‘Make public transport free to get people out of cars’

Money from corporate tax and taxes on wealth and profits should be used to make public transport free.

This is according to People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith who said that Minister Eamon Ryan should should use money from the large corporate tax surpluses to invest in the bus and rail fleet to improve the service.

The TD also said that the Ernst and Young report which said that free and frequent public transport would only reduce car usage by 1% was ‘deeply flawed.’

“Minister Ryan is out today saying that he would prefer to roll out investment in the public transport system rather than bring in further fare reductions,” Deputy Smith said.

“This is a false choice- we should do both- invest in the transport system and abolish fares.

“The Minister should be insisting that in the budget we see serious investment in the public transport fleet and system from the vast surpluses we have seen in the public finances from corporate tax revenues.

“The Green Minister should also be lobbying his government colleagues to bring in taxes on wealth and corporate profits to invest into the public transport system.

“The Minister’s opposition to free and frequent public transport is backed up by the flawed EY report but the international evidence shows that in over 100 cities free public transport takes cars off the road in greater numbers.

“Eliminating fares would be a huge benefit for hundreds of thousands of hard-pressed workers and signal the state was serious about real climate action.”