20% cut to fares for all public transport operators from April

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120073523#Comment_120073523

No, it's a pre tax salary sacrifice so if you're making 45k and bought the 1k bike, you're getting a break of up to 50% or so as that's the amount of tax they would pay in the higher bracket whereas the person earning 30k would pay around 30% or so on the same portion of income so that's the break they would get. Same exact system as the tax saver and nothing to do with the point of sale.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120074260#Comment_120074260

Like I said it could be better but I personally think it's good. You disagree, fair enough

howiya

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120074347#Comment_120074347

It's clearly not good for travelling by rail outside of Dublin since it can't be used beyond Kilcock, Sallins and wherever it stops in the north county. Furthermore this public transport policy encourages car journeys by people living nearer other train stations to these train stations. "Every tonne of carbon matters" when the Taoiseach is in front of a world audience at COP but not when he is at home and can do something about it.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120074401#Comment_120074401

Fair enough, I haven't used it for trains as I typically just book on the IE website for that so I can't speak to that functionality but would typically use it for buses.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120073839#Comment_120073839

The rollout of Leap and contactless on coaches along with the new more open accessable buses has been brilliant I think. It's just psychological I think but it makes the coach feel more like a hop on hop off public transport service rather than a long haul city to city route.

Quackster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120073839#Comment_120073839

It's great in places but the lack of consistency in pricing is really annoying and off-putting. Leap onto BÉ PSO or Local link services and you're flying but if you need to take an Expressway bus, you're suddenly paying more than if you booked online.

It should be a requirement of being part of the Leap system that Leap tickets are always no more expensive than other available equivalent tickets. (The perk of booking online should be a guaranteed seat on your chosen service.)

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120074880#Comment_120074880

Booking Expressway online and then having to get your ticket by calling out the ref. number to the driver is stone age sht.

Quackster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120074910#Comment_120074910

In fairness, the few times I've used them recently, the driver scans a QR code received by email, the same as with the Big Green Bus.

Still, being forced to book online just to get a cheaper ticket, when you know there will be no shortage of seats, is silly.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120074972#Comment_120074972

Might have changed recently in fairness. Its not a service I use often because there is usually a cheaper train option.

bk

“I must be imagining the discounted fares available on every Bus Éireann PSO bus service across the country and most Local Link services then?”

Oh it is obviously useful in getting you a cheaper fare, but I feel outside of Dublin it has failed badly at its primary goal.

Surely the primary goal of leap card should be to speed up the boarding times and thus reduce dwell time.

In Dublin it achieves that, with the right hand validator (and 90 minute fare) and off tram/ train ticketing on Luas and Commuter rail.

In Cork, on the bus, using the leap card is much slower then paying cash! As most people in Cork are now using leap card for the savings, then it has actually caused boarding times and thus dwell times to get slower!

Surely That means leap is failing badly outside of Dublin at the goal. If you just wanted to give people cheaper fares, then they could have not bothered with leap and just made the cash fares cheaper.

The whole implementation of leap on buses outside of Dublin is fundamentally broken IMO.

What I’m trying to say is that I feels like that in Cork they implemented leap, just for the sake of it, rather then thinking about what the goal of it is, which should be reduced journey times.

There are lots of other issue I have with it in Cork, but I’ll create a new thread to discuss those.

Jayuu

I was on a Dublin Bus only TaxSaver Leap card which ran out at the end of December. Given that I'm using the bus only three days a week now I'm not sure it presents much extra value when I ran the numbers a while back especially as I'm taking some time off in February/March. So I'm back to using a standard Leap card and topping up as necessary.

Can I just check something about bus usage with a standard Leap card? Do I need to still go to the bus driver with my card and state my destination or can I just tag on at the side terminal as I used to with my TaxSaver card?

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120078932#Comment_120078932

It’s also reducing cash handling costs for operators.

Cork city ticketing will likely change to a similar model as Dublin when the new BusConnects network starts rolling out.

Being able to use a single card across the country from locations such as Carraroe and Tullow, Schull and Cavan and so on on PSO bus services (and some commercial operators) is a benefit.

p_haugh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120079282#Comment_120079282

If you're taking multiple trips within 90 minutes, or your end destination is over 3km away, you can just tap on the right-hand validator.

If you're only going a couple of stops, you can ask the driver for the short fare instead (or state your destination).

TranslatorPS

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120079282#Comment_120079282

With the recent enough fare structure changes, the only time you should go to the driver's TVM is if you desire the short distance fare, otherwise the validator's your friend, as there are only two single fare levels in the Dublin city network now.

thomasj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120079282#Comment_120079282

Pretty sure taxsavers were extended by 3 months , mine was.

creedp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120069812#Comment_120069812

Interesting must read more about it and try and understand how more beneficial it is compared to current 10 journey ticket which although convenient has become very expensive in recent years, now being €15 a day return Drogheda/Dublin. Obviously better value on Dundalk /Dublin route. Cheaper to drive for me at present as long as I have parking, which doesn't really make sense. Annoyed me when Govt was announcing reduced fares on public transport Matthews fares increased by 20%.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120080739#Comment_120080739

They aren’t being subsidised, unlike the PSO operators. Commercial operators (including Expressway) have to stand on their own two feet.

billyhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120080739#Comment_120080739

I don't understand this cheaper to drive saying that people always state when not using PT. You have to pay insurance, tax and factor in wear and tear costs on the car aswell as any depreciation. Using PT and not driving (owning) a car is obviously the most economically prudent way of getting around.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120083163#Comment_120083163

Depends on how good transport is in your area for all your needs. For instance you might have a good link to work, kids school or your shopping but if you don't have all 3 you need the car + expenses for 1 so might as well use it for all 3.

One thing I think is massively underrated if you are lucky enough to have PT to work is the peace of it. 20 mins with a book is far better than 20 mins in the car if both are an option.

creedp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120080875#Comment_120080875

Typical Irish disjointed approach to everything. Gas to see Govt coming out clapping themselves on the back for helping commuters but as always its only a cohort of commuters they are actually helping, the rest can muck off.

StreetLight

One also has to factor in the stress when it comes to using public transport. The current ridiculous situation in Dublin of seeing a bus track on the RTPI, only for it to drop off the on-street display with minutes to go is infuriating.

Some NTA fanboys on this forum may tell you that that particular problem has been solved, but I can tell you it has not.

The stress of trying to use a public bus in Dublin, especially with the current staffing issues, is just giving a boost to private car ownership. And with the huge lack of bus infrastructure, it just puts current bus routes even more at the mercy of general traffic.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120083409#Comment_120083409

Its not just Dublin it's the same in Limerick. My bus is every 15mins so I happily use it despite the cancellations. But a few years ago when it was every 30mins those cancellations made it unusable for me.

Jayuu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120079992#Comment_120079992

Yes it was. But I've used up those three months as well.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120083426#Comment_120083426

Galway the same. One route I use a lot is every 20 mins. Except is suffering a lot of cancellations.

This day in mid-December was particularly special:

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120084370#Comment_120084370

Is that the TFI app ?

In Limerick they don't even say cancelled they just have the exact time with no GPS marker.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120083409#Comment_120083409

Not one person has said here that all of the RTPI systems are fully working correctly.

But, in my own experience, the DB app does seem to be working more or less correctly now, as are the live positions of Dublin City buses on the map on the TFI app. I found the latter by accident some time back and it’s what I use most of the then now.

However the predictive times on the TFI app and the on-street signs are still far too unreliable.

thomasj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120084363#Comment_120084363

Sorry I'm lost?!

for anyone whos taxsaver ticket expired 31st December 2022, its been extended to 31st March 2023

bk

"It’s also reducing cash handling costs for operators."

Though I'd wonder how that balances out with running all the IT infrastructure for Leap. Of course it is a net benefit for the operators as the NTA take on the cost of running leap. But I wouldn't be certain that it is cheaper.

"Cork city ticketing will likely change to a similar model as Dublin when the new BusConnects network starts rolling out."

I'd hope so (and Limerick and everywher else outside Dublin too), it is a joke at the moment, a real ham fisted implementation. And frankly this should have been sorted years ago when Leap was first rolled out. It isn't rocket science!

"Being able to use a single card across the country from locations such as Carraroe and Tullow, Schull and Cavan and so on on PSO bus services (and some commercial operators) is a benefit."

It is nice, but isn't that big of a deal. If you had tap to pay then most of that advantage would disappear (still need it for student ticket's, etc. obviously).

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we have leap, but it is very poorly implemented outside of Dublin and in desperate need of modernisation with functionality like tap to pay, etc. And of course new ticket machines that would built this century!

Jayuu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120084697#Comment_120084697

It ran out in September originally. The three month extension brought it to December.

mikeybhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120078932#Comment_120078932

On a separate note one thing I never understood was why Bus Eireann never introduced Autofare on city services in Cork and still to this very day take cash and give change on buses in regional cities. Always thought it was the most logical way of taking cash on city services.