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Free Travel Pass Holders on peak time public transport

Emme

I have just got on the train. I pay over €3K a year for the privilege of travelling to work and €250 a year for parking. I am forced to commute by train because there are no viable alternatives. Driving is out because it would take 2 hours or more each way on the N7. There are no buses that go from my area. I cannot afford to live any closer to work. There are thousands of people in my position.

Eveey morning a good proportion of the seats are taken up by what look like free travel pass holders. Sometimes people like myself (paying commuters) have to stand because of this. From Athy on more people have to stand. Meanwhile the FTP holders who got on in Waterford or Kilkenny bask in comfort.

I understand some of them have to go to hospital appointments which is fair enough. But the gaggle of 8 mature women talking loudly about their shopping trip could have got a later train. They will probably get a peak time train home in the evening as will many of the other FTP holders. They always seem to get to the train first in the evenings while people who rush to the train from work often have to stand.

When you are tired and burnt out you can get angry and resentful. Angry and resentful of getting nothing for your taxes and paying a huge chunk of your salary to commute (often standing each way) while those who pay nothing get the seats.

I agree that some of these people worked hard and paid high taxes in their time but not as many of them were forced to do long commutes. They didn't have to work under the same pressure as people do now. Many of the women could be full time mums while many commuting women do not have this choice. Many of the FTP holders are in better health and more energetic than exhausted commuters. Yet we will have to work far longer than they did. Because of their energy they are able to protest if the government takes away their full time FTPs. There was a time it was for off peak travel only.

Meanwhile commuters are getting screwed in every way but are too exhausted to do anything.

The FTP should be for off peak travel only. If the government wants to give it to pensioners full time it should be means tested. If some of them can afford to shop in BTs they can surely afford the price of a train ticket.

Many will disagree with me. But I am tired of paying so much and getting nothing in return.

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Plumbthedepths

Emme wrote:

Have you ever tried to sit on top of an Irish Rail train, a DART or a Luas? You wouldn't be allowed to do it.

You made the comparison between Irish rail and the Indian rail service not I.

PlaneSpeeking

gimli2112 wrote: »

about an hour

Really ? I've heard my commute from Portlaoise described as "about an hour" as the train up is 53 minutes and the one back in the evening is 52.

You do realise people don't live at the station at one end and work at the other one ?

I leave the house at 6.30am for the train and get home (if all perfect) at 6.40pm each evening. 2 hours 10 minutes, twice a day.

"About an hour" - not a chance.

PlaneSpeeking

Plumbthedepths wrote: »

You made the comparison between Irish rail and the Indian rail service not I.

And you were wrong.

[Deleted User]

Plumbthedepths wrote: »

A friend of mine lost 2 children because the driver that crashed in to him had a blackout, the driver in question didn't inform his doctor. It came out in the subsequent court case. So yeah I guess i'm a dog with a bone.

I'm very sorry to hear that about your friend, but there has to be a level of understanding and greyness here. People with immune system disorders don't just go from grand to ill during a car ride, and a blackout, based on my knowledge of lupus anyways, isn't something that just randomly happens during a drive. If you're that bad, you aren't fit to be out driving.

gimli2112

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Carlow,+Ireland/Dublin,+Ireland/@53.0951383,-6.8740312,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x485d5d5160156111:0x3c2470c9cee9906!2m2!1d-6.9341359!2d52.8365072!1m5!1m1!1s0x48670e80ea27ac2f:0xa00c7a9973171a0!2m2!1d-6.2603097!2d53.3498053

about an hour

DanMurphy

I'm 68 and I worked full time since I was 14 until recently.
I got the free travel nearly three years ago but didn't use it till recently to travel to Dublin from the midlands.
I look perfectly fit, and I dress well. I have no 'visible' disabilities. And I probably look 'well off,' but I exist on a pension.
If it weren't for this Cancer I have, one would never know 'from the outside' I was sick.
I travel for treatment to St. Luke's as an out-patient, on public transport, and using the 'free' travel, for which I paid for many times over during my working life.
I'm not surprised at the ill-concealed begrudgery of the OP and others.
I'll bet my pension is begrudged me too.

I'd swap both for my good health back again.

PlaneSpeeking

gimli2112 wrote: »

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Carlow,+Ireland/Dublin,+Ireland/@53.0951383,-6.8740312,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x485d5d5160156111:0x3c2470c9cee9906!2m2!1d-6.9341359!2d52.8365072!1m5!1m1!1s0x48670e80ea27ac2f:0xa00c7a9973171a0!2m2!1d-6.2603097!2d53.3498053

about an hour

And if you happen to live and work outside those Google points. ... ???

PlaneSpeeking

DanMurphy wrote: »

I'm 68 and I worked full time since I was 14 until recently.
I got the free travel nearly three years ago but didn't use it till recently to travel to Dublin from the midlands.
I look perfectly fit, and I dress well. I have no 'visible' disabilities. And I probably look 'well off,' but I exist on a pension.
If it weren't for this Cancer I have, one would never know 'from the outside' I was sick.
I travel for treatment to St. Luke's as an out-patient, on public transport, and using the 'free' travel, for which I paid for many times over during my working life.
I'm not surprised at the ill-concealed begrudgery of the OP and others.
I'll bet my pension is begrudged me too.

I'd swap both for my good health back again.

No one is begrudging you anything. I wish you good health sir.

gimli2112

PlaneSpeeking wrote: »

And if you happen to live and work outside those Google points. ... ???

It'll take a little longer

DanMurphy

When you look at people on Public Transport, don't judge them by appearance, please.

ohnonotgmail

PlaneSpeeking wrote: »

No one is begrudging you anything. I wish you good health sir.

Not begrudging him but just wish he didn't travel at peak hours so as not to inconvenience you. Because hospitals really take that into account when making appointments for patients.

DanMurphy

Accepted. And thank you.

witchgirl26

PlaneSpeeking wrote: »

They had their FTP out. They paid zilch.

And you misread the point - packed train with workers wanting to get home, max 5 people on seats for 8 and refusing to move their crap so at least 3 people could get a seat.

No way is that okay.

Ok but you didn't say that at all so can you understand where I was coming from? And I agreed in my post that taking up seats with stuff is not ok.

As for having to stand for an hour on a train - sure I did it on a Dublin bus for years (changed job and can't get public transport now). 45 mins to an hour of standing depending on traffic. To be honest, I never really noticed who was in the seats nor did I get angry at anyone. If I got a seat, happy days! If I didn't, ah well.

My commute then was at least an 1hour 20 mins, usually closer to 1 hour 40 and I lived in Dublin, worked in Dublin. So yeah I do get it that long commutes suck. And not being able to sit down at the end of a long day is annoying but blaming the back-log on free-travel holders rather than the services not providing enough buses, trains or carriages. Scape-goat much?

Emme

Plumbthedepths wrote: »

A friend of mine lost 2 children because the driver that crashed in to him had a blackout, the driver in question didn't inform his doctor. It came out in the subsequent court case. So yeah I guess i'm a dog with a bone.

I am very sorry to hear that and again I inform my doctor of everything.

Drink driving, drug driving, speeding and all around careless driving can be lethal. Some prescription medications can affect the ability to drive or operate machinery.

I have NEVER had any dizziness, fatigue or other adverse effects when driving. If I did I would pull in and arrange for somebody else to drive and see my doctor as soon as possible.

PlaneSpeeking

gimli2112 wrote: »

It'll take a little longer

Yeah, try a lot longer. There's 24 hours in a day and currently I spend 9 working, 4.5 commuting and (if lucky) 6 asleep.

Not many left there for me eh ?

PlaneSpeeking

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

Not begrudging him but just wish he didn't travel at peak hours so as not to inconvenience you. Because hospitals really take that into account when making appointments for patients.

Try reading my post again eh ?

Edit - here, I'll help:

No one would ever argue that the disabled and those needing to get to hospital appointments should be able to use the services as and when, of course they should

Apology accepted.

ohnonotgmail

PlaneSpeeking wrote: »

Try reading my post again eh ?

Edit - here, I'll help:

Apology accepted.

But you have no way of knowing who those people are just by looking at them. People dont wear signs saying "i'm going to a hospital appointment."

FTA69

Emme wrote: »

Nobody is bashing the disabled but I consider the use of the FTP at peak time for unnecesssary travel to be excessive. This partly the fault of transport bodies but not all countries permit the use of FTPs at all times.

In an ideal world there would be room for FTP holders and regular commuters to travel comfortably whenever they wanted. Comfortably means getting a seat. I think people going to medical appointments should travel free there and back at any time. Also the disabled and incapacitated. And those on limited incomes.

Those who are fit and healthy, can afford it and are going on a "day out" might consider paying half price to travel at peak time. Surely this would not be unreasonable?

You absolutely are bashing these people because you're suggesting that they should be shunted off train carriages to make way for you, the far more important and valuable Working Taxpayer, who despite you being young and fit and healthy believe that you're more entitled to a seat than some auld one on a free pass. What we need perhaps are better designed walkthrough trains and more carriages on busy services, but people seem to immediately want to scapegoat someone next to them.

God forbid that one day you're sick or old and on the train one day and there's someone behind you standing on the carriage getting wound up at your presence.

The amount of crass individualism about these days is very sad.

PlaneSpeeking

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

But you have no way of knowing who those people are just by looking at them. People dont wear signs saying "i'm going to a hospital appointment."

I'm going to out out on a limb and guess that the gangs of parents and kids with the Dublin Zoo bags over the summer, the FTPs out "in case the man comes" and the annoying brat who screamed "ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" over and over again could have been actually on their way back from dialysis but I stand by the fact they were on a jolly.

ohnonotgmail

PlaneSpeeking wrote: »

I'm going to out out on a limb and guess that the gangs of parents and kids with the Dublin Zoo bags over the summer, the FTPs out "in case the man comes" and the annoying brat who screamed "ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" over and over again could have been actually on their way back from dialysis but I stand by the fact they were on a jolly.

So you have let one incident colour your whole viewpoint?

[Deleted User]

This thread is clearly a pisstake, and a poor one at that.

Hector Savage

Emme wrote: »

It's usually an hour and 10 minutes. Factor in getting to and from the train and work and you're talking 3 hours or thereabouts.

3 hours total ? as in there and back ....

surely not 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening ..

Emme

DanMurphy wrote: »

I'm 68 and I worked full time since I was 14 until recently.
I got the free travel nearly three years ago but didn't use it till recently to travel to Dublin from the midlands.
I look perfectly fit, and I dress well. I have no 'visible' disabilities. And I probably look 'well off,' but I exist on a pension.
If it weren't for this Cancer I have, one would never know 'from the outside' I was sick.
I travel for treatment to St. Luke's as an out-patient, on public transport, and using the 'free' travel, for which I paid for many times over during my working life.
I'm not surprised at the ill-concealed begrudgery of the OP and others.
I'll bet my pension is begrudged me too.

I'd swap both for my good health back again.

Nobody is angry at the sick, disabled or incapacitated as stated before.

My father worked very hard from the time he was 14 up until he was 65 and my mother also worked very hard from 17 until she got married and then she worked with my father. They used the FTP when they could get away which was not often. At that time it was off peak only. They were never well enough to use the FTP when it was made full-time. Perhaps I am biased when I see people who seem well because of how my parents active retirement was cut short through ill health shortly into retirement. They are still alive but their quality of life is not great.

I wish you good health.

Franz Von Peppercorn

There’s a lot of ganging up on the op here. In fact the free pass is a bit odd isn’t it, it’s not means tested and in fact old people are means tested for a lot of stuff.

For anybody sick though there should be no restriction.

Otherwise free pass off peak could well work. And be available up to a limit, say the median income.

PlaneSpeeking

Deleted User wrote: »

This thread is clearly a pisstake, and a poor one at that.

Sadly it's not, I've read Emme's posts before - she's a fellow longer suffering commuting worker - and I am sad to see the negative reaction here.

PlaneSpeeking

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

There’s a lot of ganging up on the op here. In fact the free pass is a bit odd isn’t it, it’s not means tested and in fact old people are means tested for a lot of stuff.

For anybody sick though there should be no restriction.

Otherwise free pass off peak could well work. And be available up to a limit, say the median income.

Sssh you'll make the rest of them drop their pitchforks!

Just to make it clear - again:

Sick, elderly, hospital visits etc - all travel
Any other FTP holder - off peak only (after 9am out and not before 6pm back).

Who could have an issue with that ??

PlaneSpeeking

Hector Savage wrote: »

3 hours total ? as in there and back ....

surely not 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening ..

Mine is 2 hours 10 each way, and I see commuters already on the train from as far as Thurles so yeah, could be that easy.

Hector Savage

PlaneSpeeking wrote: »

Mine is 2 hours 10 each way, and I see commuters already on the train from as far as Thurles so yeah, could be that easy.

Jesus thats rough ..

antodeco

FTP holders should be put into specific carriages and the rest of the "wealthy" are out into the other carriages. I think to speed things up as well, they should get the long FTP number tattooed on the inside of their arms.

Free head shaves for all!

Cushie Butterfield

Look at it this way OP - you may have to stand for an hour on a packed train, but aren’t you the lucky one who can arrive to ‘work’ & post away to your hearts content for hours on end & the icing on the cake is you get paid for your trouble!

It’s no wonder you’re exhausted 🤕