Newbridge Labour's 'Fair Fares' campaign has claimed that the recent fares determination by the National Transport Authority ignores the plight of commuters from Newbridge and further south in Kildare. The campaign has been gathering signatures and support for a fundamental review of the rail pricing structure since the extension of the Leap Card Zone to Sallins two years ago which saw a dramatic reduction in the cost of the fares to and from Dublin to that station. Patricia Callinan, Local Area Representative for the Labour Party, said: "Our campaign and meetings with the NTA appear to have created some awareness of the ridiculousness of the situation. You can travel from Heuston to Sallins and then switch to a train from Sallins to Newbridge for less than the cost of a single ticket from Heuston to Newbridge. Obviously this is a completely impractical proposition but it shows the craziness of the pricing structure and how south Kildare commuters are being penalised". In recent weeks we have noticed some slightly cheaper commuter promotion tickets and the NTA has applied a modest 5% reduction in the cost of the Adult single fare down from €15.05 to €14.30. But most fares, including the student single (€12.50), the adult monthly (€237.00), the adult annual (2,370.00) and the student monthly (€176.00) remain unchanged. Students and their hard pressed parents together with those commuting to work in Dublin are being ripped off ", she went on to say. Councillor Mark Wall described the rail fare situation as an example of the absence of any joined up thinking on the part of government and state agencies. "At a time when the new National Planning Framework is under discussion we need to face up to the fact that in this region most of the employment opportunities and college places are in Dublin. To add punitive transport costs on top of the travelling time involved is completely unfair to the workers and students trying to get to those jobs and courses. During the boom, when it came to housing, towns like Newbridge were marketed as commuter towns for Dublin but there has been a total failure to relate this to the reality of getting to work and college", he said. Newbridge Labour is continuing to gather signatures for its campaign mainly through door to door canvassing in the town. Patricia Callinan says that the recent NTA review was a missed opportunity but they do not intend to let up. "We have received a great reception from Newbridge residents on the doorsteps. There's a basic injustice here that is being ignored by those in a position to do something about it. So it's time for the ordinary people to be heard". ends Patricia Callinan 085 1211532 Mark Wall 083 3341488