Public Transport

The government has a strategic objective to provide a well functioning, accessible and integrated public transport system that:

• enhances competitiveness
• sustains economic progress
• promotes balanced regional development
• contributes to social cohesion

It is important to have a defined standard of public transport that's affordable for both customer and taxpayer.

The government also has an objective to ensure the timely and cost effective delivery of the Public Transport investment programme in line with the outcomes set out in the National Development Plan 2018-2027 as part of Project Ireland 2040.

The National Transport Authority is involved in the supply of various public bus services in Ireland such as Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Local Link.

Buses and coaches are classified as Large Public Service Vehicles which include 'vehicles with capacity to carry more than eight passengers for reward'.

Policy oversight for the sector focuses on the:

• licensing framework for Large Public Service Vehicles
• licensing framework for Road Passenger Transport Operators Licences
• policy framework for the operation of bus services for hire and reward including the licensing of scheduled services administered by the National Transport Authority

The National Transport Authority is the national enforcement body for bus and coach passenger rights in Ireland.

Exchequer supports were provided under a Supplementary Support Scheme to Irish Commercial Bus Operators in 2021, with the objective of preserving the continuity of public transport services provided by licensed bus operators during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rationale for support for the operators within the scheme is the continuing significant impact of the pandemic on passenger numbers and fare revenue, as well as the socio-economic context of maintaining essential public transport networks. In the absence of financial supports these services would not be economically viable, and as was evidenced in the early stages of the pandemic, a removal of such supports would likely lead to a withdrawal of services by the commercial operators.

See below link to the European Union Decision approving the Scheme, which is administered by the Department of Transport in line with the EU’s Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the current emergency of COVID-19, and Article 107(2)(b) of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

This funding has helped to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Ireland’s commercial bus operators and has ensured the continued operation of these essential services.

Principal Economic Sector: NACE H.49 Land Transport - Bus

Region: NUTS Level II (Code IE04, II05 and IE06)

Type of Undertakings: Small enterprises and Micro enterprises

Click here to read the full details.

While the Scheme was initially approved by the EU on 06 August 2021 with a budget of €15m a subsequent amendment to extend the Scheme received EU approval on 20 December 2021.

Click here to read the full details.

The Irish railway network currently extends to approximately 2,400 km of operational track, with over 4,400 bridges, 144 stations and over 930 level crossings. It served 50.1 million passengers in 2019 following several years of significant growth.

The network comprises lines run by Iarnród Eireann who operate InterCity, regional, commuter and DART services, as well as rail freight services.

There is a responsibility to produce policy and legislation for the economic regulation of railways. The government ensures that the railway market in Ireland complies with EU requirements.

In order to ensure a robust regulatory regime for the railway market in Ireland, the EU requires compliance with rules concerning the establishment of a single railway area, and market access.

In particular, rules have been developed to open the markets for domestic and international rail freight and international rail passenger services. The Fourth Railway Package, which will be transposed into Irish Law in 2020, contains further proposals for the opening of domestic markets.

Small Public Service Vehicles are vehicles with the capacity to carry up to eight passengers (excluding the driver) for reward, and include taxis, hackneys, wheelchair accessible vehicles, and limousines.

The department has responsibility for policy and statutory frameworks for the sector. The National Transport Authority (NTA) is responsible for the operational regulation of the sector.

At Government level, there are some key strategies and policies which progress accessible transport, these include:

• the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), an international treaty which aims to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity.
• the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (2017-2022) (NDIS) which was aimed at improving the lives of people with disabilities. The Department of Children, Disability and Equality, will shortly publish the successor strategy to the NDIS.
• the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities 2015-2024(CES) which set out a 10-year approach to ensure that people with disabilities, who are able to, and want to work are supported and enabled to do so.
• the Sustainable Mobility Policywhich sets out a strategic framework for active travel and public transport in Ireland to 2030.
• the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, which is a major national public transport initiative developed by the National Transport Authority (NTA), with the aim of increasing connectivity, particularly for people living outside our major cities and towns.

The Accessibility Consultative Committee (ACC) was established under the NDIS and used the DoT Public Transport Accessibility Work Programme to monitor the progress in making public transport more accessible.

The Work Programme (which ran during the lifetime of the NDIS) contains actions from a range of Government strategies which assist in progressively making public transport accessible for persons with disabilities, disabled people, persons with reduced mobility and older people. It was updated every quarter.

Please find more information on Public Transport Accessibility.

The Minister of Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.

The NTA has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally. It also has responsibility for integrated local and rural transport, including overall management of TFI Local Link services and the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan..

Rural Transport Programme - TFI Local Link

The Rural Transport Programme operates under the TFI Local Link brand and aims to provide a quality nationwide community based public transport system in rural Ireland which responds to local needs. Its key priorities include addressing rural social exclusion, the integration of TFI Local Link services with other public transport networks, and the provision of better linkage between, and within, towns and villages.

There has been a substantial increase in funding for TFI Local Link services, from €12.2 million in 2016 to €76 million in 2025. The additional funding has enabled the introduction of over 150 new and enhanced regular rural services, improvements to demand responsive door-to-door services, and new evening/night-time services. Regular rural bus services operate on a fixed route between towns and villages and run on a scheduled timetable, just like any other public transport bus service. They are designed to connect with other public transport services, improve linkage of services between and within towns and villages and allow onward journeys so people may access education, employment, health, recreational and other opportunities.

During 2024, 5.8 million passenger journeys were recorded on a mixture of demand responsive transport and regular rural services, up from 4.7 million in 2023.

TFI Local Link services are operated and managed by 15 Transport Co-ordination Units throughout the country. Each office manages the day-to-day requests and delivery of bus services in that area. For more information, please visit TFI Local Link - Transport for Ireland . The services are also included in the National Journey Planner, which can be accessed at Transport for Ireland.

Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan

The Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan is a major five-year national public transport initiative with the aim of increasing public transport connectivity, particularly for people living outside the major cities and towns.

The Plan continues to strive to deliver the following benefits:

• Over 70% of those living outside of cities will have access to public transport services that provide at least three return trips each weekday to a nearby town.
• Improved mobility options for those in remote areas with the provision of Smart Demand Responsive Transport (SDRT) and other innovative transport services.
• Over 100 new local centre connections from rural settlements in the hinterlands.
• Over 100 new county town connections from all types of settlements around county towns. Over 60 new regional centre/city connections from all types of settlements around these centres/cities.

The Plan is managed by the NTA and TFI Local Link Offices, with the help of funding from the Department of Transport and aims to connect people and places to provide access to employment, education, healthcare, retail, and leisure, either locally or via connections to larger centres that offer those opportunities.

Since 2022:

• Phase 1 in 2022: 38 new and enhanced services implemented.
• Phase II in 2023: 65 new and enhanced services implemented.
• Phase III in 2024: 45 new and enhanced services implemented.

Over 240 towns and villages have been connected to the public transport network and 300,000 weekly vehicle kilometres have been added to the TFI public transport network.

To date the plan has delivered:

• 41 Connections to higher education facilities.
• 61 connections to healthcare facilities, and
• 71 connections to existing rail services.

New Town Services

A programme of planned new and enhanced town services is underway for implementation between 2023 and 2025.

Town services ensure access to town centres and key destinations for those who are outside of a reasonable walk or cycle distance. They are key enablers to achieve support for the wider sustainable mobility objectives of larger towns.

Under this programme new town bus services have been launched in Clonmel, Carlow and Portlaoise.

Sligo and Monaghan Town services have been enhanced, and the Athlone Town service is the first all-electric town bus service in the country.