Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to take part in this discussion on the cost and efficiency review of Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann. We welcome all contributions in considering the future of bus services in Ireland. It is important we consider the context in which the review was undertaken. Current and capital Exchequer investment in Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann over the past ten years has been at unprecedented levels. The CIE companies, including Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann are, like so many businesses, experiencing serious financial challenges, the magnitude of which was quite unexpected. We have new and exciting opportunities with the launch of the policy document, Smarter Travel — A Sustainable Transport Future.

The Government has, year on year, shown its commitment to public transport as investment has skyrocketed. Since 2000 almost €800 million has been paid to Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann in compensation for the public service obligation, PSO, services they provide. In 2009 this will amount to approximately €125 million, an increase of almost 120% on 2000. Over the same period more than €300 million in capital has been made available to the two companies towards the cost of 271 additional buses, 1,150 replacement buses and new and improved garages and bus stations. This investment has delivered new and better services throughout the country and supported the economic prosperity that we have enjoyed over the past decade. Despite the demands on Exchequer funding this year, the Government has taken the strategic view that continued support for public transport is essential to ensure that when the economy regains it strength we are ready to cope with every demand.

The report, Smarter Travel — A Sustainable Transport Future, acknowledges that buses will have to play an even greater role in the future as we seek to make our transport system more sustainable. The report sets a challenging agenda for the bus sector in terms of more frequent, reliable and comfortable services and through this we will get more people using bus services.

We will have more and higher quality bus services and major improvements in traffic management. Such measures will support the frequency and reliability of services and accordingly ensure essential bus services grow and prosper. On first inspection it may seem like an unlikely time to launch an ambitious new action plan for bus services given the financial difficulties facing the sector. However, such an approach would fail to take advantage of and utilise the appetite for change that is now present in how we deliver public transport. A clear and strategic view of the type of bus services we want is essential to assist us in developing a world class public transport system and to guide the development of services. Such a clear view is even more necessary when resources are limited and finances are under pressure.

Like many organisations the CIE group is facing severe financial difficulties. The annual Exchequer subvention in 2009 of €313 million is an all time high and the CIE group was granted a 10% fares increase in 2009 to help offset rising costs and declining revenue due to a drop in demand for services throughout their networks. The CIE companies are considering measures to reinstate their financial stability by reducing costs through greater efficiencies and services reduction. We in Government have emphasised the need for any efficiencies to support the integrity of the public transport networks by maintaining services, especially peak hour services, at the highest possible level.

Against the background I have outlined, the Deloitte & Touche report is very timely. The bus companies now have a valuable resource to assist in designing and implementing effective cost recovery plans that are responsive to the needs of the customer, the community and the economy. The focus of the report is on the effectiveness and efficiency of the network of services provided by both companies. The report emphasises that network design and the scheduling of drivers and buses should be led by the requirements of passengers and that bus services should be integrated and simple to understand.

To date, our emphasis has been on giving the companies the tools they need to supply a high quality service. Now our emphasis is turning to ensuring the best use is made of the valuable tools available to both bus companies. The Deloitte & Touche review facilitates our new focus. With regard to Bus Éireann, it concludes that the network is efficient and identified no potential scope to achieve cost savings without cutting services.

Encouragingly, with regard to the Dublin Bus network the report reaches a number of key conclusions. The current bus network has not been significantly redesigned for many years and this has produced a complex network with a significant amount of service duplication. Dublin Bus now has the opportunity to create a simplified network offering improved services using fewer resources and serving the customer better. The review identified that on one key corridor alone there may be the scope for savings of up to 17%.

The report also concluded that timetables are not sufficiently co-ordinated in areas served by multiple routes and that bunching is a significant problem due not only to congestion but also to a lack of even headways between buses. However, it is significant that the Dublin Bus fleet was found to be adequate to serve current demand. This is testament to our investment decisions over the past ten years or so. The report also recommends that scheduling efficiency be improved through timetable redesign, measures to deal with "out of service running", and routes operating to a garage termini without apparent demand.

On foot of its analysis, the Deloitte & Touche report sets out a series of measures which will enhance the role of the bus. With the identification of considerable scope within Dublin Bus to improve services to customers, increase efficiencies and save money through, for example, redesigning the network, eliminating unnecessary service duplication, and improving customer information, we now have an opportunity to improve public transport and we must seize it.

It should be noted that the report rightly draws attention to the impact of congestion on bus services and the critical need to intensify efforts to improve bus priority. Sound legislative frameworks and good levels of funding are important for good bus services. However, from a daily operational perspective, the improvement of bus services is critically dependent on providing more and better bus priority to enable bus operators provide more frequent, reliable and attractive services for passengers and to derive maximum value from their fleets.

In this context and reflecting the priority we attach to ensuring the effective operation of buses, €70 million in Exchequer funding has been allocated for traffic management measures, including bus priority in 2009, despite the current difficult Exchequer funding position. Some €50 million of this funding is available for the Dublin area and I anticipate significant progress being made by Dublin City Council this year in addressing critical pinch points for the movement of buses. Major works planned for this year include the provision of the College Green bus gate.

In the regional cities of Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, approximately €20 million in funding is being made available for bus priority and park-and-ride projects. Major works will include completion of the Carrigaline and Farranree-Blackpool green routes in Cork, the completion of phase 2 of the Dublin Road green route by Limerick County Council and further bus priority works in Claregalway and the Dublin Road in Galway.

Now we have identified opportunities to improve the efficiencies of the bus companies and work in tandem with new policies such as smarter travel, we must consider the next steps. Funding for bus services over the coming years will need to be very carefully managed. Action is needed now not only to secure greater efficiency and value for money but also to ensure bus services can realise their potential to better meet the needs of the public and increase passenger numbers.

We must move quickly to ensure we exploit the opportunities we have. We now have a good framework for the fundamental review and reshaping of the network in the Dublin area to better meet the needs of the public at a lower cost. Implementation plans are expected in the coming days from the companies and I envisage these plans laying the groundwork for more customer-focused bus companies carrying more passengers.

The bus is and should remain the backbone of public transport in Dublin for the foreseeable future and therefore we need to see major bus reform now. People are looking for a fast, efficient, reliable bus service so they can leave their cars at home. Through the implementation of the Deloitte & Touche recommendations and other bus priority measures, we can deliver a better bus service to the public and start to grow passenger numbers again.