CHANGES TO MONTHLY and annual travel fares take effect today, with further rises for cash and Leap fares potentially coming early next year. 

Details of changes to cash and Leap fares are now set to be published in March 2020 and take effect in April.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) said that one of the factors determining the fare changes now was the “move to a simplified fare structure in Dublin” as envisaged under the BusConnects plan.

This structured fare will mean people can switch between different modes of transport – rail, bus, Luas etc – “without a financial penalty”. 

The NTA said it is likely that monthly and annual fares in the Dublin area will over time become consistent, regardless of operator.

Here’s a breakdown of the changes taking effect today:

• Rail-only annual and monthly tickets for the Short Hop Zone are unchanged at €1,450 and €145.
• Dublin Bus and G0-Ahead Ireland bus-only tickets will increase from €1,400 to €1,450 for the annual ticket, and €140 to €145 for the monthly ticket.
• Luas-only tickets are increasing by 7.4% to €1,300 for an annual ticket and €130 for a monthly ticket.
• Tickets covering Luas/Dublin Bus/Irish Rail for the Short Hop Zone will decrease 4.9% from €205 to €195 for monthly tickets and from €2,050 to €1950 for an annual ticket. 
• Bus Éireann tickets in eastern commuter areas are falling 4%. This covers towns such as Ashbourne, Kilcock and Celbridge and their fares will fall from €1,548 to €1,480.
• Passengers in Drogheda, Trim, Newbridge, and Baltinglass will see their annual fare drop from €2,448 to €2,340.

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The NTA said fares were also dropping in regional cities, such as Limerick, Galway and Cork. 

It said that waiting until next year to determine cash and Leap fares will mean the NTA has “greater clarity” on how much funding will be available and required for subsidised public transport in the coming year. 

NTA CEO Anne Graham said: “The NTA will continue to work to make fares as simple and consistent as possible.

Overall fare revenue will increase by less than 2%, which is in line with inflation, so this is certainly not a revenue-generating exercise.