New Dublin Commuter Zone Will Include Newbridge & Kildare Town

It replaces the short hop zone and will benefit rail users in Monasterevin and Portarlington.

The controversial Short Hop Zone is to be replaced by a new Dublin Commuter Zone which will include Newbridge and Kildare town as part of a new national fare strategy confirmed by the National Transport.

Under the new strategy, fares will be made up of a boarding charge plus an incremental fare based on the distance of the journey.   

A new outer Dublin Commuter Zone extending approximately 50km from Dublin city centre will be created, which will include Newbridge and Kildare town. 

The NTA confirmed that fares for journeys between Dublin and the outer Dublin Commuter Zone will be reviewed and revised in upcoming determinations.

This change to the fare charging system should also benefit rail users in Monasterevin and Portarlington.

A variation of this structure will also apply to Dublin city and commuter belt to eliminate fare inconsistencies in this area. 

A Dublin city zone will be created which will extend approximately 23km from the city and broadly equate to the existing 90 minute fare zone.

The exact fares are yet to be finalised.

For travel from the Outer Dublin Commuter Zone into the Dublin City Zone (or vice-versa) the lower of the following fares will apply:

1.         The National Fare Structure i.e. boarding charge plus an incremental fare based on the straight-line distance between the start and end stop of your journey; or

2.         The existing ‘Xpresso’ Dublin City fare (currently €2.40) plus an incremental fare based on the straight-line distance between the start of your journey and the ‘Dublin City Zone’ boundary.

This will ensure that the cheapest fare is made available for passengers and will help alleviate boundary issues between the national and city fare structures.

Kildare South Fine Gael TD and Minister Martin Heydon: “The proposed new National Fares strategy announced by the NTA today will see the end of the Short Hop Zone which has disadvantaged commuters from Newbridge, Kildare and other areas of South Kildare for many years.

“The new fares strategy announced today will see all future fares for both bus and rail transport based on distance travelled in kilometres to bring equity and consistency to our national fare structure. 

"This move is another step closer to achieve fairer fares for Kildare commuters.

“Although the exact fares are yet to be confirmed, this announcement marks Phase 1 of the process and signals an end to the unjust method of the Short Hop Zone.

"While there is work left to be done, this new proposed system will bring in an era of fairer fares for Kildare commuters and I look forward to seeing it rolled out”, concluded Minister Heydon.