Peak travel restrictions for free travel passes

newacc2015

Why is there currently no peak time restrictions on free travel passes? I cant understand the logic of allowing FTP holders having free public transport, while half of the city is trying to go to work/college. I had to get the Bus several times in the early morning this week. The bus was completely packed when it got to my stop. Meaning about 10 paying customers had to stand for the 40 mins journey to town. While dozens of people werent let on the Bus, as it was full. Yet there were several FTP holders on the bus, who clearly could have waited until later in the day to go into Town( I overheard a few just wanting to do a bit of shopping).

Why we do the Government allow them to use it at peak times? I know FTP are to allow OAPs etc to have a better quality of life, get out of the house etc. But do they really need to do it when everyone else is trying get to work? It literally makes no sense at all.

LXFlyer

newacc2015 wrote: »

Why is there currently no peak time restrictions on free travel passes? I cant understand the logic of allowing FTP holders having free public transport, while half of the city is trying to go to work/college. I had to get the Bus several times in the early morning this week. The bus was completely packed when it got to my stop. Meaning about 10 paying customers had to stand for the 40 mins journey to town. While dozens of people werent let on the Bus, as it was full. Yet there were several FTP holders on the bus, who clearly could have waited until later in the day to go into Town( I overheard a few just wanting to do a bit of shopping).

Why we do the Government allow them to use it at peak times? I know FTP are to allow OAPs etc to have a better quality of life, get out of the house etc. But do they really need to do it when everyone else is trying get to work? It literally makes no sense at all.

During the boom, Seamus Brennan abolished the peak time restrictions.

I suspect it would be very difficult politically to reinstate them.

L1011

FF bought votes with the removal

devnull

FF are the pensioners friend, they know that pensioners go out and vote, so therefore they gave them many gifts during their time in office such as full free travel country-wide every day.

Populism and to hell with the consequences basically.

KCAccidental

Hospital appointments can be at peak times as well tbf.

braniganl

Brother has a FTP and his monthly hospital and twice weekly outpatient clinic appointmens are usually for 9/10am. If the hours were off peak there'd be no point in him having the pass.

Nichard Dixon

There is a strong case for hospital appointments being coordinated with public transport. For instance appointments for people out of town might be a bit later so that they could travel. Perhaps something could be done to validate passes for people with hospital appointments? With better electronic systems perhaps passes/tickets for specific hospital appointments could be generated for people not over 65 too.

Victor

Nichard Dixon wrote: »

There is a strong case for hospital appointments being coordinated with public transport. For instance appointments for people out of town might be a bit later so that they could travel.

Hospitals need a kick in the bottom when it comes to managing out-patient appointments. Instead of setting 09:30 appointments for 30 people, which will then take place over the next 3 hours, have 10 people show up at 09:30 and then one more every 5-10 minutes. People wouldn't be wasting their whole morning, wouldn't be exposed to hospital infections / exposing others to their infections, waiting rooms could be smaller and less pressure would be put on a whole raft of systems - reception, parking, public transport, catering, security ...

Perhaps something could be done to validate passes for people with hospital appointments? With better electronic systems perhaps passes/tickets for specific hospital appointments could be generated for people not over 65 too.

The overhead would be huge and such a system would still be a risk of fraud.

al22

Colleges/work should start 7 am or 11 am or 1.30 pm to let others FTP to do their business when it suit them better first...

Sam Russell

Victor wrote: »

Hospitals need a kick in the bottom when it comes to managing out-patient appointments. Instead of setting 09:30 appointments for 30 people, which will then take place over the next 3 hours, have 10 people show up at 09:30 and then one more every 5-10 minutes. People wouldn't be wasting their whole morning, wouldn't be exposed to hospital infections / exposing others to their infections, waiting rooms could be smaller and less pressure would be put on a whole raft of systems - reception, parking, public transport, catering, security ...

I think they do - or at least Vincents do. I had an appointment for a blood test for 8:36 am once - I kid you not. You phone for an appointment and they give you one for a particular minute.

Buses from Wexford (and possibly others) divert down from the N11 to Vincents to accommodate appointments in the morning, and back again in the evening.

It must be many years since they started being more accommodating regarding appointments.

Nermal

KCAccidental wrote: »

Hospital appointments can be at peak times as well tbf.

Holders of free travel passes aren't penniless and could on occasion stump up for the fare tbf.

flyingsnail

Nermal wrote: »

Holders of free travel passes aren't penniless and could on occasion stump up for the fare tbf.

Depends where you are coming from, what about somebody in Kerry or Clare to see specialists in Dublin? should they have to stump up 60 or 70 quid from their pennies?

flyingsnail

flyingsnail wrote: »

Depends where you are coming from, what about somebody in Kerry or Clare to see specialists in Dublin? should they have to stump up 60 or 70 quid from their pennies?

Its an emotive issue. When I lived in Chicago a few years ago the city had a proposal to give all seniors free bus and rail passes within the city confines. This suggestion was promptly shot down by a majority of people on the basis that seniors are not the most needy sector of society...So the old people in Chicago never got their free travel.

I do agree that especially the elderly should have the decency to wait to make their little trip into town until after all the people going to school/college/work have completed their journey. So even waiting until 9 am would make the difference.

But then don't get me started about how pensioners (who have all day free) decide to go to Tesco in the evening and toddle around getting in the way whilst you are dashing in after work and before crèche pickup trying to get bread or milk or something for dinner.

Plus, they amble to the post office on Saturday morning , to pay their bills or collect their pension and have a big old chat to the person working behind the counter.

And yes, my parents do this too and yes I know I will be old myself some day...Just hope I have a bit of cop on and consideration when I am.

DivingDuck

Deleted User wrote: »

But then don't get me started about how pensioners (who have all day free) decide to go to Tesco in the evening and toddle around getting in the way whilst you are dashing in after work and before crèche pickup trying to get bread or milk or something for dinner.

Many of them shop in the evening to avail of late-in-day discounts. It's not always an absence of consideration for others, but the necessity of canny budgeting.

People of all ages could do with being a bit more aware and considerate of those in a rush behind them, though.

DivingDuck

DivingDuck wrote: »

Many of them shop in the evening to avail of late-in-day discounts. It's not always an absence of consideration for others, but the necessity of canny budgeting.

People of all ages could do with being a bit more aware and considerate of those in a rush behind them, though.

Well in my local Tesco they only discount the bread etc about 8pm (sometimes even later) Never as early as 5:30/6:00 which is the time most working people are dashing in trying to pick a few things up.

Also to be honest I have never seen pensioners picking over the discounted items at that time of night.

DivingDuck

Deleted User wrote: »

Well in my local Tesco they only discount the bread etc about 8pm (sometimes even later) Never as early as 5:30/6:00 which is the time most working people are dashing in trying to pick a few things up.

Also to be honest I have never seen pensioners picking over the discounted items at that time of night.

Your local and its customers seem to be vastly different from mine, in that case.

Anyway, we're dragging the thread off-topic, so I'll leave it there.

Sam Russell

Deleted User wrote: »

Its an emotive issue. When I lived in Chicago a few years ago the city had a proposal to give all seniors free bus and rail passes within the city confines. This suggestion was promptly shot down by a majority of people on the basis that seniors are not the most needy sector of society...So the old people in Chicago never got their free travel.

I do agree that especially the elderly should have the decency to wait to make their little trip into town until after all the people going to school/college/work have completed their journey. So even waiting until 9 am would make the difference.

But then don't get me started about how pensioners (who have all day free) decide to go to Tesco in the evening and toddle around getting in the way whilst you are dashing in after work and before crèche pickup trying to get bread or milk or something for dinner.

Plus, they amble to the post office on Saturday morning , to pay their bills or collect their pension and have a big old chat to the person working behind the counter.

And yes, my parents do this too and yes I know I will be old myself some day...Just hope I have a bit of cop on and consideration when I am.

What a pity the old people get in your way!

The reason to give elderly people free travel is:

1: to increase their socialising to ward off various health problems like infirmity, depression, altzeimers, etc.

2: Those over seventy have to have a health screening in order to get a driving licence every three years while those over eighty have an annual one. This means that they can and do lose their driving licence and must rely on PT.

3: It actually fills up some services that would otherwise be unused or under used.

However, giving free travel to younger people is harder to justify, unless they are disabled in some way. Giving it to spouses and carers is also hard to justify.

Making the passes only valid after, say, 9 am might be a solution as tht would free up the morning congested period. Special passes might be needed for those disabled going to school or work.

It does need overhauling as it has got ridiculous at the moment but do not expect any action this side of the election.

titan18

Sam Russell wrote: »

I think they do - or at least Vincents do. I had an appointment for a blood test for 8:36 am once - I kid you not. You phone for an appointment and they give you one for a particular minute.

Buses from Wexford (and possibly others) divert down from the N11 to Vincents to accommodate appointments in the morning, and back again in the evening.

It must be many years since they started being more accommodating regarding appointments.

CUH in Cork don't at least. Have had a few 9.00 appointments where's there only 1 doctor on and 10 people waiting

end of the road

newacc2015 wrote: »

Why is there currently no peak time restrictions on free travel passes? I cant understand the logic of allowing FTP holders having free public transport, while half of the city is trying to go to work/college. I had to get the Bus several times in the early morning this week. The bus was completely packed when it got to my stop. Meaning about 10 paying customers had to stand for the 40 mins journey to town. While dozens of people werent let on the Bus, as it was full. Yet there were several FTP holders on the bus, who clearly could have waited until later in the day to go into Town( I overheard a few just wanting to do a bit of shopping).

Why we do the Government allow them to use it at peak times? I know FTP are to allow OAPs etc to have a better quality of life, get out of the house etc. But do they really need to do it when everyone else is trying get to work? It literally makes no sense at all.

how do you know they could have waited later in the day. why shouldn't they be allowed to use it just because you can't get a seat? what if they were stopped from using it and you still couldn't get a seat what then? it makes perfect sense to allow them to use it as more users = more justification for the service.

Nermal wrote: »

Holders of free travel passes aren't penniless and could on occasion stump up for the fare tbf.

how do you know they aren't pennyless? are you an accountant for all these people so know exactly what they all get or have to spend?

Deleted User wrote: »

I do agree that especially the elderly should have the decency to wait to make their little trip into town until after all the people going to school/college/work have completed their journey. So even waiting until 9 am would make the difference.

But then don't get me started about how pensioners (who have all day free) decide to go to Tesco in the evening and toddle around getting in the way whilst you are dashing in after work and before crèche pickup trying to get bread or milk or something for dinner.

Plus, they amble to the post office on Saturday morning , to pay their bills or collect their pension and have a big old chat to the person working behind the counter.

And yes, my parents do this too and yes I know I will be old myself some day...Just hope I have a bit of cop on and consideration when I am.

cop on and consideration for what. none of what you mentioned is an issue. if someone wants to go to the shop at 8am then why are they and should they wait just to suit you?

foggy_lad

al22 wrote: »

Colleges/work should start 7 am or 11 am or 1.30 pm to let others FTP to do their business when it suit them better first...

Many people who work and go to college are entitled to free travel.

Also there are many many people who fraudulently use a relatives pass to travel to/from work and the same type of people also use their relatives parking card to avail of free all day parking at airports and in the city centre which can also guarantee them a free disabled space near their work.

More checks are needed on buses and trains and also checks on vehicles parked displaying the blue parking pass need to be checked to ensure that the disabled person is driving or being carried in the vehicle.

end of the road

end of the road wrote: »

how do you know they could have waited later in the day. why shouldn't they be allowed to use it just because you can't get a seat? what if they were stopped from using it and you still couldn't get a seat what then? it makes perfect sense to allow them to use it as more users = more justification for the service.


how do you know they aren't pennyless? are you an accountant for all these people so know exactly what they all get or have to spend?


cop on and consideration for what. none of what you mentioned is an issue. if someone wants to go to the shop at 8am then why are they and should they wait just to suit you?

emmmm maybe because they have all flippin day to get to the shop...rather than cramming it up at peak times when people who are working (and paying for a lot of their freebies) need to shop

But you are obviously one of the many who think the elderly are the sacred cow, cannot be criticized no matter what they do. OR maybe you don't need to get to work, crèche pickup etc in a busy city and encounter these problems.

end of the road

Deleted User wrote: »

emmmm maybe because they have all flippin day to get to the shop...rather than cramming it up at peak times when people who are working (and paying for a lot of their freebies) need to shop

But you are obviously one of the many who think the elderly are the sacred cow, cannot be criticized no matter what they do. OR maybe you don't need to get to work, crèche pickup etc in a busy city and encounter these problems.

maybe they don't have all day to get to the shop. what "problems" are you encountering? people going to the same places and using the same services? thats what happens. again you didn't answer my question. what if the elderly went at a different time and you were still stuck behind someone or couldn't get a seat what then?
anyone can be criticised for genuine things, however whining because other people use the same services or go to the same places at the same time is not "criticism" it doesn't make the elderly a sacred cow either.

triple nipple

Off topic but why ohhh why do people get on trams with prams during rush hour peak times ? Like come on seriously its so squashed as it is and then you bring on a giant fudge off pram! Wtf !!!!

Grandeeod

end of the road wrote: »

maybe they don't have all day to get to the shop. what "problems" are you encountering? people going to the same places and using the same services? thats what happens. again you didn't answer my question. what if the elderly went at a different time and you were still stuck behind someone or couldn't get a seat what then?
anyone can be criticised for genuine things, however whining because other people use the same services or go to the same places at the same time is not "criticism" it doesn't make the elderly a sacred cow either.

Oh come on! Are you seriously saying that extending free travel into peak hours doesn't affect the overall quality of PT??? It does and those using it for work should come first. I don't know how old you are, but I remember when an FTP or even a Child all day bus and rail ticket wasn't permitted during peak hours.

You are merely feeding into the populace nonsense that Seamus Brennan created.

homerjay2005

what makes you entitled to a free travel pass by the way?

Grandeeod

homerjay2005 wrote: »

what makes you entitled to a free travel pass by the way?

OAPs and those in receipt of disability benefit.

From welfare.ie

You may be entitled to free travel if you are permanently living in the State and:

You are aged 66 or over
You are getting Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Carer's Allowance or an Invalidity Pension from the Department of Social Protection.
You have been getting Incapacity Supplement or Workmen's Compensation with Disablement Pension for at least 12 months
You are blind or visually impaired and meet the medical conditions for Blind Pension
You are a specified carer for a person getting Constant Attendance Allowance or Prescribed Relatives Allowance from the Department
You are getting a social security invalidity payment, or similar payment, from another EU member state or from a country with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement for at least 12 months
You are a widow or widower or a surviving civil partner aged 60 or over whose late spouse/civil partner held a free travel pass and who is getting one of the following payments: State Pension (Transition), Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Partner's (Contributory) Pension, Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Partner's (Non-Contributory) Pension, One-Parent Family Payment, Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Partner's Pension under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme or a similar social security pension/benefit from an EU member state or a country with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement, or an ordinary Garda widow's pension.

Carawaystick

triple nipple wrote: »

Off topic but why ohhh why do people get on trams with prams during rush hour peak times ? Like come on seriously its so squashed as it is and then you bring on a giant fudge off pram! Wtf !!!!

Generally, those using prams can't walk...

AlekSmart

homerjay2005 wrote: »

What makes you entitled to a free travel pass by the way?

I don't know WHAT,but there's 812,892 who Have one,so it's obviously spreading rapidly...

http://www.welfare.ie/en/downloads/Statistical-Information-on-Social-Welfare-Services-2014.pdf

Gatling

AlekSmart wrote: »

I don't know WHAT,but there's 812,892 who Have one,so it's obviously spreading rapidly..

There was me thinking they were reigning them in

Vic_08

Gatling wrote: »

There was me thinking they were reigning them in

They are, sort of. The unknown number of copied, stolen, forged and borrowed card passes in addition to the 812,892 will be finally rendered invalid in the next year or so.

Not to worry, there are still opportunities to cheat the system* under the new regime.


*Outside the general scam of getting put on disability for some relatively minor problem when you are still perfectly able to do nixers, buy and sell stuff online, sit on buses and trains for hours on end and any number of other activities that could be applied to the job market.

Gatling

Vic_08 wrote: »

They are, sort of. The unknown number of copied, stolen, forged and borrowed card passes in addition to the 812,892 will be finally rendered invalid in the next year or so.

Not to worry, there are still opportunities to cheat the system* under the new regime.


*Outside the general scam of getting put on disability for some relatively minor problem .

Actually it's not that easy to get disability it takes on average 12 months + to get a decision

foggy_lad

Vic_08 wrote: »

They are, sort of. The unknown number of copied, stolen, forged and borrowed card passes in addition to the 812,892 will be finally rendered invalid in the next year or so.

Not to worry, there are still opportunities to cheat the system* under the new regime.


*Outside the general scam of getting put on disability for some relatively minor problem when you are still perfectly able to do nixers, buy and sell stuff online, sit on buses and trains for hours on end and any number of other activities that could be applied to the job market.

If you have any evidence or even just suspect people are abusing the system you should report them to the department and let them be investigated.

If you feel it is too easy to "get on disability" maybe you should be taking that up with your elected representatives?

joeysoap

Hopefully in the next year I will be eligible for FT. I hope to use it too. But I do agree, where possible FT should only apply after 9am and not between 5pm and 6pm. This might always be possible of course, not everybody lives in Dublin, and rural services might not be so frequent.(Dublin holders of FT are the big winners in the scheme, Dart, Luas, Dublin Bus, Bus Eireann and Iarnrod Eireann, some rural communities might only have one or two services a day). Abuse of the system is widespread I believe so better controls would be welcome.

km991148

class - yep give people in need of a benefit a benefit but restrict it to make them know that they are seen as 2nd class citizens.


How about worrying about the real problem of their not being enough capacity on our public transport?

Victor

km991148 wrote: »

class - yep give people in need of a benefit a benefit but restrict it to make them know that they are seen as 2nd class citizens.

If you worry about people being treated as second-class citizens, how about increasing pensions, etc, to a meaningful level? Governments have used free-travel as a means of subsidising the welfare budget by abusing the transport budget.

How about worrying about the real problem of their not being enough capacity on our public transport?

There is plenty of capacity in the system, but off-peak only.

Sam Russell

If individuals are worried about being seen as second class citizens because they use a FTP, then all they have to do is buy a ticket instead.

km991148

Victor wrote: »

If you worry about people being treated as second-class citizens, how about increasing pensions, etc, to a meaningful level? Governments have used free-travel as a means of subsidising the welfare budget by abusing the transport budget.

Right, but because the gov screwed up that and the people have to use the passes, then it means it ok to restrict them?

If we do it the other way and give more cash rather than a ftp (which would prob be better) would you favour a system of still not allowing all these people not actively using the bus for going to work to wait until after 930?

Imagine you were doing shift work and the bus is busy then and you need to sit further up the back of the bus because a FTP user is on the bus at 3pm when you are going to work? I suppose we will start a thread about FTP users sitting at the front of the bus - "this is terrible they should be made to stand"?
Maybe instead of a FTP we could mark them in some other way? Some special clothes or they can only travel in a special trailer that the bus tows?

The idea is silly. We need more capacity at peak times, regardless of users.

Sam Russell wrote: »

If individuals are worried about being seen as second class citizens because they use a FTP, then all they have to do is buy a ticket instead.

yep - but the majority of FTP users need the travel pass as they have fu( all cash - easy to say just buy a ticket when you have plenty of money to 'just buy a ticket'. If you are talking about the scammers on the system, then that should be addressed, but I am willing to bet there are not as many as you may think. Besides, see above - how would that fit in this system of stopping people using the bus who are not using it for work (as was the original point of the thread)

Victor wrote: »

There is plenty of capacity in the system, but off-peak only.

Good point, but the thread is specifically about peak travel restrictions.. There is not enough capacity at peak times, so that should be addressed rather than trying to come up with some sort of 2 tier system based on social status.

braniganl

Sam Russell wrote: »

If individuals are worried about being seen as second class citizens because they use a FTP, then all they have to do is buy a ticket instead.

Tosser.

The overseers of the FTP scheme (overpaid,underskilled civil servants) could get their act together and account for every pass issued, to make sure they are genuinely needed. Then there would be no need to restrict FT in the first place, and to shame those who genuinely need to avail of it.

monument

triple nipple wrote: »

Off topic but why ohhh why do people get on trams with prams during rush hour peak times ? Like come on seriously its so squashed as it is and then you bring on a giant fudge off pram! Wtf !!!!

Why do you get on a tram a peak times? Could you not walk, drive or get a taxi?

Victor

km991148 wrote: »

We need more capacity at peak times, regardless of users.

Peak capacity is the most expensive capacity to provide, as it means buying buses and employing drivers that aren't used at other times.

Increasing peak capacity is poor value for money. Shifting demand to off-peak is much more efficient, e.g. by providing discounted daily / season tickets if you travel after 09:30.

km991148

Victor wrote: »

Peak capacity is the most expensive capacity to provide, as it means buying buses and employing drivers that aren't used at other times.

Increasing peak capacity is poor value for money. Shifting demand to off-peak is much more efficient, e.g. by providing discounted daily / season tickets if you travel after 09:30.

Fair enough - but I don't think its right to do this via the FTP scheme - people need to do stuff at peak times - regardless.

Giving more cash to FTP users and discounting off peak tickets would seem a better way to do it.

Hilly Bill

monument wrote: »

Why do you get on a tram a peak times? Could you not walk, drive or get a taxi?

Maybe they don't have a big pram with them. One individual takes up less space than a big pram. Why does anyone use the luas? Could they not just walk, drive or get a taxi instead?

Carawaystick

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Maybe they don't have a big pram with them. One individual takes up less space than a big pram. Why does anyone use the luas? Could they not just walk, drive or get a taxi instead?

Generally, the people in the pram can't walk, let alone drive....

Hilly Bill

Carawaystick wrote: »

Generally, the people in the pram can't walk, let alone drive....

But the person trying to ram it onto the luas can.

monument

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Maybe they don't have a big pram with them. One individual takes up less space than a big pram.

Maybe they don't but maybe they have a greater need to get on the tram than half of the people on the tram!

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Why does anyone use the luas? Could they not just walk, drive or get a taxi instead?

Great question for people giving out about other people using trams at peak time.... I'm not one of those people.

Victor

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Maybe they don't have a big pram with them. One individual takes up less space than a big pram. Why does anyone use the luas? Could they not just walk, drive or get a taxi instead?

Why do people with 80% empty cars block the bus lane when I'm going to work?

newacc2015

km991148 wrote: »

Fair enough - but I don't think its right to do this via the FTP scheme - people need to do stuff at peak times - regardless.

Giving more cash to FTP users and discounting off peak tickets would seem a better way to do it.

But do OAPs really need to get a bus to Tesco at 8am to "just get out of the house", when pretty much all the suburbs of Dublin are trying to get into work? If there is no financial cost to FTP travelling at peak times, why wouldnt they not travel at peak times? A fair amount of OAPs on my bus in morning are just going on the bus at that time, as there is no cost to do it. If they really need to go do something at peak times, they can pay a reduced fare

What go is off peak tickets when everyone is trying to get to work for their 9-5 shift? Most people using buses in the morning that are paying are going to college or work. Even if off peak travel was free, they still wouldnt use it.

end of the road

newacc2015 wrote: »

But do OAPs really need to get a bus to Tesco at 8am to "just get out of the house"

how do you know that is the reason they are traveling?

newacc2015 wrote: »

A fair amount of OAPs on my bus in morning are just going on the bus at that time

and how exactly would you know that?

newacc2015 wrote: »

If they really need to go do something at peak times, they can pay a reduced fare

If they really need to go do something at peak times as they are entitled to do as public transport is for all, they can use their passes

Mario95

end of the road wrote: »

how do you know they could have waited later in the day. why shouldn't they be allowed to use it just because you can't get a seat? what if they were stopped from using it and you still couldn't get a seat what then? it makes perfect sense to allow them to use it as more users = more justification for the service.


how do you know they aren't pennyless? are you an accountant for all these people so know exactly what they all get or have to spend?


cop on and consideration for what. none of what you mentioned is an issue. if someone wants to go to the shop at 8am then why are they and should they wait just to suit you?

I cried after reading that. I cried again after seeing 3 thanks to that post. I really hope I am too tired not to see that this is a troll. And these HOW DO YOU KNOW lines, just wow...
Anyway, I am planning to go from Connolly to Heuston this Friday evening. Is there much people on the red line that time?
This is probably not the right place for this, sorry

end of the road

Mario95 wrote: »

I cried after reading that. I cried again after seeing 3 thanks to that post.

i'm sorry to hear that you cried over legitimate points, and that people saw that i was right. nothing i can do about that i'm afraid.

Mario95 wrote: »

I really hope I am too tired not to see that this is a troll.

your not tired and i'm no troll thank you very much

Mario95 wrote: »

these HOW DO YOU KNOW lines, just wow...

legitimate questions, thats what the how do you know lines are.

Mario95 wrote: »

Anyway, I am planning to go from Connolly to Heuston this Friday evening. Is there much people on the red line at 5?

yes i would imagine there would be a lot of people on the luas at that time.

Sam Russell

I think we should not lose sight of the fact that the FTP is not a right but a privilege, and was originally restricted to just off peak periods. Pensions are rights.

I think that it would be reasonable to reimpose the morning restriction - say after 9am, and perhaps only in urban areas and intercity trains.

There is obviously a high level of abuse and fraud, and many people have FTP granted that should not have been given them by normal logic. Maybe it is time to rethink who should get them and why, and who should not.

Remember, elderly people are restricted severely on driving licences so they do not have a choice about driving.