A new system for making contactless ticket payments across the State\u2019s public transport services could cost almost \u20ac270 million, according to estimates. <\/p>\n
In a note on information and communications technology projects submitted to the D\u00e1il Public Accounts Committee<\/a>, the Department of Transport said the project, known as next-generation ticketing for buses, trains and Luas, would not be completed until mid-2028.<\/p>\n The proposed cost of the initiative, excluding VAT, it said, would range between \u20ac228 million and \u20ac269 million.<\/p>\n The committee has asked the National Transport Authority<\/a> (NTA) to provide quarterly reports on the project with the aim of keeping track of costs.<\/p>\n The new system would replace and expand on the existing Leap card and allow passengers to pay with debit cards. <\/p>\n Contactless payments were introduced on Local Link bus services in Tipperary last month following a pilot programme in Cavan and Monaghan that will inform its broader adoption. <\/p>\n The NTA did not comment in reply to questions on the cost estimate for the project provided by the department.<\/p>\n However, NTA chief executive Anne Shaw <\/a>told the committee last month that although the current Leap Card, which requires users to top up their cards in advance of travel, worked well, the technology involved is now 25 years old. <\/p>\n \u201cIt is not able to take the new modern ways of paying through contactless bank cards or phones at this stage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In January, Minister for Transport Darragh O\u2019Brien officially opened the Dublin office of the Indra Group, which in 2024 was awarded the contract for developing the new system. <\/p>\n O\u2019Brien said the facility would \u201cbe the nerve centre for the efficient delivery of a nationwide contactless ticketing system\u201d. <\/p>\n The NTA said that, unlike many international contactless ticketing programmes introduced by cities or regions, it, in partnership with Indra, would deliver \u201ca … solution designed to ultimately operate across the entire Transport for Ireland network\u201d.<\/p>\n It said the new system would introduce \u201ca single, integrated solution for buses, trains, trams and regional services\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cBeginning in the Greater Dublin Area, the project involves the introduction of secure account\u2011based payments, where fares are calculated retrospectively and charged directly to customers\u2019 bank accounts, requiring the highest standards of data protection, reliability and customer trust,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe programme also includes the upgrade of approximately 240 railway station gates, around 1,000 station validators across Luas and Irish Rail<\/a>, and more than 2,800 on\u2011bus validators in the Greater Dublin Area alone.\u201d<\/p>\n