Free Travel for Young Children Among New Public Transport Measures

Image credit: Matt Walsh

Families using public transport are set to benefit from new fare changes introduced this week by the National Transport Authority (NTA).

Free travel for 5–8 year olds

From today, children aged 5 to 8 can travel free on all Transport for Ireland (TFI) services when using the new Child 5–8 Leap Card. Up until now, only children under the age of 5 were entitled to free travel. The new card extends the benefit until a child’s 9th birthday and is expected to apply to over 260,000 children nationwide.

To use the scheme, parents or guardians need to order the card through the Leap Card website. Once activated, it can be used across the TFI network — including buses, trains, and trams — without the need to pay a fare.

Cheaper fares in commuter zones

A second change, which came into effect on 1st September, introduces new discounted child fare products across the Dublin commuter zones. These bring child fares in outer commuter areas (Zones 2–4) into line with the discounts already in place in Zone 1 (Dublin city).

Under the new pricing, child daily, weekly, and monthly tickets are reduced to one-third of the equivalent adult fare. In Zone 2 — which covers towns such as Balbriggan and Greystones — a weekly child fare has dropped from €16.00 to €10.60. The tickets also allow onward travel into Dublin city (Zone 1) on rail, Luas, and Dublin Bus services without any extra charge.

Both measures were announced by the NTA as part of commitments in Budget 2025, aimed at improving affordability for families and encouraging greater use of public transport among younger passengers. They follow previous fare reductions introduced in recent years, including the 20% cut in public transport fares in 2022.

More information on these new initiatives are available on the NTA website.