Bus

It is a statutory function of the National Transport Authority (NTA), under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 and EU Regulation 1370/2007, to determine the appropriate mix of directly awarded and competitively tendered PSO services.

Bus services are provided under Public Service Obligation (PSO) contracts and by licensed commercial bus operators. For contracted services, the Authority must review the performance of each company and publish quarterly performance reports.

Other bus services, such as the Rural Transport Programme, came under the aegis of the National Transport Authority in April 2012.

Direct Award of Public Service Obligation Contracts for Bus Services in 2014

In November 2013, the National Transport Authority decided to:

  • Directly award a new contract for the provision of public bus services, in the Dublin Area (from December 2014), to Dublin Bus for a period of five years. This excludes a selection of services, where the Direct Award contract will be for a period of two years.
  • Directly award a new contract for the provision of public bus services, outside the Dublin Area, to Bus Éireann for a period of five years. This excludes a selection of services, where the Direct Award contract will be for a period of two years.
  • Remove approximately 10% of services from the Dublin Bus Direct Award contract in 2016, and organise a tender competition for the provision of these selected services for a period of five years (up to 2021).
  • Remove approximately 10% of services from the Bus Éireann Direct Award contract in 2016, and organise a tender competition for the provision of these selected services for a period of five years (up to 2021).

The list of bus services included in the Dublin Bus Direct Award contract (December 2014).

The list of bus services included in the Bus Éireann Direct Award contract (December 2014).

The list of bus services to be removed from the Dublin Bus direct award contract in 2016 and competitively tendered.

The list of bus services to be removed from the Bus Éireann direct award contract in 2016 and competitively tendered.

The services in the Direct Award contract can be amended by the Authority at any time and these changes are not restricted by this decision.