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 can assure the Deputy that 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.
On cancellations, the NTA acknowledge there have been challenges - often due to traffic congestion, driver or mechanic shortages, or unforeseen incidents. My Department is working closely with the NTA to try to address these issues through initiatives such as the Public Transport Workforce Taskforce which aims to address recruitment challenges for drivers and mechanics; and planned improvements to the vehicle location system under Next Generation AVL, which will enhance the accuracy of real-time passenger information.
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.
