Some of the highest rates of fare-dodging took place on commuter rail services last year, according to data collected by the National Transport Authority (NTA), while one Dublin Bus route recorded non-payment by 20.6 per cent of passengers.
Regular surveys conducted on public transport services last year found 6.9 per cent of passengers on Dart and commuter trains for the greater Dublin region and Cork did not have a valid ticket for their journey. This resulted in an estimated loss in revenue of €4.6 million for Iarnród Éireann.
By contrast, NTA figures revealed the lowest fare-evasion rate on any public transport service was on Iarnród Éireann’s intercity routes. Only 1.4 per cent of passengers were found travelling without a valid ticket on these routes, which run between Dublin and Belfast, Cork, Waterford and other cities. This resulted in a further estimated loss in revenue of €2.2 million in 2024.
Luas data was not included.
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Despite high overall fare-evasion rates, Iarnród Éireann did not suffer any deductions last year. This is because a rate of 6.9 per cent for Dart and commuter rail services is within the permitted threshold allowed by the NTA before financial penalties are enforced.
The company received incentives totalling almost €37,000 for the high compliance rate on its intercity trains, making Iarnród Éireann the only public transport operator last year to receive such a payment.
Alongside rail services, NTA provided an overview of fare evasion across three different bus companies including Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and Go Ahead Bus.
Dublin Bus, the country’s largest public transport operator in terms of passenger numbers, had the greatest estimated loss in revenue due to fare dodgers, at €6 million in 2024. However, the fare-evasion level recorded on its services was one of the lowest of any operator, at 3.4 per cent.
Dublin Bus was the only one of the large bus companies surveyed to find a fare-evasion rate below the target of 3.9 per cent for bus services.
The highest evasion rate on a Dublin Bus service was 20.6 per cent recorded on the 43 (Talbot Street-Swords Business Park) route. Full compliance was found among passengers on 26 of 84 routes surveyed.
A breakdown of fare-evasion types showed that instances of “no ticket” accounted for 65.8 per cent of cases while “over-riding” accounted for 32.5 per cent. Fare-loss proportion was highest for “no ticket” at 84.6 per cent. Sunday afternoons were found to be the most popular time for fare dodgers using Dublin Bus services, with an evasion rate of 5.1 per cent recorded on Sundays from 12pm to 6:59pm.
Bus Éireann suffered deductions of more than €118,000 over its failure to meet the 3.9 per cent target rate last year, while the loss of revenue from fare dodgers across its services was calculated to be at least €4.5 million.
The company’s range of subsidised routes recorded evasion rates of approximately 5 per cent. This included commuter and city bus services in Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford and several large towns, as well as commuter services in the greater Dublin region.
Bus Éireann’s highest fare-dodging activity was found on two services in Cork – the 220X Ovens-Crosshaven route (35.3 per cent) and 206 Grange-South Mall (34.3 per cent). This was followed by 190 Drogheda-Trim (23.9 per cent) and 419 Galway-Clifden (20.4 per cent).
Go Ahead Ireland – a third large bus operator with NTA contracts – recorded some of the highest non-compliance rates with fares across its network of 34 routes within the Greater Dublin Area in 2024, resulting in a €1.3m loss in revenue.
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The company had an average fare-evasion rate of 6.2 per cent on its “outer metropolitan” services in Dublin and a 5.4 per cent rate on its commuter route in greater Dublin including services to Tullamore, Newbridge, Kildare, Naas and Athy.
The rate on its W4 (The Square-Blanchardstown) and W6 (The Square-Maynooth) routes was 6.9 per cent, far exceeding the recommended 3.9 per cent target rate.
Like Bus Éireann, Go Ahead Ireland was hit with deductions last year – more than €121,000 – over failure to meet targets.
Commenting on the findings of last year’s reports, a spokesman for the NTA said: “We believe that progress is being made in tackling fare evasion and NTA will continue to work closely with transport operators to further address this issue.”
