Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 November 2025
108. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Transport the number of scheduled services that failed to operate, such as ghost buses, by route, for buses in Kildare north in each month of 2024 and 2025 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64189/25]
View answerAs 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 and Go Ahead.
The performance of all public transport operators is monitored by the NTA as part of the contractual arrangements in place between it and the operators. These contractual arrangements allow for not just the monitoring of performance by the NTA and the publication by it of annual performance reports, but importantly, the contracts also allow for the imposition of financial penalties where performance does not meet the required standard.
The NTA's contracts with public transport operators have been strengthened in recent years, to incentivise operators to operate more reliable and punctual services, and they are also investing in a new vehicle location system for the fleet which will improve the reliability of the real time passenger information system.
We are seeing more people using public transport services and we are improving our fleet across the country and I am acutely aware that commuters need certainty around bus services.
In light of the NTA’s responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the NTA, Dublin Bus and Go Ahead for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.
