Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator Garvey's contribution on public transport, particularly in the north Clare area. As somebody who uses public transport most of the time, because a car is not an option in my case, her points were well made. There are two major issues which I have been highlighting for a long time. First, there is a variance in fares between rural and urban in the first instance, and also between providers. There is a situation where you can get a bus from Ennistymon to Ennis with Bus Éireann and it costs about three times what it costs to get a bus with Transport for Ireland, TFI. That does not make sense. It is confusing and it certainly does not help Bus Éireann. What we need is not just standardised fares between urban and rural areas, but standardised fares on bus routes. Similarly, in the Acting Leader's city of Galway, one bus from Salthill to the city is one fare whereas another bus charges a different fare. It is confusing and it just does not make sense. The Government has done a lot to reduce the cost of public transport with a 50% reduction on fares for young people and a 20% reduction overall, but we need to sort out the fare structure in the first instance.

Also, the Bus Éireann website is probably one of the most inaccessible websites of any public transport operator. A fully sighted person would find it difficult to navigate, not to mention somebody with a vision impairment. I call on Bus Éireann to make its website digitally accessible and if it does not, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, needs to direct Bus Éireann to do so.