Cost of transportation becoming an increasingly pressing matter among students

Last month, thousands of students across Ireland returned to or began the academic year in TU Dublin.  

With the constant rise in the cost of living in Ireland, many students who do not live in Dublin are forced to either seek accommodation or have to make long and often very expensive commutes each week.  

For students living in Dublin or in the Greater Dublin area, there is often a wide variety of different forms of public transport, be it Dublin Bus, the Luas, the train or the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit). However, there are several students who do not have the luxury of these convenient options for their journey to college. 

Jenny O’Neill is a student living in Wicklow Town. Speaking to The Liberty, Jenny explains the difficulty that she faces when making her daily commute to college.

“If I could afford accommodation in Dublin, I would love nothing more than to have it, but it is just far too expensive,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill continued, “For my course this semester, I am in for three 9am lectures which means I need to be leaving my house at 6:45am at the latest to get the bus to Busarus, then get the Luas the rest of the way in. When the clock hits 1pm in the day, I am already exhausted, and I feel that I can’t be productive in college.” 

Along with public transport, there are several students who drive themselves into college. Harry Nolan is a student living in Castlecomer in Kilkenny.  

“I drive up and down to college four days a week, it could be worse but still is very expensive and it can be a bit frustrating at times because I would love to go for a pint after college with my mates, but I can’t do that for obvious reasons, but I’d definitely be open to the idea of renting if the prices were more affordable and more available. The rent prices are monumental, you’d have to be working a full-time job whilst being in college just to afford it.” he said.  

He continued, “it generally costs me about €25 per day on diesel to commute to college. On top of fuel costs my insurance is in and around €1100 for the year along with €180 per year road tax. I park my car at the Red Cow and get the Luas in to avoid driving directly into the city centre and the parking there is €4 per day.” 

Nolan also said, “Commuting to college can be very tough at times, and somewhat demoralising and cause me to wonder if it is even worth all the hardship. It’s exhausting by the end of the week just from the early starts and focusing whilst driving in traffic but I suppose it really tests commitment doing college work or going to work in the evening when all you want to do is sleep and rest, but I suppose it’s all about the end goal really of obtaining a degree so hopefully it pays off in the long run.” 

Nolan also said, “Commuting to college can be very tough at times, and somewhat demoralising and cause me to wonder if it is even worth all the hardship. It’s exhausting by the end of the week just from the early starts and focusing whilst driving in traffic but I suppose it really tests commitment doing college work or going to work in the evening when all you want to do is sleep and rest, but I suppose it’s all about the end goal really of obtaining a degree so hopefully it pays off in the long run.” 

Unfortunately, several students would love the opportunity to drive to college rather than travelling via public transport, however, due to the large backlogs from the COVID-19 pandemic for driving test dates, these students are left stuck with only the option of commuting in public transport.  

Edward Murphy faces an almost two-hour bus journey from Kells in Meath to TU Dublin each morning. “Prices of accommodation are ridiculous, if it was more affordable, I would prefer that to the bus,” he said.

“My bus costs €7.70 which isn’t exactly cheap either when you’re spending that maybe 4 or 5 times a week,” Murphy said.