Hammer Blow as Government Set to Fail on Delivering Fair Transport Fares for Louth & East Meath Residents says Nash
Correspondence received by Labour TD Ged Nash from the National Transport Authority indicates that the Drogheda and Laytown train stations will not be included in the low fares short-hop zone.
Nash has lashed the government, saying that this decision is a blow for commuters and makes little sense in light of rising costs and climate commitments.The Labour TD for Louth & East Meath said;
“For too long rail commuters and those buying daily tickets in Drogheda and East Meath have been treated poorly and unfairly from a price point of view.
“The latest response from the NTA to my question on the issue is deeply disappointing.
“This news will come as a hammer blow to occasional train-users and regular commuters alike as the cost-of-living continues to spiral.
“While the NTA’s commitment to examine the issue and make fares more equitable is to be welcomed, this simply does not go far enough nor will it be fast enough for hard-pressed commuters.
“Fare prices for local residents are nearly double or triple that of other train stations that border the capital. For example, stations like Greystones in Co Wicklow – that are a similar distances from Dublin – are included in the short-hop zone.
“So the case for Drogheda and Laytown to be included in the ‘short-hop’ commuter zone with ticket prices more in line with the rates charged for travel from Greystones into Dublin is an open and shut one.
“The political will to do this does not exist. Our area is again the poor relation when it comes to Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and the Green Party.
“Yet although the NTA acknowledge that “there is a higher distanced based fare outside the Short Hop Zone than within it”, they have indicated that they do not intend “extending the short hop zone to further stations” such as Drogheda and Laytown.
“In my view the principal reason for the lack of parity with stations such as Greystones is the fact that the Dundalk to Dublin line is a cash cow with local rail users forced to pay way over the odds to travel into the city.
“This is simply not right. Louth and East Meath residents should no longer be the poor relation when it comes to affordable public transport.”
In their response to Deputy Nash the NTA says: “instead of extending the short hop zone to further stations, the Authority is examining what needs to be done to ensure that the distance based fare outside the short hop zone is in line with the distance based fare inside the short hop zone. Therefore the fares will be more equitable.
“This work is ongoing and the Authority will be examining what the fare foregone will be to introduce a more equitable system and present that to government for funding at the next budgetary cycle.
