Sir, - It may be escaping public attention that Dublin Bus is terminating the sale of pre-paid discounted tickets (known as "Travel Ten") from February 16th.
Pre-paid discounted tickets are a feature of most city transport systems in Europe and North America (with discounts more significant than those that Dublin Bus has offered). They speed up operations by reducing cash transactions at the point of boarding and provide a considerable convenience to transport users who do not have to have change ready for every journey. For many users they are more flexible than weekly or monthly tickets as the degree of use might not justify such tickets.
As a replacement for the Travel Ten, Dublin Bus is now to sell two-journey tickets, which carry no discount. According to its publicity, these tickets, "meeting our customers' needs .. . [are] an ideal replacement for the current 10-journey range."
Dublin Bus may well have discovered a market niche for two-journey tickets. However, it is impossible to see how they can meet the needs of the present users of 10-journey tickets. Ever helpful, Dublin Bus customer services suggest that one can always buy five 2-journey tickets!
I am hard pressed to find a reasonable justification for the discontinuance of the Travel Ten tickets. On enquiring from Dublin Bus I was given two explanations. One was continuing difficulties with the magnetic strips on the ticket and the validating machines on the buses. If such systems work elsewhere, why is Dublin Bus unable to find a technical solution? The other explanation was that, according to its market research, the two-journey ticket would be found more flexible. Surely, it can introduce this without withdrawing the 10-journey variety.
This is clearly a retrograde step by Dublin Bus and will do nothing to encourage commuters to leave their cars at home. It will also inevitably increase the number of users paying cash and increase further the delays at bus stops. I would therefore hope that Dublin Bus can yet reverse this puzzling decision. - Yours, etc.,
From Oliver Grogan
Meadowmount, Churchtown, Dublin 16.