We’re asked about student leap card caps all the time. What are they? How do they work? And most importantly, what savings can I expect?
What is the student leap card cap?
It’s quite simple – if you’re like us and can’t sit still you might travel more than the next person. The good news is that your trips on Dublin Bus, Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin City services, Luas, DART and Commuter Rail will be capped if you make lots of journeys in one day or one week. It gets better, you can travel the rest of the day or week for free once you hit that particular cap.
How does the leap card cap work?
Capping periods start at 4:30am on Monday to 4:29am the following Monday, once you reach 4.29am the amount spent resets to zero and you start over. A new daily capping period starts at 4:30am each day and the amount spent is reset and cannot be carried over. When you reach your daily or weekly cap you can continue to tap on and tap off travel services and you will not be charged.
Ok, so lets talk about the benefits of capping.
1. Low daily and weekly Dublin Bus and Luas caps for students
Dublin city bus prices have been rising steadily over the past number of years however if you’re a student the Cap is relatively low and great savings are on offer as a result. The daily cap for a student is €5 and the weekly cap is just €20. These same caps apply to Luas as well. Dart & Commuter rail are slightly more expensive at €7 (daily) and €27 (weekly).
2. You can avail of Multi Mode leap card capping
Yes that’s right, combine Dublin bus, Luas, Dart and Commuter train all in one. You can go wild and travel day and night with a daily cap of €7.50 and a weekly cap of €30.
3. Cost certainty and peace of mind
You no longer have to calculate fares and worry about overspending – simply factor in your weekly or daily caps to your personal spending budget and away you go! Certainty over cost is great – it allows you to plan your expenditure in advance and focus on wasting your money on other more enjoyable activities…..
4. Track your travel
Check see your last 5 transactions on a Luas, DART or Commuter Rail Ticket Machine. You can also see your last 50 transactions in your travel history if you sign in to your online account.
5. Coins are for Dinosaurs
No more coins. It’s really so convenient to have a student travel card as opposed to having to calculate fares and carry coins. Simply swipe on a swipe off and leave the Dinosaurs scrambling to count their €3.30 for bus driver.
6. Sit smugly beside adults who have to pay a hell of a lot more!
Single cash fares for adults for over 13 stages is €3.30. So as a student you can travel an unlimited amount of times in a week for just €20 but us poor adults would only get an equivalent of 6 cash fares for the same amount. There’s no justice in the world!
7. Enjoy and track your savings!
Don’t believe us how good the student leap card cap is? See for yourself – add up all your Leap Card fares during a Daily or Weekly (Mon 4:30am – Mon 4:29am) time period and subtract the relevant daily or Weekly Cap amount.
As always we hoped you enjoyed this article. You can learn more about how to sign up student leap cards here. Feel free to contact us at Studenthouse.com should you need any more information.
Safe travels!