Ranelagh Luas station is one of the more pleasant Luas stops located on a viaduct above the main village, overlooking such renowned Ranelagh landmarks as Superquinns and the popular indoor Village Market on one side and Ranelagh Road that leads onto Charlemont Street that will take you into town on the other.
The station provides a sheltered seating area and one ticket machine either side of the Luas tracks. The station is seldom busy owing to it being only three stops away from St. Stephen's Green (the last stop on the Green Line taking you all the way into the city centre) and hence most people travelling into town would have already boarded by now together with the reason that walking from this point only takes 20mins max and henceforth unless you are feeling quite sluggish or in such a rush you figure saving an extra few minutes will help your critical cause most people just walk instead of potentially paying for the Luas. I say 'potentially' because the method of payment to use the Luas is quite a contentious subject.
There are no ceremonial means of having your ticket checked. What happens is that you board the tram, say with a ticket bought from the freestanding machines at each stop and unless an inspector in a fluorescent orange jacket suddenly boards at one of the stops to check tickets you will not have your ticket inspected.
The inspectors, in my experience of living in Dublin are rarely seen and so it is customary behaviour by numerous people, especially students who have limited money to spend, not to buy a ticket at all. At a hefty €1.90 it is hard to justify paying this price for such a short journey, maybe if the local transport company did not charge such a bold price people would be more keen to pay, even if it was just to get rid of some loose change and ensure that if an inspector did board you were safe.
If you do get caught ticketless the fine is an excruciating €45. The gamble is yours to either take or, well, not to take. read more