Transport Authority proposes to improve competition on bus routes

Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus are set to lose 10% of their routes to private operators.

The National Transport Authority is planning to amend the existing Public Service Obligation contracts with the companies in 2016.

The NTA says it plans to allocate certain routes in a tendering process aimed at improving competition.

The transport body has called on interested parties to submit their opinions to them before 5pm on Friday, October 11.

They said that they believe "the general economic interest would be best served in the next five years" by Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann retaining a substantial proportion of services "but not all services".

The NTA said: "The Authority considers that tendering in the order of 10% of the services would be of a scale that would encourage good competition and provide a satisfactory-sized operation against which to benchmark the existing operators."

In their proposal, they earmarked some Dublin Bus orbital routes and some local routes around the city as open for tender:

They include:

Route 17 from Rialto to Blackrock,

Route 33b Swords to Portrane,

Route 111 Dun Laoghaire to Loughlinstown.

For Bus Éireann services, they include:

All city services in Waterford

Some city services in Cork.

Some rural stage carriage services in the south east region.

Certain Dublin commuter services.