Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

It is with huge regret that I raise the issue of the organisation of bus routes in my area here in the Dáil Chamber with the Minister of State. It is something that, between the NTA and the operators of those buses, should not come to the floor of the Dáil. We know BusConnects has been controversial in many places where it has rolled out. It has proven so in the latest phase, phase 7, in the areas of Finglas and Glasnevin that it has impacted. From 19 October, the 9, 83, 140, 40 and 40b were replaced with the new bus routes 23, 24, F1, F2 and F3. While the consultation was done over an extended period, there was dissatisfaction with the routes.

As in any change process, some people will be happy and others will be unhappy, but there are a number of very simple changes that could have been made to address the issues. However, in the three weeks since the implementation occurred on 19 October, the routes alone are no longer the issue. There has been an absolutely calamitous roll-out of the service over the past three weeks - one of those weeks being the midterm week, when many children were away from school and not using the service. Whatever about people getting used to new routes or trying to find new ways of getting to work or arranging their school runs and so on, the reduced frequency on these routes is now the biggest issue. When you put the failure of certain buses to turn up on top of that, people are waiting, on average, between 30 and 40 minutes, according to the emails I have received. I have received nearly 100 emails in the past three weeks on this issue.

For example, the new 23 and 24 routes have a reduced frequency. Instead of the bus service being much more frequent, at 10 or 15 minutes, we are now down to 20 minutes. If one of those buses does not turn up, in the morning times children go out for a 8.10 a.m. bus and are not getting that bus until nearly 8.40 a.m. or 8.45 a.m.. They are late for school despite having been at the bus stop for an hour. I am talking about a 15-minute journey here. This is something that should not occur because there is demand for that service and the frequency should be there to meet it. I am getting reports of bus stops with 15 to 20 people waiting on buses. When the bus arrives, there is no room for people to get on. This is happening very early in the route. It might happen at the second or third stop on the route.

The NTA should be able to resolve these issues with the provider, in this case Dublin Bus, but I am really disappointed with the response of the NTA. It has not reacted to what is clearly an issue around service delivery. It has not reacted to the bedding-in problems and tried to address them. From the feedback of the constituents who have been in touch with me, they are very dissatisfied. This is basic stuff. People plan their day around the bus service. This bus service worked for many years but now, as a result of the changes, there are people being late to work and missing connections and there is the core problem of the routes not servicing the areas that were previously serviced. I will cover that in a moment. At the very least, if Dublin Bus and the NTA are going to implement new services, the frequency should be appropriate to the demand. There should not be extensive numbers of people at bus stops. There should not be limited space on a bus early in the route and there should not be missing buses. A very basic provision of services is needed.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of our colleague the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. From the outset, I clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. However, neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the National Transport Authority. The NTA works with the public transport operators, which deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters.

That said, I reassure the Deputy that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options and public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal. To support this objective, in budget 2026 the Department of Transport secured €940 million of funding for public service obligation, PSO, and TFI Local Link services. That was a significant 43% uplift, an increase from €658.4 million in 2025. BusConnects is a transformative programme of investment in the bus system, providing better bus services across our cities. It is the largest investment in the bus system in the history of the state and is managed by the NTA. The aim of the network is to improve the existing Transport for Ireland system through enhanced services with high frequency spines and new local, orbital and radial routes.

The recently launched F spine, providing routes F1, F2, and F3 as part of phase 7 of the BusConnects network redesign, introduces high-frequency 24-hour bus services - routes F1, F2 and 80 - on key corridors, enhancing connectivity between areas such as Tallaght, Finglas, Charlestown and the city centre. This redesign under phase 7 of BusConnects also introduced new radial services - routes 23, 24, 73 and 82 - and the new local route - route L89 - to streamline the network and make services more efficient. The NTA has advised that in advance of these new routes being implemented it distributed over 200,000 booklets to households across all the areas covered by the routes. It also advertised the new services in local media outlets and online, and it provided detailed briefings to local public representatives.

Separately, the NTA reported a technical fault in the Dublin Bus priority system, which adjusts traffic light signals to ease bus movement. The system malfunctioned for three consecutive days, causing unforeseen delays and significant frustration for customers. The issue was resolved last Wednesday and performance is expected to steadily improve. This issue was separate from the BusConnects new service roll-out, but it impacted all affected Dublin bus routes.

The performance of all public transport operators is monitored by the NTA as part of the contractual arrangements in place between it and the operators. Importantly, these contractual arrangements allow not only for the monitoring of performance by the NTA and the publication of its annual performance reports, but also for the imposition of financial penalties where performance does not meet the required standards. Improvements are also being introduced to the vehicle location system and real-time passenger information, all of which will improve the reliability of the system. The NTA informed the Minister that it is carefully monitoring capacity and reliability during these early days of the new services and will continue to monitor situations, adjusting where appropriate. I am conscious that is not the experience the Deputy had, though.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Minister of State. I am reassured that the NTA has said it will monitor frequency because anybody who has seen any of the bus stops or any of the buses being used will see that an increase in frequency is required. I am certain it is going to have to respond because of the level of demand. The difficulty is how long will it take the NTA to take that action.

I know BusConnects is controversial in different areas. I have encountered that in some areas and it involves some compromises at times. There are positive elements to the service, such as two new 24-hour bus routes, additional new services, connections to the Luas and so on. However, it is the basic design of the service that many people were very disappointed with. There is no longer a local connection between west Finglas and south Finglas, with many people living in one area but their children in school in the other. Routes Nos. 23 and 24 no longer serve the north city centre - the O'Connell Street area - so people from the area are now dropped off at George's Street or Merrion Square, which are miles away from the traditional shopping areas that they would have gone to in Henry Street or Mary Street. There is now no bus service operating in the Beneavin Road area, particularly where it interacts with Glasnevin Avenue. The diversion of the former No. 9 bus from a road that has a bus lane onto Ballygall Road East which does not have a bus lane, makes absolutely no sense. Finally, the east Finglas and Glasnevin area now no longer have a connection to places like Na Fianna, Scoil Mobhí and the Glasnevin-Drumcondra area. They are the structural route issues and I can work with the NTA on those, but what we cannot do is roll out a new service and fail to deliver the proposed service or roll out a new service and provide a less frequent or lower capacity service. This is a matter that the NTA will have to address. In asking the Minister of State this question, the NTA will have had to have prepared a response to input into the Department. I hope doing so was a call for action.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Deputy is right. Transport connectivity and reliability are critical for the people who live, work and study in Ireland. They are essential to encourage people out of cars and onto public transport. In the latest progress report published in March this year, the BusConnects Dublin programme has shown significant improvements in key performance indicators. There has been an annualised increase of 9.35 million, or 75%, in scheduled service kilometres in the NRD phase 1 F1 to 5B compared to equivalent routes operating prior to the NRD project. Passenger boardings on routes in the NRD phase 1 to 5B increased by 40% when compared with Dublin metropolitan bus routes that have not yet been altered in the redesign network. Overall, the redesign routes saw a 48% increase in passenger boardings while other routes experienced an increase of 8%. Additionally, the interim analysis indicates that 12% more places of employment are now reachable within 30 minutes with the redesign network compared with the pre-BusConnects network. This is moving the network towards the 18% place of employment reachability target.

It should be noted that the F spine, which is part of the BusConnects Dublin area NRD, was finalised following three rounds of public consultation that culminated in more than 72,000 submissions being received. The overall network represents a major investment in enhanced bus services, delivering a 35% increase in annual in-service kilometres, a significant increase in overall capacity and frequency for customers, as well as more evening and weekend services. The NTA will continue collaborating with operators and customers to enhance the punctuality and reliability of services throughout the NRD. Further, through initiatives such as the capacity improvement programme and implementation of ticketing techniques, the NTA is taking steps to enhance capacity and improve the overall travel experience for passengers.

I want to assure the Deputy that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, will relay the concerns raised on the floor of the Dáil tonight to the NTA to ensure a timely intervention and take on board the early teething problems, which we hope is all they are, to the new bus route.