Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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158. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has had discussions with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Bus Éireann, whose contract is up for renewal in December 2024, in relation to the performance of bus services in Cork (details supplied); if contractual obligations regarding punctuality and service delivery are not being met by Bus Éireann, the steps the NTA is taking to address the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40976/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the scheduling and timetabling of these services in conjunction with the relevant transport operators.

I wish to advise the Deputy that in order to address issues with Cork Bus Services, Bus Éireann intend to introduce temporary revised timetables on five of the twenty-five Cork City Bus Services (202 / 202a, 205, 208 and 220) with effect from October 20th.

Bus Éireann has been experiencing ongoing service issues in Cork city in recent months due to two key issues; namely driver recruitment and congestion, the combination of which has led to performance issues on certain services in the city.

Despite Bus Éíreann’s extensive efforts to address the challenge of driver recruitment, including holding 18 open days in Cork so far this year, offering a €2,000 sign on bonus to D licence drivers, and extensive media and marketing campaigns, there remains a shortage of driver supply in Cork. This shortage is having a detrimental impact in service delivery in the city and resulting in a significant number of cancellations to bus services each day. Further, congestion issues and driver compliance with parking and bus lane regulations also continue to negatively impact services.

Full implementation of BusConnects Cork will deliver over 90 kms of priority bus lanes which will significantly tackle the issue of congestion. However, in the short term, Bus Éireann continues to engage with the relevant authorities to deliver immediate measures, including enforcement of existing traffic rules, tackling illegal parking and bus stop use and the application of measures which will allow for swifter operation of Bus Éireann services.

The planned timetable changes will come into effect from October 20th, with regular reviews planned. As driver headcount increases, service frequency will return to current levels on the aforementioned routes as quickly as possible.

The temporary changes on these high frequency routes are being implemented to help improve punctuality for passengers and service delivery on the routes. I am due to meet Cork City Council soon to discuss what measures can be taken, such as traffic enforcement and management in the short term.

In light of the NTA’s responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.