Mr. Gerry Murphy:

I will pick up on the issue of the Deloitte report, subvention and performance targets first. The 2009 report was not conducted on behalf of the authority but in general it made a number of statements about Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann being comparable with their peers. One could take comfort from that as it seemed to say they were efficient. However, a careful reading of the reports gives a slightly different picture. For example, a case study of the Dublin Bus Finglas corridor was done and the authors identified 17% cost savings that could be made and this could be replicated across 13 other corridors in the city. They said Bus Éireann should subcontract and tender some of its services because smaller operators would perhaps be able to provide them at a cheaper price. The Deloitte report, therefore, has issues in it as regards their efficiency.

In general, subvention in Europe ranges between 30% and 70% in some cities. However, it is not as low as perceived in Ireland. It probably comes to approximately 50% of the revenue of Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann, which is the mean throughout Europe. This comprises the base subvention, the free travel scheme supported by the Department of Social Protection and tax foregone through the taxsaver scheme under which the Revenue supports public transport. I do not say it is the highest subvention in Europe but it is not the lowest.

The Deputy mentioned Aircoach and wheelchair accessible fleets. Aircoach runs a commercial service and currently in Ireland there is no requirement on licensed commercial services to have a wheelchair accessible fleet. For example, Bus Éireann does not have such a fleet on its commercial services. The State, however, has invested in Dublin Bus and has funded buses that are wheelchair accessible. I guarantee the Deputy that all the services we provide through the new competitive tenders will be 100% wheelchair accessible.

He referred to the experience in the UK. He is correct that outside London, there has been drop in bus services. There might have been a splurge of growth in commercial bus services outside London but that diminished and the state went on to subsidise services. I would not recommend that model. However, within London, there has been massive growth in public transport. Passenger numbers are as high now as they were in 1962 during the great age of public transport before the growth in car use. There is continued growth in ridership and continued satisfaction.

TUPE is a matter we will address. We will talk to the unions and the companies and we will see what can be done with regard to that within the tender competition.

The Deputy asked why 10% of routes was chosen. In constructing competitive tendering in any tender competition, one of the keys to realising value for money is to have competition and to have a significant number of people bidding for the services. We did a market consultation in 2012 with both international and Irish operators and approximately 80 bus routes in the Dublin region would draw in large Irish operators and international operators to compete. That would enlarge the pool. If the number of routes is too small, the pool of operators will reduce. A total of 80 routes may allow us to parcel a north and south tender competition, which we are looking at, and it may allow us to run that concurrently with the tender for Bus Éireann commuter services to create a significant market that international and domestic operators could bid for in lots. Throughout Europe major operators have come into all the cities and jurisdictions that have realised value and they have delivered the value. Large global operators deliver value through competition. They leverage their management resources and existing systems, all to the benefit of the contracting authority which can avail of that and pass on the benefits to the consumer.

I guarantee the Deputy that the service will be the same. There will be no discernible difference. We hope it will realise cost savings for us to improve and increase services because the savings will be put back into the public transport system, whether that is in Dublin or in rural areas that have large gaps in services. Every penny we realise in savings, therefore, will be put back into better services.