Bus: Pay slots on Dublin Bus have been fitted with a warning asking customers to pay for their journey in one currency only during the changeover period. To prevent delays at bus stops, drivers will not issue change tickets to customers during the first three weeks of the changeover period.

All fares will be rounded down to the nearest five cents. For example, a £1.15 fare directly converts to €1.46 but will be rounded down to €1.45. The 60p fare becomes 75 cents, an 85p fare will cost €1.05 and the £1.05 fare becomes €1.30.

Bus ╔ireann fares will be rounded down to the nearest five, 10 or 20 cents, except for city services fares where there will be a straight conversion.

For example, a return journey from Dublin to Galway, which currently costs £12, will be priced at €15.20 instead of the exact conversion price of €15.24.

A spokesman for the company said that notices had been placed on bus timetables requesting that customers pay in one currency, as "it wouldn't be practical" to issue change in a mixed-currency transaction.

Rail: Fares for DART, suburban and Intercity services will be converted exactly to euro amounts or rounded down from January 1st as part of Iarnr≤d ╔ireann's "Fare and Square" policy.

The company is requesting that rail users allow extra time to buy tickets and tender the exact fare in one currency only during the changeover period.

Information leaflets, including fares conversion tables, are available at all stations.

Iarnr≤d ╔ireann is also urging customers to buy prepaid weekly, monthly or 10-journey tickets to help ease rail station queues, according to Mr Barry Kenny, spokesman for the company.

Prepaid ticket sales are being promoted by the holding of a prize draw for a trip to the World Cup in Japan.

Commuters who buy adult season tickets for use during January and February can submit used tickets to the draw.

Taxis: Mr Vincent Kearns, vice-president of the National Taxi Drivers' Union, estimates that about 50 per cent of the 7,600 taxis will have their meters reprogrammed and verified before January 1st. Drivers will not be required to provide printed receipts for euro fares until September 1st, 2002 - eight months after E-day.

The cost of taxi journeys will rise from January 1st under fare increases agreed by local authorities in Dublin. From the New Year, the minimum fare will be €2.75.

For journeys taking place between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., passengers will be charged 15 cents for every one-ninth of a mile or 30 seconds or part thereof. From 10 p.m. until 8 a.m. and on Sundays and public holidays, this cost is 20 cents.

Hackney drivers have been sent euro starter packs and conversion calculators, according to Dublin Corporation's traffic department.

Parking: Pay-and-display parking units in Dublin are already fully euro-compliant and charges will be converted directly to the euro rate.

Drivers will not have to pay using awkward amounts of coins: the length of time will instead be adjusted to ensure the public don't lose out during the changeover.

For example, a £1-per-hour zone will cost €1.30 rather than the exact conversion rate of €1.27, but users will receive an extra minute of parking time.

Customers will have a choice of which currency to use until February 9th, when pay-and-display machines will only accept euro coins.

Phone services: Payphone calls will cost 40 cents from January 1st.

The price has been rounded up from 38 cents but users will receive longer call duration to compensate for the price increase. Public payphones will take a mixture of currencies until February 9th.

Bank services: New Year's Eve revellers are advised to withdraw sufficient cash for their transport home and to see them through the early hours of the morning.

All ATM cash dispensers will be out of service from 1.30 a.m. as machines are restocked with euro notes.

They will be out of service until 6 a.m., when they will be reopened on a phased basis.

Branch-based ATMs may be the first to reopen, while most ATMs will be in service, issuing only euro notes, by the end of January 1st.

All other banking services will be conducted in the euro currency from this date.

Cheques should be written using the new euro cheque books. Remaining Irish pound cheques should be lodged before February 9th, although they are valid for a further six months.

As part of the National Cash Changeover Plan, banks and financial institutions, including post offices, will change "household amounts" of Irish pound notes and coins (up to £500) into euros without imposing any charge.

Postal services: An Post advises that customers delay changing unused household cash until mid-January in order to avoid queues at post office counters earlier in the month. There is no need to make special provision to change current savings documents.

Post office books will be changed to euro-denominated books during a customer's next transaction.

An Post is asking people to use Irish punt-only denominated stamps as soon as possible in 2002, but these and dual-priced stamps remain valid until December 31st, 2002.

From January 1st, 2003, euro-only denominated stamps should be used, however, An Post euro-denominated stamps cannot be used anywhere else in the euro zone.