Mr. Allen Parker:

There has been a significant investment from the NTA over the last number of years and the average age of the PSO fleet is approximately five years. There is a wide range from brand new but we do have vehicles that are up to 13 or 14 years old at the minute. There has been a significant investment over the past two years and the target is a 12 to 14-year maximum life. Some city buses are staying within the system at the minute to support the imminent roll-out of BusConnects and waiting for the new zero-emissions fleet to come in.

On the accessibility side, 100% of the Bus Éireann fleet is accessible and 100% of the PSO fleet is accessible. That is a mix of low floor on the city and high-capacity fleet. The double-deck commuter coaches are now low-floor, ramp accessible. The coaches are lift accessible. Probably the biggest challenge for us, as cited earlier, is bus stop infrastructure and being able to use those lifts. To reiterate a point made by Mr. Kent, one of the really big challenges our staff and drivers have is parking at bus stops. Even on city services getting a bus in to deploy the ramp parallel to the footpath is a major challenge. We are working with the various agencies to address that but it really is a key enforcement challenge we and every operator need to have addressed.