New €50m State-Of-The-Art Bus Éireann Fleet Launched

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe, has officially launched Bus Éireann's new €50 million 'fleet of the future'.

Funding for 116 new vehicles was provided by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport via the National Transport Authority (NTA).

The state-of-the-art vehicles feature extra legroom, power sockets (on commuter coaches), free WiFi, monitors with Real Time Passenger Information, are wheelchair accessible and have lower fuel emissions.

Some will soon enter service in Cork, Limerick and Galway while others recently went into operation on commuter services in the Great Dublin Area (GDA).

The announcement of €50m investment in 116 new vehicles comes on the back of newly released passenger journey numbers, which show that Bus Éireann services continued to grow in 2015. Passenger figures in the regional cities were up almost 4% in 2015 – which are operated in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

Minister Donohoe said that the fleet funding, provided by his Department via the NTA, would help deliver a more modern, reliable and comfortable fleet by reducing the average age and maintenance costs of the total fleet.

"As the economy continues to grow, there is a greater transport demand generally. Ensuring that public transport is an attractive option is central to encouraging people to leave the car at home. The upgrading of the Bus Éireann fleet in this way adds to this," Minister Donohoe said.

"I am glad to see passenger numbers for the company are on the rise and I look forward to seeing continued improvements and enhancements to our PSO bus services through the funding that the Government is making available for fleet and network improvements.

"This investment will be used to address increased demand and to respond to the increase in congestion, as the economy continues to grow in the years ahead."

(MH/JP)