Dublin Bus - Fares

Fares

Dublin Bus fares are generally calculated on a stage system based on distance travelled. There are several different levels of fares, which apply on most services. Certain routes (particularly Xpresso, see below) use a different fare system.

Dublin Bus follows an "exact fare – no change" policy on almost all buses for passengers who pay cash fares – to minimise the risk of staff being robbed, passengers must place the exact fare in coins (notes are not accepted as the counting machines in the garages cannot process them) in the fare box before the ticket is issued; in the case of overpayment a "change ticket" is issued which can only be exchanged for cash at the company's head office on O'Connell Street. The only exception are routes 747 and 748, the express routes to and from Dublin Airport, where with a minimum fare of €6, banknotes are accepted and change is given in cash.

There are several types of pre-paid tickets available, including:

• single day and multi-day tickets ("Rambler" and "Travelwide")
• tickets corresponding to cash fares (on airport or Nitelink services)
• 90 minute tickets which allow unlimited travel (or more precisely the right to board as many buses as required) for 90 minutes (only available as a ten use smartcard)
• tickets valid on Dublin Bus and Iarnród Éireann or Luas or all three, although tickets valid for all three systems are only issued by Iarnród Éireann

All prepaid tickets must be validated in a machine by the door of the bus at the start of each journey.

Old age pensioners and certain other people are allow to travel free of charge; this is part of the national "Free Travel Pass" system operated by the Department of Social Protection.

Minimum fares are payable on some services in order to discourage passengers wishing to travel short distances from using seats which could be used by those who wish to travel longer distances. A standard fare (currently €50) is theoretically payable by those who evade payment of the full fare for the journey, but is rarely collected.