Changes introduced this week<\/a> see commuters able to travel for up to 90 minutes for \u20ac1.70.<\/p>\nBut complaints outlined that the reader for the new card has failed to recognise monthly passes in some instances. This meant it was either deducting the fare from the passenger\u2019s account or not working at all.<\/p>\n
The NTA has told The Journal that it is working with Bus \u00c9ireann to make the use of the Leap Card \u201csmoother\u201d for customers.<\/p>\n
The fare caps are for all of Bus \u00c9ireann\u2019s Cork TFI services, five years after a similar system was brought in for Dublin.<\/p>\n
Cork buses have also been fitted with on-board ticket validators, meaning commuters can hop on and tap their Leap card, rather than booking in advance or buying a ticket from the bus driver at the stop.<\/p>\n
Green Party councillor Oliver Moran said there have been a number of complaints around the launch of the service, some of which he put down to what he called \u201cvirtually no advertising\u201d in the lead-up to the switch.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the people I\u2019ve spoken to, there was some confusion this morning \u2014 questions like whether monthly ticket holders need to tag on or if passengers need to tag off,\u201d Moran said.<\/p>\n
Moran added that many customers seemed \u201ccaught off guard\u201d by the change.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven last night, on my way home from town, I didn\u2019t see any tap-on machines installed. So even I wasn\u2019t entirely sure if the change was actually happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similarly, his party colleague Dan Boyle said that it was clear the system was \u201cnot yet foolproof\u201d in its first week.<\/p>\n
\u201cBus \u00c9ireann had a lot of time to prepare for this and it needs to be got right because this was part of the reason behind the increase in fares,\u201d Boyle said.<\/p>\n
The NTA, which hopes the new measures will speed up boarding times, told The Journal that customers need to board in two separate ways, depending on the type of card they hold.<\/p>\n
For customers using Leap travel credit, a Free Travel Pass, or a Child Leap Card (ages five-8), they should tap on using the new validator located to the right of the door when boarding, according to the NTA.<\/p>\n
\u201cCustomers using a 24-hour, weekly, monthly, or annual ticket on their Leap Card should present their card to the driver for validation.
The NTA is engaging with Bus \u00c9ireann to make this process clearer for customers,\u201d the NTA added.<\/p>\n
It said the first day of operation saw approximately 25,000 transactions completed using the new equipment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a customer has been overcharged because they inadvertently used the incorrect validator, they can request a refund by contacting Leap customer care,\u201d the NTA said.<\/p>\n
Moran, the Green councillor, said that journeys do seem faster since the change, as the NTA hoped.<\/p>\n
However, he said that the main issue remains the price increase, with the \u20ac1.70 fare replacing cheaper fares of \u20ac1.35 and \u20ac1.55.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout confidence in Cork\u2019s bus network for planning journeys that involve changing buses, the 90-minute fare isn\u2019t seen as a benefit, just a higher price fare,\u201d Moran said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE NATIONAL TRANSPORT Authority (NTA) has said customers who believe they have been overcharged during the start of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":563559,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[27801,72,46,14641,238177,61,60,236337,16456,2738],"class_list":["post-563558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-bus-eireann","tag-business","tag-cork","tag-cork-city","tag-cork-leap-card","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-leap-card","tag-public-transport","tag-transport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=563558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/563558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/563559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=563558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=563558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=563558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}