Madam, - In reply to the letter from Shane O'Sullivan (January 17th it is worth summarising the history of the "Dublin Bus bus change receipt" story to give both your readers and our customers a clear picture of the situation.
During the 1990s many of our drivers were subject to assaults, robberies and attacks for the cash that they handled on the buses. As a consequence the AutoFare ticket system was introduced. This means that drivers no longer touch the money being given for fares. The money is placed in the fare box by the customer and it is stored in a secure box. Almost immediately the vast number of assaults stopped.
The AutoFare system, which is used extensively by bus companies across Europe and the United States, means that no change can be given to customers who do not tender the correct fare. Dublin Bus customers can purchase pre-paid, discounted tickets from over 400 outlets across Dublin ( the option chosen by 45 per cent of our customers); they can have the correct fare ready when they board a bus; or they can take a change receipt in lieu of change which can be cashed in at a later date - there is no expiry date. This is in contrast to most other cities and systems where no such facility is offered. For example, on-street parking meters give no refund for unused time.
In 2004 Dublin Bus started the Community Support Programme which in the past two years has donated €500,000 to 300 charities across Dublin from unclaimed bus change receipts. The remaining unclaimed amounts are reinvested in the business for the purposes of discounting prepaid fares, minimising price increases for the cash customer and maintaining and developing services across the network.
By the way, the 2006 Dublin Bus Community Support Programme starts again this month and details are available at www.dublinbus.ie. - Yours, etc,
GRAINNE MACKIN, Communications and Media Manager, Dublin Bus, Dublin 1.