Free travel to be tracked
Microchip cards will log journeys after revelations of how scheme is abused
PENSIONERS and disabled passengers who use the free travel scheme will have their journeys tracked, under plans revealed yesterday.
Following a trial, they will be issued with Leap Cards, which will allow the Government to keep track of the true cost of the initiative.
The move follows revelations, reported in the Irish Daily Mail this month, that up to 20 passes a day are confiscated because the holder is not entitled to use them.
The free travel scheme costs the taxpayer € 76million a year, but up until now there has been no reliable measure of its usage because calculations are based on the numbers eligible instead of the number of journeys taken.
But Alan Kelly, the junior minister with responsibility for public and commuter transport, has revealed that once a trial is completed shortly, new travel passes with Leap Card technology will be issued to passholders this summer.
The mircochip technology on the cards will allow Irish Rail, Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and other service providers to more accurately track service usage. Passengers will have to swipe their card every time they make a journey.
He said: ‘I understand that the National Transport Authority and the Department of Social Protection have been working closely together to incorporate Leap Card technology in the Public Services Card. NTA will be extensively testing these cards to ensure they can be processed by the Leap Card infrastructure.
‘Upon receiving confirmation from the NTA that the cards and readers work properly together, DSP will progress to issuing free travel variant PSCs to eligible clients.
‘It is anticipated this could commence over the summer of this year if the testing is successful.’
He was responding to a query from Fine Gael TD Seán Kyne, who said his query was prompted by questions on the free travel scheme at the Public Accounts Committee two weeks ago, when Secretary General of the Department of Social Protection, Niamh O’Donoghue, faced questions.
The Galway West TD said: ‘I welcome the move towards having proper ID and monitoring of the use of the free travel scheme.
‘It’s obvious that not everyone uses the pass the same number of times, so we need to have better monitoring of the system to ensure that we are getting proper value for money and accountability for the taxpayer.
‘We also want to ensure the universality of the scheme is maintained and this new system will deliver more efficiency and it is a step in the right direction.’
PAC chairman John McGuinness had told the committee that up to 20 passes a day are confiscated by Irish Rail, with 1,100 fines issued last year alone.
Around 50 bus passengers are caught fraudulently using the travel passes every month – and the latest figures show that 17,229 passes were seized by welfare chiefs in 2011 for a wide range of reasons including those directly confiscated, reported lost, damaged or stolen.
The free travel scheme – open to anyone aged over 66 who lives here permanently – costs the State €76million every year. CIÉ companies receive €61million, while the remaining €15million goes to private firms and the Luas.
While 745,000 needy people benefit from the programme, about 1.1million are allowed to travel free when family member and companion passes are included.