Bus Éireann - catering for people with disabilities
Bus Éireann is committed to the provision of a fully accessible public transport system and infrastructure.
All of our vehicles operating on city services in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Sligo are accessible and close to 70 per cent of our total road passenger fleet is accessible.
It is Bus Éireann’s policy to procure more accessible vehicles as part of our continuing programme of fleet replacement and upgrading subject to funding being available.
Bus Éireann with funding from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, and the National Transport Authority and using its own resources has also invested in making its stations and station facilities accessible.
Accessible Services
All of our bus services operating in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Sligo are low-floor accessible.
Over the last year, we have introduced a number of accessible inter-city and commuter services. However, rolling-out further such services is dependent on the provision of accessible bus stops, which is the responsibility of local authorities.
Accessible stops are necessary to enable Bus Éireann customers who are mobility impaired to get on and off our vehicles safely, particularly those customers who need to use the wheelchair lift to access coaches.
Accessible Coach Services
The following coach routes only are now accessible for wheelchair users:
- Waterford to Cork (station-to-station with an accessible bus stops available in Castlemartyr and Waterford Institute of Technology) Route 40
- Galway to Ballina (station-to-station only) Route 456
- Galway to Athlone (station-to-station only) Route 20 & 430
- Navan to DCU via Dublin Airport (accessible stops at Collins Avenue/DCU, Dublin Airport, and Navan) Route 109a
Our current selection of accessible coaches only have one wheelchair space, which means we cannot guarantee the space will be available so please notify your local Bus Station by telephone, 24 hours in advance of your journey and a reservation will be made for you.
| Bus Station, Athlone. | (090) 6484406 |
| Bus Station, Ballina, Co. Mayo. | (096) 71800 |
| Bus Station, Parnell Place, Cork. | (021) 4508188 |
| Bus Station, Galway. | (091) 562000 |
| Bus Station, Waterford. | (051) 879000 |
| Bus Station, Busáras, Dublin | (01) 8366111 |
Accessible City Services
All of our bus services operating in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Sligo are low-floor accessible.
All city vehicles have an entrance ramp and a designated wheelchair space.
On vehicles accessible to mobility impaired persons who are wheelchair users, a wheelchair must be parked in the designated area and in such a manner as the driver may direct. A wheelchair user has priority for use of this designated area at all times. One occupied childrens’ buggy or pushchair may be parked in this designated area when it is not occupied by a wheelchair.
Bus Stations
All new station facilities are specified to be accessible and we are continually investing in improving access to our existing facilities.
Dundalk, Drogheda, Killarney, Waterford, Athlone, Sligo, Cavan, Monaghan, Ballina, Letterkenny, Parnell Place Cork, Ennis, Tralee and Busáras bus stations are fully accessible. These bus stations also have accessible toilets available together with Rosslare Harbour, Limerick, Kilkenny and Galway.
Public Address Systems
All new coaches and large capacity city single deck buses are fitted with public address systems. New city buses also have an internal “bus stopping” sign, which indicates to passengers that the bus is stopping and allows them to remain seated until the bus comes to a stop.
Destination Indicator Signs
The destination indicators fitted to Bus Éireann vehicles are generally compliant with the British DPTAC recommendations. The legal requirement to show destination names in a bilingual format imposes certain constraints on the height of lettering than can be used. In addition, the overall dimensions of the display unit can be constrained by the windscreen configuration of coach type vehicles. Bus Éireann is fitting all new buses and coaches with an electronic destination unit of a type in widespread use in Britain.
Phone Numbers for Travel Centres
| Bus Station, Athlone. | (090) 6484406 |
| Bus Station, Ballina, Co. Mayo. | (096) 71800 |
| Bus Station, Cavan. | (049) 4331353 or (049) 4332533 |
| Bus Station, Parnell Place, Cork. | (021) 4508188 |
| Bus Station, Drogheda, Co. Louth | (041) 9835023 |
| Busáras (Central Bus Station), Store Street, Dublin 1. | (01) 8366111 |
| Bus Station, Dundalk, Co. Louth | (042) 9334075 |
| Bus Station, Ennis, Co. Clare. | (065) 6824177 |
| Bus Station, Galway. | (091) 562000 |
| Bus Station, Killarney, Co. Kerry. | (064) 30011 |
| Bus Station, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal | (074) 9121309 |
| Bus Station, Limerick. | (061) 313333 |
| Bus Station, Monaghan. | (047) 82377 |
| Bus Station, Sligo. | (071) 9160066 |
| Bus Station, Stranorlar, Co. Donegal. | (074) 9131008 |
| Bus Station, Tralee, Co. Kerry. | (066) 7164700 |
| Bus Station, Waterford. | (051) 879000 |
| Bus Éireann Desk-Passenger Tour Enquiries, Arrivals Hall, Shannon Airport. |
(061) 474311 |
Alternatively you can email Bus Éireann
Accessibility Policy
Currently, the Sectoral Plan under the Disability Act 2005 envisages that the entire scheduled service coach fleet in Ireland will have been replaced by wheelchair accessible coaches by 2015. Bus Éireann is committed to playing its part in meeting this goal as funding becomes available.
Bus Éireann is represented on the Public Transport Accessibility Committee (PTAC), which was established under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness in July 2000. The terms of reference of the Committee are:
- To advise the Minister on the accessibility aspects of proposed public transport investments.
- To advise the Minister on accessibility issues relating to existing public transport infrastructure, facilities and services and where appropriate make recommendations for prioritised, cost effective measures to address these issues.
Bus Éireann also has an active accessibility user group whose members include the IWA, DeafHear, NCBI, and the Disability Focus Group on the Dublin Community Forum.
