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iReach Insights Press Release   

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• More than half (53%) of Irish adults use public transport.
• 72% of Dubliners are public transports users.
• 22% use commuting as a time to rest/relax.
• 68% of those who don’t use public transport is because they prefer the car.
• Nationwide, the bus is the most popular means of transport with 49% of users.
• 42% of people choose public transport for comfort and convenience. 

Different transportation modes have their advantages and disadvantages when you are commuting and travelling. Travelling by car is convenient and comfortable but you must find a carpark and pay, the train is fast but can be longer to reach as there isn’t many stations and can be expensive, the bus is cheap but there’s too many stops and it takes forever to get anywhere! It’s difficult to find the best way to travel and especially at peak travel times. In cities in Ireland, especially Dublin, you have to decide if price, convenience or time is most important and then sacrifice the others.


The survey questions were included in the Nationally Representative iReach Consumer Decisions Omnibus run between 22^nd of June and the 29^th of June and has and has a 3% Confidence Interval and 95% Confidence Level

In a recent survey conducted by iReach Insights, 1000 adults were asked about their use of public transport in general and for commuting.

Half (53%) of the respondents use public transport! Unsurprisingly, the highest figure is 72% for the people of Dublin and the lowest number of users Is Munster at 36% - half the amount of Dublin. This is most likely due to the multitude of public transport in the capital and its periphery. Of those who commute by public transport, 42% is for the comfort and the convenience, financial reasons (37%) and due lack of parking at destination (37%). 22% use commuting as a time to rest/relax, 20% have environmental reasons and the others report the speed (22%), the fuel efficiency (19%), the managing of their time (17%) and their health (14%).

This survey shows us there are still a lot of Irish adults who don’t use public transport (47%). With the majority (68%) of those that don’t use it, agreeing that they “prefer the car". 41% don’t use public transport because it is difficult to reach it and 27% think it would take too long to reach their destination. Their other reasons are; public transport is unreliable (21%), travelling with children (14%), feel safer in a car (11%), the weather (9%) or because public transport is too busy (8%).

We asked, “Which means of transport do you use most frequently when commuting?”. The following ranking is not surprising: bus is the most popular (49%), followed by train (23%) and car (12%). The other ones share the users fairly; DART (6%), Tramway/LUAS (5%), bicycle (5%) and unsurprisingly only 1% use a taxi.

Of the public transport users, only 10% of respondents use public transport daily whereas 20% use it 5 days a week. 20% use it several times a week and 25% only several times a month. There are still 25% who use it less often/never. The cost of public transport varies regionally, with bus fares in Cork costing €1.80 and the same distance could cost €2.70 in Dublin (Cash), which is reflected in the higher average spend in Dublin and Leinster compared to Munster, Connacht and Ulster. When looking at the nationwide figures; more than half of people (57%) spend less than €50 per month on transportation. Nearly one third (30%) spend €51-€100 and only 13% spend more than €100. Ireland is a very car-dependent nation and alternative measure need to be enforced to persuade more people to use public transport.

For more information on these research findings please feel free to call iReach on 01-2143740 or email Oisin at oisin.byrne@ireachhq.com


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