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TFI Leap Card Guide & FAQ (Updated Jan 2020)

devnull

Welcome to the Commuting & Transport guide to using the Transport for Ireland (TFI) Leap Card

This resource aims to give our users full information on using the TFI Leap Card and the functionality available on the card, across all operators, both public and private, across the country as well as answering some of the most frequently asked questions in relation to TFI Leap Card which have come up on Boards over the years.

The guide is divided into three sections
- General TFI Leap Card Information[/URL]
- Operator by Operator TFI Leap Card information[/URL]
- Frequently Asked TFI Leap Card Questions on Boards.ie. [/URL]

The guide is updated as frequently as possible and kept as accurate as possible however we would always advise you to check the TFI Leap Card website for the very latest information and can accept no responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained within this thread.

I'd like to acknowledge the input of the Boards.ie Commuting & Transport community in creating this resource and for their views and feedback that have helped shape it. I'd also like to thank LXFlyer for creating a similar resource in the past which was very valuable to our members.

If you have any comments on this TFI Leap Card guide or suggestions on improving it for the community or spot something that is out of date, please send a private message to Devnull.

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Vic_08

_Ace_ wrote: »

Hi guys,

Im really trying to get my head around this.

Soni had a dublin bus and luas tax saver card for years with a former employer. Great and very handy.

Now im working in Ashbourne, living in castaheaney company dont do taxsaver.

I get on the 39a Dublin bus at the ongar road, costs me 2.10 to shopping centre. Get off and walk past the plaza onto the n3 west bound slip road and get the bus eireann 105 to ashbourbe which is 7.50 return.

So im trying to figure out how i can get use out of a leap card.

Looking at this site, http://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=234 - it seems clear enough that a red zone 2 weekly ticket would cost me 39.50 but im only using the ashbourne return mon-fri which is 37.50 so its actually more to get the weekly leap than it would cost just buying the tickets daily.

Or will it be the case that if i buy that weekly red zone 2 ticket at 39.50 it will also cover my short dublin bus journey aswell as the bus eireann ashbourne journey?

If thats the case then im significantly saving as my total cost per week is 58.50 if using cash for both routes.

It will be cheapest to use leap singles for all the trips. €1.50 for the 39a and €3.01 for the 105.

It still comes to €9.02 per day, €45.10 per week.

Is Clonee within walking distance? You could cut out the 39a bit and just use the 105 from there instead.

The Bus Eireann zone tickets are not valid on Dublin Bus.

[Deleted User]

The Luas revenue checkers tell me that my Leap has 'expired' as it is 2011. They have to take a picture of their validator reading of my leap card, which is a fairly awkward thing to do, unless you have three hands.

The Leap folks tell me they can replace it, but it's not clear whether I'll be left without a working Leap card for a while. And then I have to add back the Dublin Bikes account myself, which is just a bit painful.

I think I'll stick with my own card for a while...

[Deleted User]

gwalk wrote: »

Is the app completely unresponsive for anyone else lately?

Won't read card at all for me, can't top up and cant see balance, kinda makes the app redundant

Two different Leap cards on three different phones - and all I can get is this error. It worked fine for me earlier in the week.

Is anyone else having problems reading the card from your phone?

Stephen15

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

The Luas revenue checkers tell me that my Leap has 'expired' as it is 2011. They have to take a picture of their validator reading of my leap card, which is a fairly awkward thing to do, unless you have three hands.

The Leap folks tell me they can replace it, but it's not clear whether I'll be left without a working Leap card for a while. And then I have to add back the Dublin Bikes account myself, which is just a bit painful.

I think I'll stick with my own card for a while...

Did they fine you?

[Deleted User]

Stephen15 wrote: »

Did they fine you?

No, my card is valid for travel - just something for their own system.

Marmit3

gwalk wrote: »

Is the app completely unresponsive for anyone else lately?

Won't read card at all for me, can't top up and cant see balance, kinda makes the app redundant

I had this problem for the past week or two. Uninstalling the app and downloading it again fixed it for me.

happyday

Marmit3 wrote: »

I had this problem for the past week or two. Uninstalling the app and downloading it again fixed it for me.

I can't get it to work either and I've tried updating it and uninstalling and reinstalling too.

Sephiroth_dude

Was trying to top up my card using nfc and the and kept getting a 504 error, any ideas what this means?

G_R

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

Was trying to top up my card using nfc and the and kept getting a 504 error, any ideas what this means?

The only effective solution to this I've seen is update the app, and if that doesn't work uninstall and reinstall, tho given previous comments that clearly hasn't worked for everyone!

Sephiroth_dude

G_R wrote: »

The only effective solution to this I've seen is update the app, and if that doesn't work uninstall and reinstall, tho given previous comments that clearly hasn't worked for everyone!

Back working now again, I uninstall it and it didn't work the first time but then it worked the second time

[Deleted User]

Is there any way to get a 16-18 leapcard without visiting one of the validation centres?

it is absolutely bizarre that someone who uses their leapcard purely to travel to School in the Dun Laoghaire area has to go to either O'Connel street or the Red Cow to get a new card when they turn 16.

Stephen15

Aegir wrote: »

Is there any way to get a 16-18 leapcard without visiting one of the validation centres?

it is absolutely bizarre that someone who uses their leapcard purely to travel to School in the Dun Laoghaire area has to go to either O'Connel street or the Red Cow to get a new card when they turn 16.

Tbh I see plenty of over 16s travelling on 5-15 year old leap cards

L1011

They had to go there to get the scholar ID anyway on the old system I thought?

If they added another centre it'd probably be another city centre one really

[Deleted User]

Stephen15 wrote: »

Tbh I see plenty of over 16s travelling on 5-15 year old leap cards

Which is what mine does at the moment. You do hear stories of kids being put off trains by inspectors because they don't believe their age though, which does worry me.

L1011 wrote: »

They had to go there to get the scholar ID anyway on the old system I thought?

If they added another centre it'd probably be another city centre one really

probably, but it seems a bit of a draconian way to go about it. I would have thought a train station would have been sufficient (although I guess not many of those are staffed any more) or even a post office.

Redsoxfan

Don't think this needs a new thread....

I have the Leap Card Top-Up Android App.

The latest update requires permissions (maybe it always did and I didn't notice). These are as follows:

Location - Uses the devices's location
Device ID & call information - Allows the app to determine the phone number and device IDs, whether a call is active and the remote number connected by a call

I'm not overly paranoid, or indeed an expert in Android, but I'd like to understand why the App needs these permissions? Is it anything to do with NFC and security?

I have asked Leap Card and go no reply.

Dravokivich

If a transaction through the app needs to be queried, it can be shown which phone it was done on. Call ID information, I expect would be about suspending the app when a call is incoming.

Barney224

Looking for some advice on the Student Leap card and whether it's worth getting one. My 16 yr old daughter goes to boarding school and travels from Kells to Cavan every SUnday night, returning on a Friday. I pay around €18 each week for a return ticket on BE. So would it be worth my while getting a Leap card for her? I find the whole site and applications so confusing!

Qrt

Barney224 wrote: »

Looking for some advice on the Student Leap card and whether it's worth getting one. My 16 yr old daughter goes to boarding school and travels from Kells to Cavan every SUnday night, returning on a Friday. I pay around €18 each week for a return ticket on BE. So would it be worth my while getting a Leap card for her? I find the whole site and applications so confusing!

Apply for a child personalised leap card, it's valid until her 19th birthday. Getting a student one would be madness.

Barney224

Thanks for the info. But I'm still confused about how she can actually use the card! When I go to the site and register it asks how much I want to put on the card. So for instance, if I add €20, does that mean she gets on the bus, presents her card and can then travel to and from her destination? Will it be cheaper than me having to purchase tickets online?

G_R

Barney224 wrote: »

Thanks for the info. But I'm still confused about how she can actually use the card! When I go to the site and register it asks how much I want to put on the card. So for instance, if I add €20, does that mean she gets on the bus, presents her card and can then travel to and from her destination? Will it be cheaper than me having to purchase tickets online?

Just had a look on the Bus eireann website there. The child leap single fare is €5.60 so yeah just top up the card (if you have an android phone, top up using that instead, not the website, as you will have to collect the top up from a payzone outlet if you do it online) and then she just needs to present the card to the driver who will deduct the 5.60 from the card. She won't get a paper ticket, the ticket gets written to the card and if there was to be an inspection she just presents the leap card.

[Deleted User]

Is anyone having issues with the app? Can't read my card on two different phones tonight.

Victor

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Is anyone having issues with the app? Can't read my card on two different phones tonight.

Have you been able to use it previously? Some people have mentioned re-installing it.

Does the phones have NFC capability

It won't work on Apple phones.

[Deleted User]

Victor wrote: »

Have you been able to use it previously? Some people have mentioned re-installing it.

Does the phones have NFC capability

It won't work on Apple phones.

Yeah, I topped up with one of the phones over the weekend

Barney224

G_R wrote: »

Just had a look on the Bus eireann website there. The child leap single fare is €5.60 so yeah just top up the card (if you have an android phone, top up using that instead, not the website, as you will have to collect the top up from a payzone outlet if you do it online) and then she just needs to present the card to the driver who will deduct the 5.60 from the card. She won't get a paper ticket, the ticket gets written to the card and if there was to be an inspection she just presents the leap card.

Thanks again for the info on this. There certainly is a great saving going with Leap!

Just one more stupid question (I hope!). I assume I need to choose the "Check this box if you want to add a ticket to the TFI Leap Card." option and then select Bus Eireann? If she's travelling to Cavan from Kells, do I then need to choose the Red Zone? And would it need to be 7 days to cover the week?

I really find this website so confusing and lacking of info....or else I'm just really stupid!

G_R

Barney224 wrote: »

Thanks again for the info on this. There certainly is a great saving going with Leap!

Just one more stupid question (I hope!). I assume I need to choose the "Check this box if you want to add a ticket to the TFI Leap Card." option and then select Bus Eireann? If she's travelling to Cavan from Kells, do I then need to choose the Red Zone? And would it need to be 7 days to cover the week?

I really find this website so confusing and lacking of info....or else I'm just really stupid!

Is she travelling everyday? I read it as once a week but I could be wrong.

A 7 day ticket is 7 consecutive days so that would end up costing you a lot more. It's it's just once over and once back then you are better off just toping up the card with money and using the pay as you go option.

Barney224

G_R wrote: »

I'd she travelling everyday? I read it as once a week but I could be wrong.

A 7 day ticket is 7 consecutive days so that would end up costing you a lot more. It's it's just once over and once back then you are better off just toping up the card with money and using the pay as you go option.

Thanks G_R. So I don't choose the TFI option with Bus Eireann. Just continue with the general application?

G_R

Barney224 wrote: »

Thanks G_R. So I don't choose the TFI option with Bus Eireann. Just continue with the general application?

Yeah, just a general card which you can then top up as required. If your circumstances change in the future and you need one you can always add it on then.

chewed

Quick question. I had an annual leap card, but completely forgot to renew with my company. They only have a few windows of opportunity per year, so now have to wait a few months.

Is it possible to top this up and still use it for my BE bus route? Is it even worth it, cost-wise?

Victor

chewed wrote: »

They only have a few windows of opportunity per year, so now have to wait a few months.

They should be able to do this every month. If they can't just get them to buy monthly tickets at the station.

markpb

Victor wrote: »

They should be able to do this every month. If they can't just get them to buy monthly tickets at the station.

A surprising number of companies feel the overhead of Taxsaver is too much and don’t support it at all or only allow employees to make purchases at fixed intervals throughout the year. I think, but could be wrong, that the HSE and lot of hospitals have this policy so it’s not a small company problem, it’s quite wide-ranging. I also think the NTA are aware of this and trying to change the process so it’s less of a burden on employers.