Minister O’Brien’s refusal to rule out fare hikes will raise concerns for commuters
Minister O’Brien’s refusal to rule out fare hikes will raise concerns for commuters - The Labour Party
Labour’s Transport spokesperson Ciarán Ahern TD has called on Minister O’Brien to rule out any future fare increases on public transport services over the lifetime of this Government. Fare reductions in recent years have led to record-levels of public transport-use and Deputy Ahern has said this progress must be sustained and built upon.
Deputy Ahern said:
“One of the rare success stories of the previous Government was the reduction in public transport costs for commuters and the introduction of the 90-minute fare. It has made public transport a more viable option for so many more people.
“We’ve made good progress in increasing the number of people using public transport on the back of the fare reductions. The proof is in the pudding. Last year saw record numbers of public transport journeys made by people across the country – 32 million more than the previous year. The LUAS surpassed a million journeys a week for the first time and journeys made on local link services grew by almost 50%.
“It’s in that context that I’m deeply alarmed about the prospect of fare hikes in the future, just as we’re starting to see real progress being made. It’s vital that we do everything we can to encourage more people to leave the car at home and make public transport affordable, efficient and accessible for people as we try to decarbonise our transport sector. Increasing the cost of public transport for being would be a regressive step.
“Minister O’Brien’s refusal to rule out future fare increases will raise concerns for the increasing number of people who are being pushed out into the commuter belt because housing is so unaffordable in our urban centres. Nor will it be of any comfort to the thousands of struggling households across the country who are worst-affected by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s perpetual cost-of-living crisis.
“As other countries move towards free public transport, the Minister must categorically rule out fare hikes and build on the positive outcomes that have been achieved in Ireland in the past number of years.”