Government must continue incentivising Public Transport use
- We can’t penalise public transport users with fare hikes
Labour Spokesperson for Transport Ciarán Ahern has dismissed the notion that investment in new transport projects must mean fare hikes for public transport users.
Deputy Ahern said:
“At a time when the Climate Change Advisory Council is telling us we won’t meet our 2030 climate targets, incentivising use of public transport is the very least we can do. The reduction in public transport fares and the introduction of the 90-minute fare were rare wins for the last Government. It would be absurd for the Government to roll back on those positive measures.
“Comparably, we know many of our European neighbours have better connected and more reliable transport services that cost less to use than ours. This move would be a step in the wrong direction.
“We obviously need to encourage more people away from private cars and onto public transport, and the way to do that is by ensuring we have an affordable, reliable, accessible and efficient public transport system. Fare hikes are totally counterintuitive to our ambition of making cleaner, greener public transport the preferred option for people.
“Investment in public transport infrastructure and low fares is not an either/or scenario. Government are saying the choice must be made between cheaper public transport and progressing projects like Metrolink, but how can this be the case? It must be asked, are these fare hikes on the way because Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are hell bent on building more roads? At the same time there seems to be no oversight for how this could impact our climate goals.
“People in my own constituency of Dublin South-West are all too familiar with unreliable bus services. Users of the new S4 and S6 routes, for example, are frequently subjected to ghost buses or late arrivals. To ask them to pay more for the pleasure of being left stranded at a bus stop on their way to or from work or college is beyond the pale.
“We know the State is running an unprecedented budget surplus, alongside the Apple Tax money, a portion of those funds should be invested in our capital infrastructure. Future projects like the Metro North, DART+, the new Luas line, as well as the continued roll out of more Local Links services in rural areas. It’s vital that we use some of the surplus now to improve our infrastructure and our public transport network should be a priority.”