People Before Profit rep for Dublin North West, Cllr Conor Reddy, has described proposed increases in bus and train fares as “outrageous”, following reports that the National Transport Authority are set to announce significant increases in the near future.
Cllr Reddy said:
“It's outrageous that public transport fares are increasing in the middle of a cost-of-living emergency. People Before Profit want to move in the opposite direction towards free, frequent public transport. We’ve costed it in our Alternative Budgets over a number of years and in our manifesto for the last General Election.
However, we don't stop there, free fares have to come alongside a massive expansion of public transport infrastructure. Ireland has needed this investment for decades, but it has been neglected by successive governments. They have consistently prioritised the private car, spending more and more on roads and now on subsidising private electric vehicles. EVs have a role to play, but replacing millions of petrol and diesel cars with millions of electric cars doesn't solve congestion and shifting to private electric vehicles on a global scale would come with a huge environmental cost due to the enormous requirements for lithium and rare earth minerals.”
Cllr Reddy said Ireland needs a transport system that offers people a genuine alternative to dependence on the private car.
“The Ireland I want to live in is one where people don't spend hours of their lives sitting in gridlock on congested roads. People should be able to get onto free, frequent public transport that they can rely on to take them where they need to go, supported by safe walking and cycling routes and park-and-rides that connect people into the network.
“Public transport can be cheaper, quicker, more reliable and more efficient than the private car. How we approach it as ecosocialists is how we would approach transition generally, transition can and should mean improving living standards, as well as mitigating the threat of ecological collapse”
Cllr Reddy said the fuel crises caused by Russia's war on Ukraine and the United States' war on Iran should also force a longer-term rethink of Ireland's transport, energy and security policies.
“We need to learn something from these crises and take our long-term resilience seriously. We can't protect ourselves from international shocks while remaining so reliant on private cars and imported fossil fuels.
“At the same time, we are living in a rapidly warming world. We are seeing record-breaking temperatures and more extreme weather events. Yesterday's warnings from the UN about breaching 1.5 degrees of warming should be a wake-up call. We need to transition away from fossil fuels and we need to do it much faster.
“Moving from private individual transport towards mass, electrified public transport is one of the most effective things we can do. It cuts emissions, reduces our exposure to international energy shocks and can improve people's lives at the same time.
“Some politicians are arguing that Ireland needs to spend billions beefing up the military in response to an unstable world. I think the better way to make this country secure and resilient is to invest in the infrastructure people actually depend on; public transport, energy, housing and public services so that our quality of life is protected and we build a more equal society.
“There are billions available through the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund. The Government should scrap these fare increases and use the resources available to begin building a system of free, frequent, reliable and accessible public transport across Ireland.
“Sign our petition. Together we can stop the fare increases. Let's make public transport free, frequent and accessible to all."
Click to sign the national petition to Stop the Fare Increases