Trips on the Carlow bus are getting more expensive, TFI increase regional bus fares

Carlow Bus fares have been increased by TFI starting this week. The new flat town fare will increase adult leap card prices from €1.10 to €1.50 and the cash fares going from €1.60 to €2.

These fare increases are in place not only in Carlow but also affecting a number of other regional town bus services, they include Athlone, Balbriggan, Drogheda, Dundalk, Navan, and Sligo.

From the Transport for Ireland's website: 

"A new flat town fare of €1.50 for Leap Card users is being implemented on regional town bus services in Athlone, Balbriggan, Carlow, Drogheda, Dundalk, Navan and Sligo. The cash fare for these town services will change to €2.

Tickets purchased using a TFI Leap Card or via the TFI Go App continue to offer the best value fares. Half-price fares continue to apply to young adults aged 19-25 years who hold a valid Young Adult Leap Card and students aged 26 years and above who hold a valid Student Leap Card."

This is phase 1 of the project by TFI with phase 2 being rolled out later in the year and that includes:

"Phase two of the strategy will take effect later this year and will aim to make fares more equitable and easy-to-understand. The cost per kilometre travelled will become more consistent and will be related to the straight-line distance between the origin and destination of journey. The second phase will also involve the implementation of the new Dublin City Zone and the new Dublin Commuter Zone, a significant reduction in Leap Card multimodal caps, and the introduction of Leap travel credit at all Dublin Commuter Zone rail stations. Overall, the fares changes are not projected to increase fare revenue but represent a rebalancing of fares so that they are fairer and more consistent across the board."