Free Travel Announced For Child Leap Card Holders

The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and National Transport Authority has announced that all Child Leap Card holders, aged four to 18, can travel free on any Leap Card service for a fortnight from Monday 25 July.

Minister Shane Ross and Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority, announced the free travel will automatically apply when using a Child Leap Card on the following services from 25 July until the 07 August (inclusive):

• All Dublin Bus scheduled services (excluding Airlink)

• All Luas services

• All DART services

• All Commuter Rail services in Dublin's "Short Hop Zone"

• Bus Éireann services where Leap Card Validators are available.

The free travel promotion is aimed at encouraging families, children and teens to use public transport for their leisure activities during the school holidays.

It also highlights the cheaper fares which are available to Child Leap Card holders, and serves as a reminder for families to get their Leap Cards, and to get used to using them, in plenty of time before the new school year begins.

Any Child Leap Card can be used to avail of this free travel promotion[1], but for those who don't yet have one, a limited stock of free 4-15 Child Leap Cards is now available at the following locations:

• Dublin Bus Head Office, 59 O'Connell Street, Dublin 1

• Connolly, Heuston and Pearse Train Stations

• Bus Station, Parnell Place, Cork

• Bus Station, Ceannt Station, Eyre Square, Galway

• Bus Station, Parnell St, Limerick

• Bus Station, The Quay, Waterford

Minister Ross said: "This is a fantastic initiative from the National Transport Authority which I hope will encourage lots of families with young children to avail of public transport for their summer outings.

"The Leap Card has been hugely successful due to its convenience and the value for money that it offers. This promotion will enable Child Leap Card holders to travel free on Leap Card services for a fortnight during the height of the summer season so I hope that families will make the most of this opportunity to make happy summer holiday memories. They can get the picnic and head to town, the park or the seaside. Have Leap Card – will travel!"

Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority added: "Over the summer, we hope as many families as possible go to town to experience all that our fantastic cities have to offer during the holiday season. This promotion doesn't just apply to Dublin – the historic cities of Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford are also included in the fortnight's free travel for children with Leap Cards.  While there will be disruption to traffic in Dublin as we continue the track-laying for the new Luas Cross City service, this should not stop families and teens from travelling into the city on public transport and having some great days out!"

(MH/CD)