€15m 'loose change' bus fare unclaimed

DUBLIN Bus has coined over €15m in loose change over the past eight years.
The money comes from unclaimed fares and has been accumulating in the company coffers since it introduced its changeless ticketing system in 1999.
An average of €1.9m has been collected each year, bringing the total to around €15.2m. However just one quarter - or €3.8m - has been reclaimed by those who overpaid on city routes.
Despite the excess millions retained, only a percentage of the money can be given straight to charity, as planned, because of an oversight by bus company chiefs. Because there is no expiry date on the ticket refunds, bus users can make a claim years afterwards.
Last year it was proposed that an expiry date be introduced to refunds.
But a spokeswoman for Dublin Bus said no changes had been made to the system.
"This amount needs to be viewed in the context in which we have greatly expanded the sales of prepaid tickets, which are discounted and which now account for almost 40pc of tickets, as an alternative to paying cash," she said.

The exact fare system was introduced as part of security measures to halt assaults on drivers.
Irish Independent: