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Online News Editor Beth Clifford on the National transport Authority (NTA) increasing fares for for commuters in 2027
The National Transport Authority (NTA) announced on Thursday, 3 September that public transport services across Ireland will increase their fares for commuters from January 2027. The move to raise fare prices on buses, trains, and trams has been met with backlash from politicians and the public concerned with the cost of living crisis and worried that price hikes may disincentivise public transport use.
Fares will increase by an average of 15% for public transport users nationwide. Travelling within Dublin, the 90-minute Leap Card fare will go up from €2 to €2.30 for adults. Student and young adult Leap Card holders in Dublin will see their fares increase from €1 to €1.15.
Town bus services operating in Athlone, Balbriggan, Carlow, Clonmel, Drogheda, Dundalk, Kilkenny, Mullingar, Navan, Portlaoise and Sligo will increase for adults, from €1.50 to €1.65, and for young adults there will be a 5c increase from 75c to 80c.
There will be no change to the Cork City Bus Leap, Cash and Daily or Weekly cap rates, and a new flat fare of €1.70 will be introduced in Galway, Limerick, and Waterford, replacing the standard and higher zone fares.
Student and young adult fares will continue to be 50% of adult fares, child fares will still be 33% that of adult fares, and free transport for children under nine and individuals aged 66 and over will remain in place.
The NTA cites inflation, high costs of running Ireland’s transport services, and fare revenue decreasing in recent years as the reasoning behind the price hikes. They say that higher fares will increase funding towards operation costs and to support growing infrastructure developments across the country.
These price hikes are the first changes to be made to Ireland’s public transport’s fare structure since 2018. The NTA claims that revised fares will bring Ireland in line with its continental counterparts, referring to other European cities that have just as high, or even higher fare costs on their public transport. NTA Chief Executive, Anne Shaw, states that the country’s public transport continues to provide value for money.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin supports this move to increase fare revenue, saying that the “Government is not in the position to fund everything forever”. However, opposition parties and politicians have criticised the Taoiseach and NTA in response to these higher fare prices.
Green Party leader, Eamonn Ryan believes that increasing fares in the name of improving transport infrastructure is just an excuse and will only maintain Ireland as “a car-dependent country”. Ryan spoke on RTÉ’s Drivetime radio programme saying, “If they were serious about expanding public transport services, a lot of which are ready to go, then there would be a capital budget to meet it. There isn’t”.
Opposition parties fear that this will discourage people from taking public transport and opt for their cars instead, asserting this will only lead to more traffic congestion and worsen the climate-crisis. Sinn Féin, Social Democrats, Labour, and Independent Ireland have each expressed discontent with the revised fares, noting that these increases to the public’s daily expenditure will only add to the cost-of-living crisis and disproportionately affect those on lower incomes.
These fare increases come at a time where students in Ireland are now effectively paying €500 more on university fees relative to the previous three years. Students eligible for free tuition are also set to spend €16,158 on average on college costs this year, an increase of almost €500 on last year, according to research by Switcher.ie. Dublin in particular remains to be the most expensive place to study in Ireland, with accommodation in the city rising by €658 per month, or €5,925 more for the 2026/2027 academic year.