Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 183: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will report on his negotiations with Luas and Dublin Bus to create an integrated ticket system; the merits of such a development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5136/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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In March 2002, the Railway Procurement Agency, RPA, was given statutory responsibility under the Transport (Railway Infrastructure) Act 2001 (Additional Functions) (Integrated Ticketing) Order 2002 for the delivery of an integrated ticketing system. The contactless smartcard-based integrated ticketing system, which will enable a passenger to use a single ticket on one or more scheduled public transport services, by road and by rail, irrespective of the transport operator involved, is being developed by the RPA and will be introduced on a phased basis, initially in the Dublin area.

A first step was the launch in April 2004, in conjunction with the RPA, of smartcards by a private operator — Morton's Coaches — on its services. In addition, the RPA informed me that the launch of smartcards on Luas services is scheduled to take place within the next few weeks. The RPA project that Dublin Bus will follow, with smartcards on its services later this year.

By early 2006 passengers will be able to travel on both bus and Luas services in Dublin using one smartcard. Integration using smartcards with other operators is projected to follow shortly thereafter. In the interim, Dublin Bus and Luas already offer some combined bus-Luas tickets for passengers who wish to avail of both services.