use their new leap card, so even if I go with their new initiate it still costs more

Kensington

Because who else are you going to go to for a bus?

Crazy Horse 6

Because this is Ireland and people will just pay.

Cookie_Monster

they can justify it by saying they asked for nearly twice that and were only allowed raise it by that much

thebullkf

because they are a loss making company on routes no one else would contemplate using... so Kudos to them for that, sure hasn't everthing gone up... except house prices..!!

Chuck Stone

It's monopolistic state socialism.

They don't have to justify shit.

ScouseMouse

They are not justifying it.

The subsidies for Dublin Bus and being chopped and loss making routes are pulling them down.

They tried cutting and reducing routes with limited success so now the prices are going up. They wanted a lot more than 30c but they have no control over this. They were allowed a 30c increase.

They are now taking their instructions from the NTA.

The new leap card you mention is cheaper but its a carrot and stick approach, prices went up but you can minimise the increase by getting a leap card.

Jesus Wept

They cut bus routes very successfully where I am, maybe I can pay the old prices.

Fuinseog

colly10 wrote: »

Normally pay 1.85 in the morning, that's just gone to 2.15. I though maybe the driver was confused at it will be 1.90 tomorrow but just checked the website and he was correct.
How can you justify 60 cent a day for 2 journeys in a recession?

Edit: I just see that it's 1.95 if I use their new leap card, so even if I go with their new initiate it still costs more

Dublin Bus is Gods way of telling you you should walk, cycle or drive.
the fare has gone up, but the service is till as inefficient as ever.

ScouseMouse

Where I am there is a bus stop. I regularly see buses whizz past empty and not stopping as there is no one at the bus stop.

They tried to cut the frequency here and there was a public meeting and petitions, the works.

Still half the buses leave empty.

You cannot have it both ways - USE EM OR LOSE EM.

30Min

I hate Dublin Bus. I avoid using it as much as possible.

coffee_cake

petrol's gone up too

LXFlyer

colly10 wrote: »

Normally pay 1.85 in the morning, that's just gone to 2.15. I though maybe the driver was confused at it will be 1.90 tomorrow but just checked the website and he was correct.
How can you justify 60 cent a day for 2 journeys in a recession?

Edit: I just see that it's 1.95 if I use their new leap card, so even if I go with their new initiate it still costs more

Or you can get a Travel 90 10 Journey ticket for EUR 19 at any Dublin Bus ticket agent and pay EUR 1.90 per journey (including transfers started within 90 minutes of you boarding your first bus).

The large increase in cash fares is mainly to force people out of paying with cash and to use the LEAP card. The same thing happened when Oyster was introduced in London.

People are going to have to become smarter in their payment methods for using public transport.

Cookie_Monster

the cost of cycling hasn't

Run_to_da_hills

bluewolf wrote: »

petrol's gone up too

Busses use Diesel.

D'Peoples Voice

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Busses use Diesel.

and some of them on biodiesel

Dublin Bus is due to begin using biofuels in some of its vehicles today in an effort to reduce its dependence on imported oil.

The company is planning to use a percentage of environmentally-friendly biodiesel in its tour bus fleet.

LXFlyer

D'Peoples Voice wrote: »

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Busses use Diesel.

and some of them on biodiesel

Dublin Bus is due to begin using biofuels in some of its vehicles today in an effort to reduce its dependence on imported oil.

The company is planning to use a percentage of environmentally-friendly biodiesel in its tour bus fleet.

The government cancelled the fuel rebate on diesel last year and the impact is now hitting DB as the currency hedges they had in place had expired. This is a huge impact on costs.

n97 mini

lxflyer wrote: »

The large increase in cash fares is mainly to force people out of paying with cash and to use the LEAP card.

The increases are a money making exercise. A significant number of users will still use cash, and DB know it.

AlekSmart

colly10 wrote: »

Normally pay 1.85 in the morning, that's just gone to 2.15. I though maybe the driver was confused at it will be 1.90 tomorrow but just checked the website and he was correct.
How can you justify 60 cent a day for 2 journeys in a recession?

Edit: I just see that it's 1.95 if I use their new leap card, so even if I go with their new initiate it still costs more

Actually Colly,it went up on Sunday.....Most of my cash-paying regulars have hi-tailed it off to a shop after their initial brush with the new fares.

This is now the first time that passengers have been asked to prioritize their Payment options and it's a new experience for them,however,as Collie10's experience shows..there's nothing like being asked to pay extra for something that the next person gets cheaper to motivate you !!

One positive aspect of it all will be the sudden realization that it's possible to travel VERY cheaply indeed on Dublin Bus IF you do your sums...

For example Collie10 could feasibly make those two daily journeys for c. €1.62 each if a 30 Day Rambler was used,and that's asuming ONLY two journeys per day....Now thats bargain basement

Londoners,for example also had a fare rise for 2012 with the flat cash-fare now hitting stg£2.30 (€2.74) and the Oyster fare £1.30 (€1.55) per journey.

Those who don't,or won't,do the small bit of pre-planning now necessary will just have to be content with paying a premium for that.

AngryLips

It still amazes me the number of people who pay cash fares above the per-journey cost of a Travel90 ticket the whole time this ticket option has been available...

AlekSmart

n97 mini wrote: »

The increases are a money making exercise. A significant number of users will still use cash, and DB know it.

Of course it's a money making exercise n97 mini,what else can it be...unless the Driver is going to dish out cash to the passengers ?

With budgeted fuel costs alone increasing by 20% in 2012 and no sign of a Middle Eastern benefactor to provide it free of charge,then options are limited.

However,based upon my experiences this morning,that "significant" number of cash users will dwindle very rapidly indeed.

My barometer tends to be the silent ordinary everyday punter who never speaks but just puts the money in and walks on.....these people today were using Leap...That is a HUGE shift for a certain type of person,but surprisingly to me,they are doing just that.

Amazing as it may seem to many,the vast majority of my daily passengers have no issues with their service,generally they get bthe same bus each day to and from work or to and from the shops etc....day in,day out they bid me good day and pass on by....they rarely complain,but if they do I do my best to sort their woe's on the spot.

Often they will leave a choccy bar or sweet and usually give a smile or a nod as they leave.....perhaps they all rush home to the PC and suddenly transmogrify into drooling Busdriver hating phsychopaths,but I doubt it....nope..by and large they just get on with life and continue being the backbone of the country as they just keep on keepin on...well done you people sez I

Baron de Robeck

AngryLips wrote: »

It still amazes me the number of people who pay cash fares above the per-journey cost of a Travel90 ticket the whole time this ticket option has been available...

I put this down to general laziness. Its the same as those who part with a fiver to get a takeaway sandwich at lunchtime instead of making one up at home which would cost less than a quid!

n97 mini

AlekSmart wrote: »

Of course it's a money making exercise n97 mini,what else can it be...unless the Driver is going to dish out cash to the passengers ?

With budgeted fuel costs alone increasing by 20% in 2012 and no sign of a Middle Eastern benefactor to provide it free of charge,then options are limited.

It's more to do with the reduction in subvention from the taxpayer.

I have no problem with the service user paying more towards the cost of providing the service, provided the service is run as efficiently as possible and no cost reductions can be gained from further efficiencies.

Is DB run as efficiently as is humanly possible?

Dodge

Baron de Robeck wrote: »

I put this down to general laziness. Its the same as those who part with a fiver to get a takeaway sandwich at lunchtime instead of making one up at home which would cost less than a quid!

That a bit of a rubbish analogy. You're paying extra for convenience, freshness etc etc. Its a different product

Going by your analogy, you'd suggest people walked rather than getting the bus

As it is, I think the leap card will offer the kind of flexibility/cost awarenss that most people need, something that buying a pack of ten travel 90s didn't always do.

frag420

Out of pure curiousity and I am not condoning such asction but what is there to stop me saying 1.65 or similar for a 2.30 journey? I have never ever seen an inspector get on the bus and check the reciepts or ask where anyone boarded the bus?

My usual morning treck has gone up from 2.30 to 2.65. If tomorrow morning I say 1.90 or 2.15 would there be anyone there to challenge me? I know it would be a dick-ish thing to do but again people are strapped for cash in a recession so it would not surprise me if people do this.

Just wondering.....

frAg

LXFlyer

n97 mini wrote: »

The increases are a money making exercise. A significant number of users will still use cash, and DB know it.

Well if they do, frankly it is their own luck out. There are two viable cheaper alternatives available (LEAP and Travel 90), and if the greater public do not avail of them it's their luck out.

Sometimes you have to force people into changing their habits. When Oyster was launched the differential in fares was similarly great if not larger. Now no one pays by cash in London. In fact you cannot board a bus in London city centre and pay cash. You have to have a ticket beforehand.

As Alek says fuel costs have gone up and the Government policy is that the subsidy must go down, therefore shoving the burden onto the customer. Maybe you can magic the cash out of thin air?

I note that some of the private operators are also increasing fares.

AlekSmart

n97 mini wrote: »

It's more to do with the reduction in subvention from the taxpayer.

I have no problem with the service user paying more towards the cost of providing the service, provided the service is run as efficiently as possible and no cost reductions can be gained from further efficiencies.

Is DB run as efficiently as is humanly possible?

To attemptb the last bit first,I would suggest the answer is a qualified Yes.

But that's only my own biased opinion which I would'nt expect you to accept.

However,former Transport Minister Noel Dempsey had reservations on the exact same issue,and having this report commissioned in order to prove the extent of his suspicions...

http://www.transport.ie/upload/general/11393-0.pdf

Surprisingly enough,Mr Dempsey got far less evidence of such gross inefficiencies than he had,so publicly,expected.

As it stands Dublin has one of the lowest general Public Transport subsidy levels in developed Europe,so the Farebox has to be raided to a higher degree...However with the creeping introduction of local taxation and the return of domestic rates perhaps we will then be able to get the Public Transport system we can afford ?

LXFlyer

frag420 wrote: »

Out of pure curiousity and I am not condoning such asction but what is there to stop me saying 1.65 or similar for a 2.30 journey? I have never ever seen an inspector get on the bus and check the reciepts or ask where anyone boarded the bus?

My usual morning treck has gone up from 2.30 to 2.65. If tomorrow morning I say 1.90 or 2.15 would there be anyone there to challenge me? I know it would be a dick-ish thing to do but again people are strapped for cash in a recession so it would not surprise me if people do this.

Just wondering.....

frAg

You are taking a risk - I had two ticket checks during December - they are out there.

Baron de Robeck

Dodge wrote: »

That a bit of a rubbish analogy. You're paying extra for convenience, freshness etc etc. Its a different product

Going by your analogy, you'd suggest people walked rather than getting the bus

As it is, I think the leap card will offer the kind of flexibility/cost awarenss that most people need, something that buying a pack of ten travel 90s didn't always do.

I'm not getting into a debate about sandwiches but if people want to spend part of their lunch break dashing around for an overpriced sandwich then I have no objection!

As for walking rather than getting the bus you are missing my point, all it takes is a little effort to equip ones self with the appropriate commuter ticket or Leap card. Those who can't be bothered to put in a little effort to do this is in my books down to general laziness, they would rather pay more than actually get themselves organised.

saa

Money making exercise? well yeah they would be taking more money in but I can't imagine they're in profit, I would gladly have all bus services be every 30 minutes except for routes that actually fill buses.

I take the bus everywhere but every 15 minutes or every 30 doesnt make too much of a difference compared to paying more.

mikemac1

frag420 wrote: »

Out of pure curiousity and I am not condoning such asction but what is there to stop me saying 1.65 or similar for a 2.30 journey? I have never ever seen an inspector get on the bus and check the reciepts or ask where anyone boarded the bus?

My usual morning treck has gone up from 2.30 to 2.65. If tomorrow morning I say 1.90 or 2.15 would there be anyone there to challenge me? I know it would be a dick-ish thing to do but again people are strapped for cash in a recession so it would not surprise me if people do this.

Just wondering.....

frAg

I had an annual ticket for three years and never once met an inspector.
The 78A, where inspectors feared to tread

Though some evenings I'd sit and people watch and there were more people with passes then cash/pre-pay.
And when I say pass it's often a battered piece of cardboard. So not a lot of cash fares to inspect realy

Drivers watch though, I took the 77 once, and when stopped the driver got me to pay the extra if I wanted to continue. Wasn't scamming, I just didn't work out the stages and wasn't familiar with the area