Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 194: To ask the Minister for Transport the number of passengers carried by mainline rail, suburban rail, DART, Dublin Bus and by provincial bus in 2004. [18886/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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According to the CIE annual report for 2004, the number of passengers carried in 2004 by the CIE operating companies is as follows: mainline rail — 11.310 million; DART — 20.683 million; suburban rail — 2.557 million; Dublin Bus — 150 million; and Bus Éireann — 90.165 million, which includes 42.4 million passengers carried under the school transport scheme.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 195: To ask the Minister for Transport the details of the fare levels on CIE services at the beginning of 1998 and to date in 2005. [18887/05]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 198: To ask the Minister for Transport the comparison of fares on Dublin Bus, DART and Luas for an equivalent journey. [18890/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Question Nos. 195 and 198 together.

The details of the fare levels on CIE services at the beginning of 1998 and to date in 2005 are as follows:

A comparison of fares on Dublin Bus, DART and Luas services for an approximately equivalent journey is as follows:

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 196: To ask the Minister for Transport the number of passengers carried by each Luas in each month since they first opened. [18888/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Luas passenger numbers since start up in July 2004 are as follows: Quarter 3 2004 — 1,945,000; quarter 4 2004 — 4,625,000; quarter 1 2005 — 4,500,000; quarter 2 2005 — 3,450,000 to end May only.

The green line opened to the public at the end of June 2004. Patronage began at approximately 630,000 passenger trips per month and has grown by approximately 45% in the period to April 2005. The red line opened to the public in late September 2004. Patronage began at approximately 670,000 passenger trips per month and has grown by approximately 25% in the period to April 2005.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 197: To ask the Minister for Transport the estimate of the annual subvention towards mainline rail, DART, other suburban rail, provincial bus, Dublin Bus and Luas and his estimate of the subvention per passenger carried. [18889/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The total Exchequer payment for public service obligations to Iarnród Éireann in 2004 was €71.421 million, of which €1.06 million was in respect of DART interest payments. The total number of passenger journeys on Iarnród Éireann services was 34.6 million, of which 23.3 million were carried on the DART and suburban lines. The Exchequer payment for each passenger was, therefore, €4.92. It should be noted that passenger numbers fell in 2004 arising from line closures at weekends during the DART upgrade works. It should also be noted that Iarnród Éireann carries significant costs associated with the management and maintenance of the rail infrastructure.

The Exchequer subvention to Bus Éireann in 2004 was €23.998 million. No Exchequer payment was made in relation to commercial Expressway services. The company carried 40 million passengers in 2004 on public service obligation services. The estimated Exchequer payment per passenger in respect of the public service obligations was 62 cent.

The Exchequer provided €61.8 million to Bus Átha Cliath in 2004 for public service obligations. The company carried 149 million passengers in that year and the Exchequer payment, therefore, amounted to approximately 40 cent per passenger.

The total Exchequer payment to the Railway Procurement Agency, RPA, for the operation of Luas services in 2004 was €1.453 million. Luas services commenced on the green line in June 2004 and on the red line in September 2004. In 2004 Luas carried 6.6 million passengers. This equates to an Exchequer payment of 22 cent per passenger.

The Exchequer subvention to the CIE group of companies for 2005 is €270.1 million, of which €179.991 million will be allocated to Iarnród Éireann services, €25.1 million to Bus Éireann and €64.9 million to Bus Átha Cliath. The companies have budgeted to carry the following number of passengers in 2005: Iarnród Éireann — 36.4 million; Bus Éireann — 40 million and Bus Átha Cliath — 150.6 million. If these projected passenger numbers are reached it would result in a subvention per passenger of €4.90 for Iarnród Éireann; 43 cent for Bus Átha Cliath and 63 cent for Bus Éireann.

The RPA estimates that the subvention in respect of Luas for 2005 is €2.576 million. The RPA estimate that Luas will carry 20.58 million passengers in 2005. This equates to an operating subsidy of 13 cent per passenger. It should be noted that based on current forecasts the requirement for a subsidy of operational deficits on Luas red and green lines will cease after 2006. These forecasts are based on the assumption that patronage rises in line with projections and fares rise at least in line with the indexed cost of the contracts in place for the operation and maintenance of the Luas system and all other costs remain at forecast levels.