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 services in conjunction with the relevant transport operators.
In this regard the performance of all public transport operators is closely monitored by the NTA under their contractual arrangements. These contracts allow for not just the monitoring of performance and the publication of annual performance reports, but importantly, allow for the imposition of financial penalties where performance does not meet the required standard. For example, if a bus service doesn’t operate due to circumstances within the operator’s control, a deduction is applied equivalent to the cost of the cancelled service.
Further, under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 and the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009, the Oireachtas assigned statutory responsibility to the NTA for promoting the development of an integrated, accessible public transport network and public transport infrastructure. The NTA in turn works with the relevant public transport operators, for example Bus Éireann, who have responsibility for day-to-day operational issues, to progressively make public transport accessible.
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.
