Rebel riders: Cork linked to more than half of 857 confiscated free travel passes
Over 850 free travel passes were confiscated in Ireland over an 18-month period, with more than half linked to addresses in Cork. Most confiscations occurred because the passes were being used by unauthorized individuals rather than the registered cardholders.
Why it matters
The data highlights issues with fraud and misuse in public social welfare schemes, prompting administrative oversight by the Department of Social Protection.
Nearly 500 free travel passes were confiscated during an 18-month period after they were found being used by somebody other than the person named on the card.
Department of Social Protection records show 857 passes were seized and returned to the department between January 2025 and June of this year.
Of those, 474 were taken because the pass was being used by the wrong person, while 377 were recorded as “blocked”.
Five more were confiscated because the holder was no longer entitled to free travel, while one was listed as damaged.
Bus Éireann services accounted for three-quarters of the total, with 642 passes confiscated.
A further 125 were sent back by Dublin Bus , along with 80 from Iarnród Éireann and 10 from the operators of the Luas tram network.
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