DUBLIN BUS and DART pre-paid passes are to cost an average of 10 per cent more from next Sunday, but there will be no increase in basic cash fares, it was confirmed last night. The increases do not require Government sanction. Successive governments have consistently refused since 1991 to permit the companies to increase basic fares.
The weekly bus/rail Short Hop pass increases from Pounds 14.50 to Pounds 15.50; the adult Medium Hop pass from Pounds 18 to Pounds 20; the adult Long Hop pass from Pounds 24 to Pounds 27 and the adult Giant Hop pass from Pounds 26 to Pounds 30. The Travel Ten bus pass (stages 4-7) increases by 50p to Pounds 8 and the adult 8-13 stages pass by Pounds 1 to Pounds 9.50.
The adult 13-23 stages pass increases from Pounds 10 to Pounds 10.50 and the adult over-23 stages pass by Pounds 10.50 to Pounds 11.50. The School Child pass goes up by 50p to Pounds 3 but the Scholar pass for secondary school and college students remains at Pounds 5.
The rates for adult daily bus passes remain unchanged, as do the family daily bus and adult bus/ rail daily passes. The family bus/ rail daily pass increases by 50p to Pounds 6.50 and the Transfer 90 ticket by 20p to Pounds 1.50. The child bus/rail pass is being discontinued.
There will be no increase in the adult Cityzone, student Cityzone, adult Travelwide and student Travelwide weekly bus-only passes, but some of the monthly fares will be increased from next August. The student Short Hop Pounds 39 ticket will increase to Pounds 41 from August, the adult Short Hop increases by Pounds 2 to Pounds 58 and the adult Cityzone by Pounds 4 to Pounds 44. There will be no increase in the adult Travelwide Pounds 50 ticket.
A spokesman for Dublin Bus said the company was meeting increased costs from recent wage agreements and also needed to upgrade its fleet at a cost of Pounds 10 million to Pounds 12 million annually without a Government subvention.