Spanish company to introduce contactless payments on public transport in Dublin

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has selected a company named Indra to modernise the public transport payment system across bus, tram and rail services.

Indra will implement a next-generation ticketing system allowing passengers to pay fares using their bank cards or mobile phones.

This project, part of the larger BusConnects Programme, will initially focus on the Greater Dublin Area and is expected to reduce delays caused by cash transactions at bus stops.

Despite calls for a faster rollout of contactless payments, this technological upgrade is anticipated to take three to four years to fully deploy across all our public transport infrastructure.

Fine Gael senator John McGahon is among those who has previously called for the process to be speeded up.

“Leap Cards were first rolled out in 2011 and while they are convenient and useful, many more people would prefer the option to pay with their card or phone,” he said.

“Public transport use hit a record high last year. People made around 308 million journeys on Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Iarnród Éireann, Luas and other services in 2023 – a figure that was 24pc more than in 2022.

“It’s good news that people are more willing to use public transport – it’s better for congestion, sometimes better for our pockets and better for our environment.

“People commuting to work in the city and tourists need to be offered transport links that are reliable and easy to navigate and access.

“Ireland is an outlier in not being able to facilitate contactless payments on public transport. NTA needs to pull out all the stops now to deliver the full range of payment options to commuters, and fast.”

The NTA has been contacted for comment.