Travel chaos for 100,000 commuters as buses stop

More than 100,000 bus passengers face travel disruption today as Bus Éireann drivers begin a second day of strike action that brought at least 95% of services to a standstill yesterday.

The strike was called by the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) which represents 1,100 of the company’s 2,500 drivers, but their colleagues in Siptu and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association refused to pass pickets.

The scale of the action took management by surprise. The company says the action is unofficial — a claim disputed by the NBRU — and it had not made contingency plans or ascertained which routes would be left without cover.