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Public Transport
Bus | Commuter DART & Rail | Luas | Revenue Taxsaver Scheme
The public transport network in Dublin is more comprehensive than you might think, and with Quality Bus Corridors, DART, Luas and Commuter Rail it is usually faster and more reliable than travelling by car in the rush hour.
If you are a regular commuter to work you can also save handy amounts of cash by purchasing a monthly or annual Taxsaver Commuter Ticket.
Bus
Thanks to Dublin’s growing network of QBCs, the bus offers a great alternative to the car for many commuters. If you haven’t used the bus recently, you might be pleasantly surprised by the improvements that have taken place.
In the built up area of Dublin, Dublin Bus is the dominant operator. Bus Éireann offers good connections between Dublin City and the wider Greater Dublin Area (Kildare, Meath and Wicklow) as well as the rest of the country. And its Night Rider service will bring you home late at night! Other operators also operate on some routes.
Dublin Bus
There are over 200 routes in the Dublin Bus network. Visit this page to access a map to see the routes that serve the area you live in. Alternatively, when you’re out for a walk some evening in your neighbourhood, have a look at the route and service timetable and routing information on display in the attractive new bus shelters that are increasingly prevalent in the city and its suburbs. Many routes serve the city centre and terminate in or around a compact area centred on Parnell Square - College Green – North and South City Quays – Find your route terminus and stops for your return trip home.
Generally, services run on most routes between 0630 and 2330 hours. There is a very popular and comprehensive late night service that runs into the small hours at the weekend – the Nitelink - very useful if you are out socialising!
Fares
Adult fares vary from €1 to €1.90 for inner suburban and city centre trips. Outer suburban fares range from €2.10 to €4.10. However if you are likely to spend more than €16 a week on fares, consider buying an Annual Travelwide ticket, offering unlimited travel for 12 months on all Dublin Bus services including Nitelink and Airlink services for €780.
Special shopper fares of €0.65 apply all day for bus travel within the city centre. More information is available at www.dublinbus.ie.
How to use Dublin Bus services
While standing at the bus stop, extend your arm to request the bus driver to stop to pick you up. If you are not familiar with the route, ask the driver when boarding to alert you when the bus approaches the stop nearest your destination – many buses have a PA system.
Pay in coin – exact fare please – into the autofare box beside the driver when boarding. No change is given when boarding, but the driver will issue a change docket that can be redeemed at Dublin Bus Head Office at 59-61, Upper O’Connell Street, Dublin 1. Children under 5 travel free – and children between the age of 5 and 15 travel at generally half the adult fare. Keep your ticket ready for inspection.
Consider the range of pre-paid tickets available to save money when travelling, especially when there’s more than one trip involved in your journey, and save time queuing for and boarding the bus. See the Save Time section for links to information on the comprehensive range of tickets available from Dublin Bus.
Ring the bell in good time when you wish to alight from the bus. Hold the rails when moving downstairs or along the lower saloon.
Bus Éireann – outer suburban links to Dublin City and the rest of the countryBus Éireann offers extensive connections between Dublin City and destinations in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA). Counties Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and Louth are well served by regular departures. See www.buseireann.ie for up to date information on services. The online Journey Planner may also be of help when planning your journey.
Improvements to Bus Éireann services in the GDA mean that there are now many more daily departures and extended timetables on all routes.
On a number of routes, a high frequency service operates, including for example, the Ashbourne and Balbriggan routes (every 20 minutes all day) and Navan (every 15 minutes at peak times).
The frequency of service is set to improve further when more vehicles are introduced to the Bus Éireann fleet under Transport 21, so it's worth keeping an eye for new services currently being planned.
Bus Éireann also links Dublin Airport with a number of towns in the GDA, such as Drogheda (every 20 minutes) and Dundalk (hourly).
A 24 hour service operates between Dublin – Dublin Airport and Belfast.
Nightrider, the late night service provided by Bus Éireann operates on a number of routes – Naas/Newbridge, Wicklow, Enfield and Balbriggan/Drogheda and Ratoath/Dunshaughlin/Navan. Tickets are priced €7/10. More information on Nightrider is available on www.buseireann.ie.
Customers can save considerably by opting to travel by Bus Éireann into Dublin from areas in the GDA. Fares, which vary by route, are priced competitively. Regular customers can avail of tax benefits by applying to the Employer Pass Programme for monthly and weekly tickets. Discounted fares are also available by purchasing weekly ten journey tickets. There is a further 10% discount when such tickets are bought online (most routes available).
There are potential time savings also - where services have the benefit of bus lanes, journey times can compare favourably with going by car.
For information on Bus Éireann or to buy online, please check out our website www.buseireann.ie or call Bus Éireann Information on (01) 8366111.
Other Bus Operators
There are also several routes and services provided to the public by private sector bus operators.
The following links are for the various different bus services around Dublin: -
DART & Commuter Rail
Frequent DART electrified train services run from Howth and Malahide to Bray. Less frequent DART services operate through to Greystones. Key city centre train stations are at Connolly, Tara Street and Pearse station in Westland Row.
Commuter rail services run from Drogheda and Maynooth to Connolly Station and Pearse. There are also commuter rail services from County Kildare (Kildare, Newbridge, Naas/Sallins) and Adamstown west Dublin to Heuston Station. Frequent and fast onward Luas and bus connections to the rest of the city centre are now provided immediately outside Heuston.
See www.irishrail.ie for more information on times of departures of train services from a station near you, fares and methods of payment.
A map of rail routes and stations is available here - http://www.irishrail.ie/home/company_information.asp under the ‘My Journey’ section. Downloadable local maps showing walk times to key rail stations are available here - www.dto.ie/web2006/station_maps.html
Luas
Luas is Dublin’s state-of-the-art light rail transit system. The tram routes have their own dedicated lines away from traffic or sections of on-street running, with priority over other traffic.
Services run on two lines – the Red line from Tallaght Towncentre to Connolly Station, and the Green Line from Sandyford to St Stephens Green
The Red Line serves places like Smithfield, James Hospital, Red Cow (Park and Ride) the Four Courts and Heuston Station. There are 23 stops in all over a 14km length of line. End-to-end journey times are approximately 45 minutes.
The Green line runs from Sandyford Industrial Estate to St. Stephen’s Green, serving places like Dundrum Towncentre and Ranelagh. There are 13 stops in all over a 9km length of line. End-to-end journey times are approximately 22 minutes.
Downloadable local maps showing walk times to Luas stops are available here - www.dto.ie/web2006/station_maps.html
You can purchase tickets for trips on the tram from vending machines at the tram stops, or you can pre-purchase ‘travel credit’ - like phone credit - on a resusable smartcard, which consumes the value as you travel.
Adult fares vary between €1.40 and €2.20 depending on the trip. Advice on the best tickets to buy depending on your circumstances is available here www.luas.ie/ul/106.doc
Visit www.luas.ie for more information on services to your area, fares and methods of payment.
Revenue Taxsaver Scheme
The TaxSaver Commuter Ticket Scheme encourages more people to use public transport in Ireland and to reduce traffic congestion. The scheme involves employers providing employees (including company directors) with bus and rail commuter tickets while saving on employer PRSI payments.
Employees participating in the scheme benefit from reduced tax and PRSI payments. Employees receive tickets either as part of their salary package (salary sacrifice), in lieu of an annual cash bonus, or as a benefit-in-kind. Savings arise because tickets are not subject to tax or PRSI.
Employees only have to pay tax and PRSI on the "money" portion of their salary. Employer PRSI is also calculated on the "money" portion of the employee's salary.
Employers can achieve PRSI savings of up to 10.75% and employees can save up to 48% of travel costs as a result of tax and PRSI savings by participating in the TaxSaver commuter scheme.
To find out more about Tax Saver tickets, click on the links below:
Taxsaver (for Luas, DART, Irish Rail, Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus)
