Bus Éireann defends changes to ticketing system
Bus Éireann has defended the launch of a new ticketing system across the company’s commercial Expressway services last year amid criticism levelled at the transport provider at the recent monthly meeting of Cavan County Council.
Independent Councillor Shane P O’Reilly said that bus passengers were being discommoded by the changes, which were “causing havoc” with commuters with Expressway and PSO (Public Service Obligation) tickets no longer interchangeable.
He furthermore hit out at a change in pricing on Expressway services.
The Anglo-Celt contacted Bus Éireann which confirmed that the new ticketing system across its commercial Expressway services had been in place since 2021.
They claim that MyExpressway introduces “significant customer benefits” including an improved online ticketing system, contactless payment, and guaranteed seat reservations on all routes.
“This allows us to offer the best service possible to our customers and in tandem with a number of other initiatives such as new fleet, will help Bus Éireann to ensure a swift future recovery of the Expressway network, which like other commercial businesses, has been very severely impacted by revenue decline due to the pandemic,” said a spokesperson.
Bus Éireann further state that the MyExpressway ticketing system has led to a “separate strategy and system delivery” between Expressway and PSO (Public Service Obligation) fares and ticketing.
“Expressway must compete effectively against other commercial operators and at the same time, position itself to grow passengers profitably across all of our services which can support future investment.”
Better manage
Explaining, the spokesperson added: “Tickets, therefore, purchased on either Expressway or PSO services, have not been interchangeable across Expressway and PSO since February 2021. They are only valid on the service for which they are purchased. This is so that we can better manage our service delivery on commercial services for our customers and manage our costs, which following the temporary period of Government support for all commercial operators during this pandemic, will not be subvented.”
They stated also there has been no change to the cost of Expressway tickets on Route 30/X30 Dublin-Donegal.
Meanwhile, following a recent announcement, Bus Éireann introduced a 20% reduction in PSO fares, which includes the Route 109 (Dublin-Kells) and Route 109X (Dublin-Cavan) services.
“This will remain in place until the end of the year,” said the Bus Éireann spokesperson.