Written answers

Tuesday, 17 May 2022

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Bus Services

Photo of Noel GrealishNoel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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201. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will extend the recent reduction in bus fares for Bus Éireann services to a company (details supplied) in Galway city and to other private companies offering a similar service elsewhere; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24181/22]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Licensed bus and coach operators are an integral part of the overall public transport system particularly in areas which are not covered by existing public service bus and rail services. In recognition of this, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic the Government have provided temporary financial supports for certain licensed commercial services with a view to protecting capacity across the public transport sector throughout the crisis.

In acknowledgement of the continuing difficulties facing the sector, these supports have been extended up to 30 June 2022 and to date, over €60 million has been provided to support the commercial bus operators.

The Government is strongly committed to helping combat the rising cost-of-living being experienced throughout the country. In this context, as part of the suite of new measures introduced, a 20% average fare reduction on all PSO public transport services is being made available nationwide until the end of 2022.

These discounted fares will benefit the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who use PSO public transport every day. The Government allocated €54m in Exchequer funding to provide this measure; however, this funding does not include an extension of the scheme to commercial operators. As the Deputy will be aware, unlike with PSO services, the National Transport Authority (NTA) does not set, monitor or regulate fares on services run by commercial operators; fares on these services are set by the operators themselves.

However, in recognition of the importance of incentivising young people to use public transport, as part of Budget 2022 I secured funding to provide for the introduction of a young adult card (YAC) on both PSO and commercial services. This exciting initiative will entitle anyone between the ages of 19 and 23 to discounted travel costs and to increase the level of discount over and above the current student discount level to an average of 50% across all services, including city, intercity and rural services.

The discount will initially be made available on all subsidised PSO bus, rail and Luas services. It will then be broadened to include commercial operators as soon as practical. Intensive work is underway with representatives from the commercial bus sector, the NTA and the Department to devise a mechanism to implement and expedite the deployment of the Young Adult Card in the commercial bus sector.

Photo of Carol NolanCarol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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202. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will address the concerns raised by an organisation (details supplied) in relation to the decision to exclude private bus companies from the 20% fare reduction on State-funded public transport services; if he will address the concern that there is preferential treatment of State services over commercial entities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24244/22]

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Licensed bus and coach operators are an integral part of the overall public transport system particularly in areas which are not covered by existing public service bus and rail services. In recognition of this, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic the Government have provided temporary financial supports for certain licensed commercial services with a view to protecting capacity across the public transport sector throughout the crisis .In acknowledgement of the continuing difficulties facing the sector, these supports have been extended up to 30 June 2022 and to date, over €60 million has been provided to support the commercial bus operators.

The Government is strongly committed to helping combat the rising cost-of-living being experienced throughout the country. In this context, as part of the suite of new measures introduced, a 20% average fare reduction on all PSO public transport services is being made available nationwide until the end of 2022.

These discounted fares will benefit the hundreds of thousands of people across the country who use PSO public transport every day. The Government allocated €54m in Exchequer funding to provide this measure; however, this funding does not include an extension of the scheme to commercial operators. As the Deputy will be aware, unlike with PSO services, the National Transport Authority (NTA) does not set, monitor or regulate fares on services run by commercial operators; decisions on fares on such services are made by the operators themselves.

However, in recognition of the importance of incentivising young people to use public transport, as part of Budget 2022 I secured funding to provide for the introduction of a young adult card (YAC) on both PSO and commercial services. This exciting initiative will entitle anyone between the ages of 19 and 23 to discounted travel costs and to increase the level of discount over and above the current student discount level to an average of 50% across all services, including city, intercity and rural services.

The discount is available on all subsidised PSO bus, rail and Luas services and will be broadened to include commercial operators as soon as practical. Intensive work is underway with representatives from the commercial bus sector, including the CTTC, the NTA and my Department to devise a mechanism to implement and expedite the deployment of the Young Adult Card in the commercial bus sector.

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