Of course, a huge part of the push for free public transport comes from the fact that this change would be extremely beneficial to the environment and to Ireland’s sustainability status.
Public transport is used by huge numbers of our population almost every day. It is a necessity for some, and a choice for others. Personally, I find myself using some form of public transport at least every other day. Among the obvious benefits, it has contributed hugely to my independence, and I believe that making it free would significantly benefit the lives of people throughout the country. So, should the Irish government make public transport free? Here are some of what I find to be the most prevalent negative and positive effects this modification would have.
There are several positive impacts the move to a free scheme would have. It would create more job opportunities as we would require more public transport to ensure it was a service available countrywide. The Luas, Dublin Bus and Dart already become packed quite easily and there is a significant lack of services outside Dublin city centre. Therefore along with the increase of public transport use, we would need to obtain more drivers and vehicles. Additionally people would feel more obliged to use Public Transport, so with less cars on the road, the Dublins congestion issue would be helped. Currently Dublin is officially the sixth most congested city in Europe, with the slowest city centre. With the decrease of individual cars on the road we would be speeding up our city centre.
Of course, a huge part of the push for free public transport comes from the fact that this change would be extremely beneficial to the environment and to Ireland’s sustainability status. Micheal van Hulten, a Dutch politician believes “it is a great equalizer” saying, “why do our taxes pay for common needs like urban parks, firefighters, playgrounds, traffic signs, cleaning the streets, but not for public transport?” This sparks the question: how much would free public transport cost the average Irish taxpayer? Well, not as much as you might presume, because we already subsidise it heavily. Around €300m is payed by the State every year to companies such as Dublin Bus and Iarnód Éireann through the PSO (Public Service Obligation), and it is already free for all citizens age 66 or over, rounding to another €95m. The main expense would be replacing the revenue those companies make from passenger fares. Excluding the last few years because of Covid-19, usually around €580m is made from passenger fares.
It’s easy to think that this move to free public transport would be entirely positive. However, this, I think, is an overly optimistic view. If there was no charge, there would be lowered expectations for a good quality service because there would no longer be direct paying customers. When individual customers pay for a transport service, it suggests a higher chance it will be a good experience. The absence of this provided courtesy could increase the chance of dirtier seats, unhappy drivers, vandalism, and possibly an increase in skipping people at bus stops.
There is already a huge problem with antisocial behavior on our public transport, most notably on the Dart. Unless there are more CCTV cameras installed, or security guards present, this problem will continue to worsen. According to the Irish Times, reported incidents of antisocial behavior on Dublin’s Luas trams have been increasing steadily, with 593 cases in 2019, 702 cases in 2020, and 679 within the first 10 months of 2021. Statistics released by Dublin TD Neale Richmond, state that antisocial behavior has increased by 18%, meaning that even through the Covid-19 lockdowns, reported incidents were rising at around 100 a year. This issue requires more attention, and I am afraid it could be overlooked in the event of moving to a free scheme.
In conclusion I feel that the positive outcomes of this adjustment outweigh the negatives and it would be extremely beneficial for Ireland to make public transport free. Ireland is a wealthy developed county and we are certainly ready for this transformation.