Luas

Luas (Irish for 'speed'), also promoted in the development stage as the Dublin Light Rail System, currently encompasses two unconnected on-street light rail lines in Dublin, Ireland. Originally under the organisation of Córas Iompair Éireann, the project was moved to the Railway Procurement Agency upon that body's inception, whilst it is operated by Connex. The Luas is a major part of the Dublin Transportation Office's http://www.dto.ie 'DTO strategy (2000-2016)'.

Smartcard

In March 2005 the Luas smartcard was launched. This allows travellers to pay for travel on the Luas network but only cash payments (at the ticket machines) are possible. Credit is pre-loaded onto the smartcard and the customer must validate the card on the platform before boarding the tram and then again after exiting the tram. This is referred to as 'tag-on' and 'tag-off'

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A smartcard can be purchased at a Luas ticket agent or online http://luassmartcard.luas.ie. The card costs €10, which includes a €3 non-refundable charge for the card, €3 of credit and €4 for a fully refundable 'reserve fund' which allows you to travel even if there is insufficient credit on the card for the journey. However, the card must then be topped up before another journey can be taken.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When using the smartcard for a single (one-way) journey fares are set to half the cost of a standard return fare. On the Green Line, the standard return fare through three zones is €3.80, so a single journey using the smartcard costs €1.90. Since a standard single fare is €2, the smartcard allows the user slightly cheaper fares for single journeys.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Smartcard project is part of the Railway Procurement Agency's integrated ticketing system, which, when completed, should allow travellers to use the one card to pay for travel on all public transport in Ireland.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~