Free transfers on Leap

D8 boy

An interesting article in the Dublin Inquirer from a lecturer in DIT:
http://www.dublininquirer.com/2016/11/16/david-nta-stop-charging-travellers-for-connecting/

I know there is a €1 rebate on transfers at the moment but it's not the same as free. Free transfers would simplify the decision making process for commuters and help reduce the perception that public transport is complex and expensive.

Currently there seems to be an unwritten rule that almost every part of Dublin must have a direct bus route to the city centre. There is a reluctance to reconfigure the bus network to act as a feeder to rail services as the current fare structure system penalises transfers, even though a reconfigured network could reduce average journey times.

Unlike the author, I don’t recall CIÉ having multi-modal tickets, with the exception of commuter tickets and bus routes deemed “DART feeder” which had through-ticketing. Some of these routes survive, though the DB and IÉ sites are silent about through-ticketing.

Can you still get on (say) a 102 in Portmarnock and ask for a ticket to Bray?

coylemj

You can't get a through ticket to cover multiple operators but you do get the Leap €1 discount transferring (e.g.) from a bus straight to the Dart.

I'd disagree with a 'free transfer' - if someone gets a 46A bus from Deansgrange to Dun Laoghaire for €2.05 (Leap fare), why should they then be allowed to travel to Malahide free on the Dart when 90% of the passengers getting off the same bus are not doing any onward travel?

There may be an argument for a flat fare on DB journeys for the sake of simplicity but a free transfer to go anywhere you please would make no sense.

n97 mini

Probably the best system I've used ticketing wise is the TriMet in Portland. $2.50 for 2.5 hours worth of use or $5 for an all day ticket. Valid on tram, streetcar and bus, no distinction between them. No need for smart or e-purse cards.

The problem with the proposed free transfers above is there is nothing stopping people buying the cheapest fare for the first leg and then using subsequent legs for far longer journeys.

dazberry

coylemj wrote: »

I'd disagree with a 'free transfer' - if someone gets a 46A bus from Deansgrange to Dun Laoghaire for €2.05 (Leap fare), why should they then be allowed to travel to Malahide free on the Dart when 90% of the passengers getting off the same bus are not doing any onward travel?
.

Free transfer does not mean free journey. For instance in a zone based system, if you did 2 zones by bus and 2 by dart, it should cost the the same as doing 4 by bus or 4 by dart. What tends to happen is that fares are weighted against shorter journeys so you end up being penalised for changing mode mid journey.

Also you would not have multi-modal daily cappings for instance, there would be a single cap and it wouldn't matter if it was all bus, all dart, bus and dart etc.

D.

Anita Blow

Free transfer was the norm in Toronto and it was amazing. You could pay for your streetcar ticket and the machine would give you a transfer ticket that could be used on the subway & vice versa.

D8 boy

To make it work I think the fare system would need to be rationalised.

The simplest option for the passenger is probably a zonal system. The city is divided into zone, typically a "single" ticket buys an hour or 90 mins travel within the zone. This is how things work in lots of cities, including Portland by the sound of it.

Another option is the Dutch model where there is a charge by distance but it doesn't matter if you change on the way. If you travel 10km, you will be charged €2.39 regardless of whether you used 1 bus, 3 trams or a combination of modes. To make this work you have to tag off when leaving a bus, same as you do in Dublin on the Luas.

If the NTA don't want to make radical changes then they could make some transfers effectively free by increasing the transfer rebate from €1 to about €1.50.

Whatever method is selected, the objective should be to charge the same price for travel between A and B regardless of the number of changes or modes used.

D8 boy

dazberry wrote: »

Also you would not have multi-modal daily cappings for instance, there would be a single cap and it wouldn't matter if it was all bus, all dart, bus and dart etc.

D.

I'd love to see the multi-modal capping abolished. Currently you can travel the 120km from Ballyknockan to Balbriggan and back for €6.90 but a 20km return journey involving a bus and DART might cost up to €10.

Chivito550

Currently if you go from LUAS to LUAS within 90 minutes there is no rebate at all, not to mention a free transfer. Surely this will have to change when Cross City is complete?

devnull

There are already discount fares on offer for those switching from one line to another, you don't simply pay two fares.

cgcsb

A simple zonal system with free transfers is really a basic need in the first word. Having three state owned systems with three utterly different fare structures is beyond idiocy, never mind the fact that you can't even change on the SAME mode, without incurring financial penalty for doing so.

Geuze

D8 boy wrote: »

Whatever method is selected, the objective should be to charge the same price for travel between A and B regardless of the number of changes or modes used.

Yes.

One journey, one fare.

The number or type of modes should not matter.