Passenger journeys up almost 500,000 in 2016 on Bus Éireann services in the Greater Dublin Area

Growth of 7% across all Dublin commuter services

Growth of 7% across all Dublin commuter services

Passenger journeys on the Bus Éireann network in the East of the country grew by an impressive 7% in 2016, according to preliminary figures released today.

The total number of passenger journeys undertaken in the Greater Dublin area grew by 475,000 in 2016.

There were 7.268 million trips made on Dublin commuter services in 2016, compared to 6.793 in 2015. This represents a significant increase of 7% year-on-year.

Bus Éireann employs up to 700 people in the Eastern region and contributes approximately €65 million per annum to the local economy.

This includes payroll and procurement of goods and services.

As part of our ongoing investment in fleet for the Eastern Region, the company introduced 15 new high capacity commuter Double-Decker coaches and three new Expressway coaches in 2016.

All these new fleet are equipped with the modern features such as emergency braking systems, lane departure warning systems, on-board telematics and additional CCTV cameras.

Special services & network improvements in 2016

During 2016 we introduced a number of enhanced services across our network including:

N2/N3 Network Developments

Bus Éireann in conjunction with the National Transport Authority introduced a more frequent service on this corridor throughout the week and on weekends. This included:

  • Additional daily weekday trips from Ratoath to Dublin and Blanchardstown, from Ashbourne to Dublin and Blanchardstown
  • Enhanced connections to locations including Blanchardstown Shopping Centre & Connolly Hospital
  • Improved access to Drogheda, Duleek, Kentstown, Dunboyne & Tayto Park

Revised Route 115/115A

  • Increased the number of departures from Dublin to Mullingar

Enhanced Route 109A

  • Enhanced the level of operations on our 109A Kells/Dublin Airport/Dublin city service offerings, providing a full 24 hour service for passengers

GoBé Dublin to Cork direct service

  • Additional early morning services from Cork at 06.30 & 07.30 on GoBé coaches connecting Dublin city, Dublin Airport and Cork city.
  • The service operates 138 times a week directly between Cork city (Parnell Place), Dublin (Busáras) and Dublin Airport, non-stop.

Bus Éireann unveiled a new brochure with a dedicated network map for Ireland’s Ancient East in 2016.

We also transported over 6,000 passengers to music festivals in the East - and over 10,000 passengers to The National Ploughing Championships in Tullamore - in 2016.

David Lane, Bus Éireann, Regional Manager, East, said: “The fact there were almost half a million extra passenger journeys made in the Greater Dublin area this year shows we are reaping the rewards on all the hard work we have done in 2016. In 2017 we will continue working hard and provide further service enhancements for our customer to benefit from”.

Friday, 30th December, 2016