Quote:
Originally Posted by James Howard
The inherent flaw in all of this is the stupid assumption that it matters what mode of transport you take. All fares should just be from point A to point B or using a zone system and it really shouldn't matter how you get there. OK, an intercity train should probably be more expensive than an intercity bus as it is more comfortable (if they don't decide to use commuter rolling stock), but aside from that it doesn't matter to most people whether they stand on a Dublin Bus or a DART.
The public transport system would work a lot better for everyone for no real extra cost if you could for example, take a train from Sligo to Dublin and then return on a bus after the last train using the return half of your train ticket. If the whole thing is mostly being funded by the NTA why should it matter?
It will get even sillier in Dublin when cross-city Luas opens. It would be a lot more convenient for many people to get off the train at Broombridge and take a tram to O'Connell Street or Stephen's Green rather than walking across from Connolly or Docklands but the utility of the network will be degraded by stupid pricing.
The media seem to think that leap has sorted all of this intermodal mess but it hasn't - it's just made it more convenient to pay for. The underlying pricing mess is still there.
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It really boils down to a funding issue - and who keeps the fare box revenue.
Until that problem is sorted and the operators receive a fair payment for their services, I can see this problem continuing.
Only then could I see a move to properly integrated tickets.