Court to hear case for tendering out school bus scheme

A CASE to have the €180 million school transport service operated by Bus Éireann put out to tender by the Department of Education is to be heard by the High Court.

The case against Education Minister Ruairi Quinn by Student Transport Scheme Ltd — believed to represent a number of private bus operators — is expected to be outlined to the Commercial Court in Dublin today.

However, it is understood a full hearing might not go ahead this week, with legal representatives separately seeking leave for judicial review proceedings.

The Coach Tourism and Transport Council (CTTC), which represents over 60 independent coach operators, claims the non-tendering of the contract is anti-competitive.

Its chief executive, Gerry Mullins, said there could be big implications for the department and Bus Éireann if the judicial review case is successful.

A department review of the scheme, published in March said there was no alternative, other than Bus Éireann, with a regional dimension and range of expertise to operate the system.

The CTTC has argued the only way of establishing the facts is by tendering out the contract. It is preparing to refer the matter to the European Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Dáil Public Accounts Committee has already been asked to examine the issue.

Two thirds of all 120,000 children availing of school transport are carried by private operators, a proportion that is rising as Bus Éireann contracts out new services.

The CTTC claims cuts to services and increasing charges on families could be avoided through savings on the fees charged for operating the system.

The department has changed the scheme’s rules this year, including requirements about the numbers of pupils and the distances they live from a school to sanction a bus service. There is speculation that the budget will see primary pupils being charged double the 50 annual fare. It was free until this year.

A Bus Éireann spokesperson said it had reduced the cost of school transport in the past three years, despite operating more routes, and said it was committed to further reducing the €16.7m fee charged to the department.

Minister of State Ciarán Cannon, who has responsibility for school transport at the department, has said the fee — which fell from €18.2m in 2010 — was reasonable.

Bus Éireann rejects CTTC claims the money is profit used to subsidise commercial services, insisting its audited accounts show it is used to cover costs.