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Bus Éireann

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2020

Tuesday, 10 November 2020

Questions (256)

Carol Nolan

Question:

256. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Transport if he will address the concerns raised by the recent decision by Bus Éireann to withdraw some of its services (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34648/20]

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Written answers

While most public transport in Ireland comprises the bus and rail services funded through the National Transport Authority's (NTA) public service obligation (PSO) programme, there is part of the national public transport system that comprises non-subvented bus services, which are run on a commercial and competitive basis by bus and coach businesses of varying sizes throughout the country. Bus Éireann (BÉ) operates a substantial PSO business under contract with the NTA, providing subvented bus servcies both in the cities outside Dublin, and in regional and rural locations throughout the country. BÉ also has a separate, commercially-run business, "Expressway", which operates a number of inter-regional bus routes in competition with other, private, commercial operators in the licenced bus market. The recent BÉ announcement relates to routes operated by its commercial Expressway business.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Covid-19 health emergency has had a profound impact on the public transport sector due to the fall in passenger numbers and associated drop in fare revenues. The negative impact of Covid on the public transport system has been mitigated by several Government decisions particularly:

- to substantially increase the 2020 budget for the existing PSO system;

- to introduce new temporary financial support for non-PSO licensed services provided by commercial bus operators; and

- enhancements to certain PSO bus services announced under the Stimulus package.

The temporary funding supports for the licensed bus sector were introduced for a period of up to six months, in accordance with EU and national legislation and apply to routes where a clear public interest justification supports such intervention. The NTA, as the public transport licensing agency, is administering the support package through new contracts with the relevant commercial operators.

Among the commercially-operated routes that have qualified for support under the temporary scheme are most, but not all, of BÉ's "Expressway" services. Notwithstanding these supports, though, the Covid situation has still had a profound impact on the company's financial situation, that the Board of the company is obliged to address. Therefore, BÉ has developed plans to address its critical financial situation by reducing the size of its commercial Expressway business over time in order to focus on the profitable routes. The decision by the BÉ Board to consolidate its Expressway route network was taken following extensive work within the company. The Board has decided to indefinitely suspend the Dublin/Belfast service and, in the coming months, to cease services on the Dublin to Cork, Limerick and Galway routes. The Board decision will consolidate the commercial Expressway routes from 18 to 14. The company's decisions do not affect the over 200 routes that Bus Éireann operates under its normal PSO contract arrangements with the NTA; these will all continue as before.

I have been assured by the company that there will be no job losses as a result of its decision and that affected staff will be redeployed to new/enhanced PSO services which were announced as part of the Government’s July Stimulus Package. In this regard, BÉ plans to introduce new bus services in Galway, Limerick, Cork as well as Louth and Meath, which will require more than 100 drivers

As regards the regional connectivity consequences of the BÉ decision, I would like to reassure the Deputy that I have asked the NTA to assess any potential loss of connectivity along particular segments of the routes to ensure there are no gaps in the network, and to assess if there is a need to provide any additional services. The Government is committed to ensuring that essential transport services are protected and supported and that services continue to provide vital regional and rural connections.

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