Parliamentary Question to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport

To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of routes that Dublin Bus are operating at a loss; his views on the cost of outsourcing these routes to private transport companies as a cost reducing measure while protecting routes; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Answered by Dublin Bus

Dublin Bus has undertaken an extensive reorganisation of bus routes across the entire city in the last 18 months under the Network Direct programme.   The aim of network Direct is to maintain services where demands exist, streamline services where possible to operate faster alignments, ensure timetables are easy to understand for customers and link timetables where possible with adjacent bus routes.   In addition, an AVL computer system has been installed to give customers access to Real Time Information do they know when their bus is actually due at their bus stop.   Overall, network Direct have resulted in hugely improved services to customers and lower costs to the taxpayer.

All Dublin Bus routes operate as an integrated network of services for which a single PSO payment I received.   This is similar to most other urban bus operations across the world.   Isolating routes that are loss making is arbitrary in the context of a PSO network of services and for this and commercial reasons, Dublin Bus is not prepared to release the details sought.