Ireland: Where the Future Is Now (Except on Public Transport)

We live in a world where your dog can wear a Fitbit (no joke, it’s genuinely called a FitBark — I am laughing while writing this), where glasses can translate any language in real time, and where you can scan your face to pay for a coffee. And yet… if it’s lashing rain and you don’t have a Leap card — a card that looks and sounds like it was designed by Fisher-Price — you’re not getting on the bus.

That might continue to be the case until 2029, because according to Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien, contactless payments on Dublin’s buses, trams and trains are still years away.

A phased rollout is expected to begin between summer and autumn of 2027, starting with in-use testing in certain areas of the city. If — and it’s a big if — all goes well, we might see a full rollout by 2029. The system will cost €165 million, and yes, that’s for something Athens already managed to install after defaulting on their national debt.

Politicians from all sides have called the delay embarrassing. Because when churches, vending machines, and your dog’s smartwatch all accept contactless — the Dublin Bus not doing so is just taking the absolute pistachio.