The National Transport Authority (NTA) has disputed a report suggesting it faces a €41 million cost overrun on its “next-generation” contactless ticketing system, which will allow passengers to tap their bank cards on buses, trains and the Luas.
A spokesman for the authority said the suggestion made in a Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report was “incorrect and without foundation”. He said the calculations seemed to be based on a “misinterpretation” of figures the Department of Transport shared with the PAC.
The new ticketing system is, in fact, “being delivered by the NTA within budget and is also on schedule”, he said.
The PAC report found that a number of key IT projects being undertaken by Government departments and State agencies were projected to run over budgets by more than €61 million. Among these was the NTA’s ticketing system, which the PAC said could now cost up to €269 million to deliver, amounting to an overrun of about €41 million.
The PAC is understood to be seeking clarification following the NTA’s objection to the calculations.
