Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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285. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to provide an update on the measures he and his Department plan to take to alleviate the issues of poor bus service following the recent launch of Phase 7 of Bus Connects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63315/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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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.

The NTA have advised that in advance of these new routes being implemented under the Phase 7 rollout, they distributed over 200,000 booklets to households across all the areas covered by the routes. They also advertised the new services in local media outlets and online, and they provided detailed briefings to local public representatives, and remain open to improving the communications around the rollout of the Network Redesign (NRD) phases and to that end will take on board any feedback received from customers.

It should be noted that the F-Spine, which is part of the BusConnects Dublin area NRD was finalised following three rounds of public consultations which culminated in over 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.

It is of course acknowledged that these changes require some passengers to make their journey in a different way. In some instances, people who previously had to interchange will now have a direct service, while others may now have to interchange where previously they did not.

For those who have to change, the process is made as straightforward as possible and thanks to the TFI-90 fare, there is no additional cost. The transport operators and NTA are working hard to ensure that the services are bedding in well, but understand that it can take some time for people to get accustomed to any new arrangement.

The kind of issues experienced at the launch of Phase 7 are similar to those experienced in the early stages of implementation of previous phases of Network Redesign that were addressed and resolved. Notwithstanding teething issues, it’s worth noting that for previous phases in all instances, the changes have resulted in significant increase in passenger numbers.

Customer satisfaction surveys conducted after the initial launch period of the new bus services have consistently shown positive results. Although some expectations may not have been fully met during the first week of operation, these services, including Phase 7, are expected to achieve long-term success.

BusConnects has already achieved significant success in transforming Dublin’s public transport network. In the latest progress report, published in March 2025, BusConnects Dublin Programme has shown significant improvements in key performance indicators. There has been an annualized increase of 9.35 million, or 71%, in scheduled service kilometres in the NRD Phases 1-5b compared to equivalent routes operating prior to the NRD Project.

The NTA have advised they will continue to monitor things very closely in the days and weeks ahead, collaborating with operators and customers to enhance the punctuality and reliability of services throughout the Network Redesign.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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286. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport for an update on the ‘F Spine’ and Phase 7 of the Bus Connects programme following its recent implementation in Dublin North West; if the National Transport Authority (NTA), under his Department and Dublin Bus, as the service provider, are aware of the ongoing issues faced by constituents in Dublin North West; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63316/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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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, in this case, Dublin Bus.

The NTA have advised that in advance of these new routes being implemented under the Phase 7 rollout, they distributed over 200,000 booklets to households across all the areas covered by the routes. They also advertised the new services in local media outlets and online, and they provided detailed briefings to local public representatives, and remain open to improving the communications around the rollout of the Network Redesign (NRD) phases and to that end will take on board any feedback received from customers.

It should be noted that the F-Spine, which is part of the BusConnects Dublin area NRD was finalised following three rounds of public consultations which culminated in over 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.

It is of course acknowledged that these changes require some passengers to make their journey in a different way. In some instances, people who previously had to interchange will now have a direct service, while others may now have to interchange where previously they did not.

For those who have to change, the process is made as straightforward as possible and thanks to the TFI-90 fare, there is no additional cost. The transport operators and NTA are working hard to ensure that the services are bedding in well, but understand that it can take some time for people to get accustomed to any new arrangement.

The kind of issues experienced at the launch of Phase 7 are similar to those experienced in the early stages of implementation of previous phases of Network Redesign that were addressed and resolved. Notwithstanding teething issues, it’s worth noting that for previous phases in all instances, the changes have resulted in significant increase in passenger numbers.

Customer satisfaction surveys conducted after the initial launch period of the new bus services have consistently shown positive results. Although some expectations may not have been fully met during the first week of operation, these services, including Phase 7, are expected to achieve long-term success.

BusConnects has already achieved significant success in transforming Dublin’s public transport network. In the latest progress report, published in March 2025, BusConnects Dublin Programme has shown significant improvements in key performance indicators. There has been an annualized increase of 9.35 million, or 71%, in scheduled service kilometres in the NRD Phases 1-5b compared to equivalent routes operating prior to the NRD Project.

The NTA have advised they will continue to monitor things very closely in the days and weeks ahead, collaborating with operators and customers to enhance the punctuality and reliability of services throughout the Network Redesign.