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Irish Independent

Commuters hit out after Wicklow rail fare hikes – ‘Lost cause, total shambles...we're being taken for a ride'

The changes mean a single ticket to Dublin will rise from €3.90 to €5.10, while a return ticket will jump from €7.20 to €9.20. Having lost their only direct bus service to the airport, following the departure of Aircoach this year, and facing into yet another bank holiday with no train service, Greystones residents were quick to take to local forums to air their grievances. "Lost cause,' one wrote. 'We lost Aircoach (nothing done), shoddy ineffective bus service. Next weekend trains are not operating, no contingencies in place so a total shambles. Now train fair (sic) has gone up.' "Pushing more cars on the road,' another commented on the Facebook community forum. "Also increasing child fares and adult fares. More people will just drive to the Luas in Carrickmines. Greystones is a part of the line, it should be zone 1,' they added, referring to the decision to place Greystones and Kilcoole into zone 2, meaning commuters in Wicklow town get better value for their money travelling to zone 3. Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady added his voice to the local forum, and, with the wind behind him following his new appointment to head up the Public Accounts Committee, said he has written to the National Transport Authority, Transport for Ireland and the Transport Minister highlighting people's concerns. "At a time when the Government should be encouraging people to use public transport to reduce emissions and combat traffic congestion, increasing fares will only act as a disincentive. To increase charges when there have been so many issues with reliability, particularly of bus services, is completely unacceptable,' he told the forum. Greystones Councillor Stephen Stokes said Greystones and Kilcoole commuters 'are being taken for a ride' and called the hikes 'unjustifiable and another blow to hardworking commuters'. He pointed to the lack of significant improvements in service quality, frequency, or capacity to justify the price increases. 'Where's the return for the extra money being paid? Trains are still packed at peak hours, and many commuters are standing for most of their journey. It's not good enough.' He also criticised the lack of transparency and consultation around the fare changes and said there was 'no real engagement with the people who are most affected'. "Decisions like this should not be made behind closed doors. Commuters deserve a voice,' he said. Cllr Stokes has promised to raise the issue at the next council meeting. Meanwhile, the plight of Greystones' commuters hit the national airwaves, when Wicklow Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore spoke to RTE's Claire Byrne and branded the new fare system "a mixed bag' for commuters, 'especially those in my constituency.' 'Fares have come down across the Dublin Commuter Zone (DZC), for example for Rathdrum and Wicklow town commuters, and I welcome this change. But for commuters in Greystones and Kilcoole, fares have gone up by up to 30pc today for adult commuters and for school children and that is completely counterintuitive,' she said. Looking at the bigger picture, Deputy Whitmore added that as the country struggles to meet climate action targets, 'disincentivising people from using public transport will only push them back into their cars". 'It is worth noting that transport accounted for 21.4pc of the country's greenhouse gasses in 2023 and is the one sector where emissions are increasing,' Deputy Whitmore argued. 'Greystones is a town that relies heavily on the Dart service into town, and it is in fact the only Dart station outside of Zone 1. I have had constituents email me telling me that they have no choice now but to get back into the car for their commute to work and for the school run, and these are people who have been trying to reduce their carbon emissions by adapting their lifestyles to public transport. This fare hike undermines those efforts,' Deputy Whitmore concluded.