Fuel Price Hike Means Car Commuters Can Save Thousands of Euro by Switching to Bus

• A month of travel on city services costs less than the cost of a tank of petrol – Cost of Commuting Survey

Car commuters could potentially save themselves thousands of euro in fuel costs by switching to the bus for some or all of their journeys, according to the latest Cost of Commuting Survey from Bus Éireann.

With the recent rise in petrol (161.c) and diesel (154.c) prices, commuters who travel to work by car could be adding hundreds or thousands of euro to their annual household bills. This doesn’t even include other savings to be made by switching to the bus including reduced parking charges, toll charges, and operating costs (servicing, oil, tyres and other repairs).

For instance, the annual cost of petrol for travelling by car between Kells and Dublin is an estimated €4,724.89* excluding additional charges, according to the Cost of Commuting Survey by Bus Éireann.

However, if that person was to take the bus between Kells and Dublin using a Bus Éireann weekly ticket, it would cost them €2,702 a year – a saving of over €2,000. Even further savings of up to 52% off the monthly or yearly cost of the fare could be achieved depending on a person’s tax status by signing up to the Taxsaver Scheme.

The survey also found that someone travelling by car between Galway and Ballinasloe will spend €20.59** on petrol for every round-trip compared to just €14.50 for a return journey between these destinations on Bus Éireann.

Car users could also have a month’s worth of travel on Bus Éireann’s City services for less than the cost of a tank of petrol. Cork’s monthly adult ticket is good value at €69.50 for unlimited travel on its extensive city network. Waterford city services offer an unlimited monthly city adult commuter ticket at €55.50. Galway and Limerick city services offer an unlimited monthly city adult commuter ticket at €61.50. This compares with the potential cost of a tank of petrol of €82.57***.

When it comes to longer journeys, a couple could take a day trip such as Dublin-Athlone or Galway–Clifden with Bus Éireann for less than half the cost of a tank of petrol. For example, two day return trips Dublin-Athlone cost €33.00 in total (€16.50 each), a Day Return trip between Galway-Clifden costs €14.50 (€29.00 for two), or a Day Return on the Waterford-Kilkenny route is €12.00 (€24.00 for two).

“With petrol and diesel prices increasing it is getting more and more expensive to use the car. Commuters who leave the car at home a couple of days a week and take the bus instead could cut their bills by hundreds of euro a year,” said Andrew McLindon, PR and Media Manager, Bus Éireann.

Bus Éireann continues to improve its service offering to customers. For instance, many vehicles have free Wi-Fi, while the company’s iPhone App provides up-to-the-second information on when services are arriving at stops across the country, as well as allowing customers to plan their journey across its nationwide network.

Petrol and diesel prices are average price as per www.pumps.ie on 15 March 2013 

Fare Comparison Details

Commuter Fare

€2,702 - The yearly bus fare for Kells/Dublin at 10 journey ticket over 48 weeks.

*€4,724.89 is the cost of petrol for a car to complete the same number of journeys exclusive of standing charges of around €10,000 and operating costs e.g., servicing, oil, tyres and other repairs. Petrol at 161.9 cents and length of journey at 128kms return over 48 weeks at 5 days per week with fuel consumption at 9.5 litres per 100kms as per http://pumps.ie (15 March 2013)

**Galway-Ballinasloe - Petrol at 161.9 cents and length of journey at 133.9km return with fuel consumption at 9.5 litres per 100km as per http://pumps.ie

***City Fare and Day Trip

€82.57 for a 51 litre capacity tank at 161.9 cents per litre (1.6 litre Ford Focus)

€72.85 for a 45 litre tank capacity at 161.9 cents per litre (1.6 litre Ford Fusion)

Tuesday, 19th March, 2013