Leap Card

Oleander

I will be starting a new job in October and it is based near the Bandon Road Roundabout. I will be travelling from Douglas. There are a number of different buses I can get and I may get a lift into town occasionally so would only then need to get one bus. Coming home it will be a walk and maybe one or two buses. I was thinking of getting a Leap card, it probably would be cheaper and having to carry coins is a pain. If I invest in a monthly card €84, is it only valid for one month or can I use it until I run out of credit?

Outkast_IRE

Oleander wrote: »

I will be starting a new job in October and it is based near the Bandon Road Roundabout. I will be travelling from Douglas. There are a number of different buses I can get and I may get a lift into town occasionally so would only then need to get one bus. Coming home it will be a walk and maybe one or two buses. I was thinking of getting a Leap card, it probably would be cheaper and having to carry coins is a pain. If I invest in a monthly card €84, is it only valid for one month or can I use it until I run out of credit?

Its valid for one month from the date you load it onto the card as far as i know

Sephiroth_dude

Oleander wrote: »

I will be starting a new job in October and it is based near the Bandon Road Roundabout. I will be travelling from Douglas. There are a number of different buses I can get and I may get a lift into town occasionally so would only then need to get one bus. Coming home it will be a walk and maybe one or two buses. I was thinking of getting a Leap card, it probably would be cheaper and having to carry coins is a pain. If I invest in a monthly card €84, is it only valid for one month or can I use it until I run out of credit?

If your phone has nfc you can top it up that way using the app and there is no time limit with it.

TheChizler

Definitely get a Leap Card, it's over 20% cheaper to use the bus that way.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it's €1.69 for a single fare using travel credit on the Leap Card. The monthly ticket is €84. So 50 journeys is the break-even point for the ticket.

Roughly, if you think you'll use the bus more than 5 times in 2 days (or 50 times a 20 work day month) it's worth getting a monthly ticket on your card. Otherwise just top it up with travel credit.

igCorcaigh

You can do it both ways, whichever is cheaper. I just top up mine as needed, and the credit does not expire.

Alternatively, you can purchase a time block such as a day, week, month, and with that you can use as many buses as you want within that time period.

Hope that's clear!

igCorcaigh

TheChizler wrote: »

Definitely get a Leap Card, it's over 20% cheaper to use the bus that way.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it's €1.69 for a single fare using travel credit on the Leap Card. The monthly ticket is €84. So 50 journeys is the break-even point for the ticket.

Roughly, if you think you'll use the bus more than 5 times in 2 days (or 50 times a 20 work day month) it's worth getting a monthly ticket on your card. Otherwise just top it up with travel credit.

€1.61 for standard fare.

igCorcaigh

And register your card online.

In case you lose it, log on to your account and notify that you lost your card. They will immediately cancel the card, issue a new one in the post (takes only a couple of days) and transfer your existing credit to your new card. All for free, which is sound of them.

Miaireland

Get a leap card . It really makes things so much easier as well as cheaper

Sephiroth_dude

From 2pm daily Until September 15th fares are 1 euro.

namloc1980

If your employer is part of the TaxSaver scheme it's even cheaper again to buy monthly/annual tickets.

Oleander

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

If your phone has nfc you can top it up that way using the app and there is no time limit with it.

No, my phone doesn't have that. My brother in law looked at it, he said it's a great way to manage the leap card.

Oleander

Thank you everyone for your information. I have a leap card account as I got a leap card for Dublin one time so I might just get a card, put some credit on it and see how I go, before I spend €84 for a monthly one.

Sephiroth_dude

Oleander wrote: »

No, my phone doesn't have that. My brother in law looked at it, he said it's a great way to manage the leap card.

Makes everything easier.

igCorcaigh

My phone nfc is very slow to connect.
Very handy though.

Karmella

Oleander wrote: »

Thank you everyone for your information. I have a leap card account as I got a leap card for Dublin one time so I might just get a card, put some credit on it and see how I go, before I spend €84 for a monthly one.

Do you still have that card you got in Dublin? I’m pretty sure you can use that if you do.
They are very handy, I don’t even use the bus that often but at 1.61 vs 2.30 it’s a great saving. And as someone else mentioned if you register the card you can maintain your credit even if you lose it. I put 10 Euro on mine one day and lost it a few hours later. Declared it lost/stolen online and they sent out a replacement within a couple days with all the credit transferred on it.

thejuggler

Can you use leap card on non city buses eg route 233 from the bus station to Ballincollig which is more convenient for me than the 220 from grand parade?

Sephiroth_dude

thejuggler wrote: »

Can you use leap card on non city buses eg route 233 from the bus station to Ballincollig which is more convenient for me than the 220 from grand parade?

Yes.

Worztron

Hi. Does the credit on a leap card expire if not used in a long time? A relative got one in Easons last year and no longer needs it so handed it to me. It's currently got zero € on it. If I go into Easons or some other place that does it and top up by lets say €20 - will that last indefinitely until spent?

Nigel Fairservice

Worztron wrote: »

Hi. Does the credit on a leap card expire if not used in a long time? A relative got one in Easons last year and no longer needs it so handed it to me. It's currently got zero € on it. If I go into Easons or some other place that does it and top up by lets say €20 - will that last indefinitely until spent?

You can just top it up yourself with an android phone if the phone has NFC. If you don't think you'll use the card that often you can just put €5/€10 on it at a time.

TheChizler

Only child or student leap cards expire, credit doesn't in general.

mean gene

Can 2 people walk on the bus and pay with the 1 leap card

the beer revolu

mean gene wrote: »

Can 2 people walk on the bus and pay with the 1 leap card

Yes