Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

Transport 21 provides for a programme of investment to fund increased radial and orbital bus services in the Dublin area. The target is to achieve in the period up to 2015 a 60% increase in passenger carrying capacity through new and replacement bus acquisition. Dublin Bus is bringing into service the 100 additional buses for which Exchequer funding of €30 million was approved in September last. This will bring the total Dublin Bus fleet to 1,182 buses, up from approximately 900 in 1997.

The capacity of the Dublin Bus fleet, taking into account the 100 additional buses recently purchased, is now more than 106,000 passengers. This is an increase of more than 45% on the 2000 capacity. This increase reflects the fact that many of the replacement buses purchased over this period were of higher capacity than the smaller, single decker buses being replaced. Over the same period Dublin Bus passenger numbers grew from 137 million to 146 million per annum, an increase of 7%.

The need for additional buses over and above the 100 being brought into service will be considered in the legislation being prepared to replace the Road Transport Act 1932. The proposed legislation will, inter alia, address the precise arrangements for the award of franchises to private operators in the Dublin market in line with my announcement of September last.

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