Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 368: To ask the Minister for Transport the cost of purchasing one hundred double deck buses for Dublin Bus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13797/07]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 369: To ask the Minister for Transport the number of additional buses added to the Dublin Bus fleet annually since 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13798/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 368 and 369 together.

The procurement of buses by Dublin Bus is an operational matter for Dublin Bus. I understand from Dublin Bus that the cost of a double deck bus in 2006 was €300,000 per bus. The number of new buses added to the Dublin Bus fleet since 2002 is as follows:

The capacity of the Dublin Bus fleet, taking into account the 100 additional buses recently purchased, is now more than 106,000 passengers, an increase of over 20% since the beginning of 2002. This increase in capacity 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.