Price of Dart/Commuter Tickets

leposean

Someone please explain this to me.

On Friday, I got a train from Bray to Rush and Lusk, the price of the ticket was I think €4.70, maybe €4.40, round about that anyway.

I stayed there for a while then went from there to Drogheda and that ticket cost me €7.90, I couldn't get over the price of that, was disgusted to be honest at how expensive it was. I was going to post on here about that but then today coming home I decided the bigger problem was the return journey.

I was going straight from Drogheda to Killiney. Only the ticket office was closed so I had to purchase a ticket from the machine. Couldn't purchase a ticket to Killiney or even Dun Laoghaire. My only option was €13.00 to Pearse and then get off, exit the platform, purchase a ticket to Killiney for €2.70 and get back on.

Basically that is a farce, its €4.40 to travel from Balbriggan to Greystones yet its €7.90 from Lusk to Drogheda.

Also anyone travelling Bray/Killiney/Dun L to Drogheda, get off in Rush/Lusk and but your ticket to Drogheda from there n it saves you a few cent (I know noone would do this, neither would I for the sake of a few cent but it just shows how much of a face IR are)

Hungerford

leposean wrote: »

Basically that is a farce, its €4.40 to travel from Balbriggan to Greystones yet its €7.90 from Lusk to Drogheda.

Balbriggan to Greystones is within IE's Dublin commuter zone. Journeys to Drogheda are outside this zone and so are more expensive.

foggy_lad

leposean wrote: »

Someone please explain this to me.

On Friday, I got a train from Bray to Rush and Lusk, the price of the ticket was I think €4.70, maybe €4.40, round about that anyway.

I stayed there for a while then went from there to Drogheda and that ticket cost me €7.90, I couldn't get over the price of that, was disgusted to be honest at how expensive it was. I was going to post on here about that but then today coming home I decided the bigger problem was the return journey.

I was going straight from Drogheda to Killiney. Only the ticket office was closed so I had to purchase a ticket from the machine. Couldn't purchase a ticket to Killiney or even Dun Laoghaire. My only option was €13.00 to Pearse and then get off, exit the platform, purchase a ticket to Killiney for €2.70 and get back on.

Basically that is a farce, its €4.40 to travel from Balbriggan to Greystones yet its €7.90 from Lusk to Drogheda.

Also anyone travelling Bray/Killiney/Dun L to Drogheda, get off in Rush/Lusk and but your ticket to Drogheda from there n it saves you a few cent (I know noone would do this, neither would I for the sake of a few cent but it just shows how much of a face IR are)

as the ticket office was closed you were under no obligation to buy a ticket from the vending machine especially considering the machine was incapable of selling you a ticket for your journey, if this happens again you should get on the train and if asked for your ticket tell the inspector/conductor that the machine would not sell you a ticket to your destination, they will sell you the ticket. or if there is no ticket check get your ticket when you arrive in Killiney station.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1984/en/si/0109.html

4. Where the Board gives notice that a station is unattended or the booking office is closed, or where any person is instructed by an authorised person to board a train at a station without purchasing a ticket at the booking office so as not to delay the departure of the train from the station, any person not in possession of a valid ticket entitling him or her to travel may enter a vehicle at that station for the purpose of travelling but that person must obtain a ticket or other authority from an authorised person on the train as soon as practicable after entering any vehicle or from an authorised person on arrival at the station to which such person is travelling by the train.

leposean

Hungerford wrote: »

Balbriggan to Greystones is within IE's Dublin commuter zone. Journeys to Drogheda are outside this zone and so are more expensive.

That is absolutely retarded!!! Not your comment by the way, but the whole zone thing. Its way way too big a difference. Only in Ireland would a company get away with this. You can travel all over Milan all day for 3 days for €4.50, thats communters, bus, tram, subway. Retarded!!!!

loyatemu

leposean wrote: »

That is absolutely retarded!!! Not your comment by the way, but the whole zone thing. Its way way too big a difference. Only in Ireland would a company get away with this. You can travel all over Milan all day for 3 days for €4.50, thats communters, bus, tram, subway. Retarded!!!!

But Drogheda's not in Milan...;)

nor is it in Dublin - they have travel zones in every city in every country, its not just an Irish thing. The zone has to start somewhere - in Dublin it starts at Balbriggan & Greystones.

thomasj

loyatemu wrote: »

leposean wrote: »

That is absolutely retarded!!! Not your comment by the way, but the whole zone thing. Its way way too big a difference. Only in Ireland would a company get away with this. You can travel all over Milan all day for 3 days for €4.50, thats communters, bus, tram, subway. Retarded!!!!

But Drogheda's not in Milan...;)

nor is it in Dublin - they have travel zones in every city in every country, its not just an Irish thing. The zone has to start somewhere - in Dublin it starts at Balbriggan & Greystones.

I thought it started in kilcoole?

Seannew1

Also ridiculous when you consider Drogheda train station as being only 20 minutes from Balbriggan station,I think the main reason why Drogheda has ridiculously high ticket prices is because of its status as an intercity station.

ArmaniJeanss

Seannew1 wrote: »

Also ridiculous when you consider Drogheda train station as being only 20 minutes from Balbriggan station,I think the main reason why Drogheda has ridiculously high ticket prices is because of its status as an intercity station.

In fairness there has to be a cut-off point for the commuter zone somewhere, if you keep the logic of 'its only 20 minutes further' going then you eventually end up in Derry, Tralee or Westport.

ProudDUB

I think that you have answered your own post there OP. Drogheda is another city. It is 2 counties away & entirely separate from Dublin. Of course intercity rates would apply traveling to it. The only train that services Kiliney is the Dart. The Dart is a Dublin only service. You can't buy tickets for it in Cork or Galway or Limerick train stations. Why would Drogheda be any different? As the intercity trains don't service Killiney, you'd have to get off and change trains and platforms at Connolly or Pearse anyway. I don't see a problem with having to buy a Dart ticket while you are there.

Every city has travel zones. They have to begin and end somewhere. Yes, Drogheda may be 20 mins from Balbriggan, but Balbriggan is at the very northernmost tip of the county of Dublin. It's not exactly O'Connell St. Paying nearly 8 quid to get to Drogheda does seem pretty steep, but then intercity fares are always more expensive than local commuter ones.

foggy_lad

ProudDUB wrote: »

I think that you have answered your own post there OP. Drogheda is another city. It is 2 counties away & entirely separate from Dublin. Of course intercity rates would apply traveling to it. The only train that services Kiliney is the Dart. The Dart is a Dublin only service. You can't buy tickets for it in Cork or Galway or Limerick train stations. Why would Drogheda be any different? As the intercity trains don't service Killiney, you'd have to get off and change trains and platforms at Connolly or Pearse anyway. I don't see a problem with having to buy a Dart ticket while you are there.

Every city has travel zones. They have to begin and end somewhere. Yes, Drogheda may be 20 mins from Balbriggan, but Balbriggan is at the very northernmost tip of the county of Dublin. It's not exactly O'Connell St. Paying nearly 8 quid to get to Drogheda does seem pretty steep, but then intercity fares are always more expensive than local commuter ones.

You can buy a ticket to any station including any Dart from any other station on the Irish Rail network!

http://www.railusers.ie/passenger_info/ticketing.php#one_ticket

You only need one ticket

We already have integrated ticketing of a sort. If you are traveling from one train station to another you need only one ticket regardless of any bus transfer in between. Yes you can buy a single ticket from Cork to Belfast, Thurles to Sutton, Bray to Galway, from any rail station north or south to any other. The ticket will be automatically valid on both the 90/91 Bus and Luas if your journey requires a transfer between Heuston and Connolly. Cross border tickets are also possible so Waterford Larne on one ticket should be no problem.

Should a member of staff insist that for some reason it is not possible to issue a ticket for start to end, stand your ground it is possible. The I'm not allowed excuse is rubbish, the customer charter states,

We will endeavour to sell you the most appropriate ticket to meet your expressed needs. Iarnród Éireann Customer Charter, section 4

Now it is true that at times discounts are offered between specific destinations so it can be cheaper to get a ticket to Dublin City Centre and then another one onwards. Staff should know the difference and there is nothing stopping them from issuing both tickets at the same time.

If I'm in Limerick and want to go to Belfast I want the simplest cheapest option which is one ticket. We have amassed a collection of tickets issued outside Dublin to DART destinations and from DART stations to Intercity stations, it works. It is possible for the booking office in Cork (or anywhere else for that matter) to issue a single between Bray and Tara Street if someone asked.

So instead of buying and paying for 3 tickets, queue once, buy just one, avoid the queue for the Luas ticket machine and save a few euro into the bargain.

ProudDUB

I stand correct foggy, but I question how well that well set out policy actually works in practice. The OP says in their original post that they could not buy a ticket to Kiliney in Drogheda. When I was in Ennis and traveling to Howth (via Limerick City, Heuston and then Connolly) I was told to buy my Luas and Dart tickets in Dublin.

foggy_lad

ProudDUB wrote: »

I stand correct foggy, but I question how well that well set out policy actually works in practice. The OP says in their original post that they could not buy a ticket to Kiliney in Drogheda. When I was in Ennis and traveling to Howth (via Limerick City, Heuston and then Connolly) I was told to buy my Luas and Dart tickets in Dublin.

They are just being bone idle if they tell you they can't sell you a ticket for the dart portion of your journey! It is all computorised so all they need to do is look up different codes for the stations involved, as the link I included states they should not only be able to sell a single ticket from Dundalk or Cork to Killiney or Howth but if requested any booking office should be able to sell a ticket for any journey starting at another station! ie; I should be able to buy a ticket from Connolly to Dundalk in Carlow railway station and get the Bus to Dublin and then use that ticket to get the train from Connolly to Dundalk.

ProudDUB

I have it ! I have it ! I have it !

Put IKEA in charge of the Irish Rail routes & ticketing system. With their foolproof system of signs & arrows, no one will need to buy a train ticket EVER again !

Ok, joking aside, despite my crappy IR experience in Ennis, I get it that if human beings were involved in the OP's original dilemma, that may have made a difference to their original post. But in most train stations, machines have replaced human beings. That is the case in even some of the most heavily traveled Dublin commuter & DART stations. Are these machines as user friendly as the Irish Rail blurb suggests? I seriously doubt it.

It is all well and good if your journey starts in Heuston or Connolly. Odds are that human beings will be around to assist you plan and pay for your journey in the most cost effective way possible. Good luck to you if your journey starts in Raheny/Ennis/Drogheda etc etc

foggy_lad

ProudDUB wrote: »

I have it ! I have it ! I have it !

Put IKEA in charge of the Irish Rail routes & ticketing system. With their foolproof system of signs & arrows, no one will need to buy a train ticket EVER again !

Ok, joking aside, despite my crappy IR experience in Ennis, I get it that if human beings were involved in the OP's original dilemma, that may have made a difference to their original post. But in most train stations, machines have replaced human beings. That is the case in even some of the most heavily traveled Dublin commuter & DART stations. Are these machines as user friendly as the Irish Rail blurb suggests? I seriously doubt it.

It is all well and good if your journey starts in Heuston or Connolly. Odds are that human beings will be around to assist you plan and pay for your journey in the most cost effective way possible. Good luck to you if your journey starts in Raheny/Ennis/Drogheda etc etc

Indeed if the ticket office had been open the staff member would have happily sold the op the required ticket and where stations are unmanned one does not have to rely on the ticket machine as the law clearly states

4. Where the Board gives notice that a station is unattended or the booking office is closed, or where any person is instructed by an authorised person to board a train at a station without purchasing a ticket at the booking office so as not to delay the departure of the train from the station, any person not in possession of a valid ticket entitling him or her to travel may enter a vehicle at that station for the purpose of travelling but that person must obtain a ticket or other authority from an authorised person on the train as soon as practicable after entering any vehicle or from an authorised person on arrival at the station to which such person is travelling by the train.