OVER 50% of people think those with a free travel pass should not have to pay a small charge for it, according to a new poll.
The survey conducted for the Claire Byrne Live show on RTÉ found that 55% of people think there should be no change to the current system while 36% think that a charge is a small price to pay for the service. Just under 10% said they did not know.
The potential charge has been on the agenda since Fine Gael TD Jim Daly had suggested that people who hold free travel passes should pay an annual €6 charge to fill the Bus Éireann deficit.
Speaking on the Cork Today show on C103 last week, Daly said:
There are 1.3 million free travel pass holders in the country, the shortfall at Bus Éireann is €6 million so if one million of those people paid €6 … that would wipe out the deficit. There are many people who could afford some sort of administration fee in the region of €6 per annum.
“There are people with pensions of €150,000 a year … anybody above a €50,000 a year pension should be making a contribution to the bus pass.”
As it stands people automatically receive a bus pass but Daly thinks this needs to change.
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