Private bus operators claim they could save State up to €30m a year

Private bus operators claim they could save the State up to €30m per annum if they were allowed to tender for 350 subsidised bus routes currently operated by Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus.

The Coach Tourism and Transport Council (CTTC) called for the system of awarding public service obligation (PSO) routes to be opened up to bids from private bus firms when the current contracts come up for renewal in 2014.

CTTC chief executive Gerry Mullins said the Competition Authority had already claimed the current monopoly held by Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus for PSO routes provided no incentive to lower costs and improve the quality of such services.

He told the Oireachtas Transport Committee that private bus operators estimated they could reduce the current annual subsidy of €110m by around 20%.

Mr Mullins said they were not after deregulation but competition for non-profitable, subsidised services.

However, Senator Paschal Mooney criticised the CTTC for trying to “cherry-pick profitable routes between large centres while not caring about small towns and villages”.

Bus Éireann said changes to some non-subsidised Expressway intercity routes was necessary to protect jobs.

The company’s chief executive, Martin Nolan, said Bus Éireann was subject to competition from private operators who only had to provide limited-stop services that by-passed sites served by Expressway services.

However, Mr Nolan said Bus Éireann was looking to see if PSO routes could be operated to such by-passed locations within the limited funding available.

The National Transport Authority said it was engaged in a consultation process to decide if it would open the PSO routes to tendering competition in 2014.

However, NTA chief executive Gerry Murphy said international experience showed the opening up of PSO routes to tendering could increase costs by 5% to 40% because of the increase in the number of service providers.