New Fares Dec 2012 - impact on off-peak use
 

Ok, so the new fares are now live.
I am an annual pass user, using Travelsaver coming in from Fingal, so I get a very good deal especially compared to most other capital cities.
I have noticed the constant increases to the cash fares and now LEAP fares, for a user who might only use the service once a month. I always tended to ignore these, as they did not impact me directly.
However, I think that the last increase was to such an extent that it has put off the rest of my family from using the train going forward. As such I feel, for ourselves, we may have hit a tipping point:
Pro's to off peak rail travel:

• Good for the environment

Negatives for off peak travel:

• Return fares now expensive (peak and offpeak the same)
• Car park fees @ weekends in IE carparks
• Journey times not very fast (Certainly on Northern suburban line)
• Gaps in the Saturday PM return services - 40 mins at 17.30
• Some services ran as 4 carriage services - while families would get on the train, they were often left standing, which meant they were unlikely to use again
• Lack of station staff on platforms to provide assistance (especially Connolly suburban platforms)

Issues IE cannot do anything about:

• Those with access to free/reduced city centre parking
• Out of Town shopping centres with free parking/easy access
• No issues carrying bags
• Door to door with car

I think suburban fares need to recognise that the inconvenience of travelling by train v's car, requires compensation in the pricing. Any thoughts?

Off-peak rail travel need not necessarily be more environmentally friendly than car travel. There are quite a few services that run with passenger numbers in single digits. It would definitely be greener to transport these in a transit minibus and it is probably that even if they were to travel 2 to a car, it would still emit less CO2.

I have similar issues when travelling with my family from Edgeworthstown. The price is certainly better than driving, but not hugely when you've added a Luas or bus fare onto the train ticket. Paying for parking is more of an irritant than an actual problem. But the biggest issue we have is that you can't get to Dublin before midday on a Sunday. Saturday isn't quite as bad - this first arrival is at around 10, but the first train can be very busy if there is something on in Dublin.