Transport Authority withheld almost €20m from operators of bus and rail services in 2022

Figures show that Iarnród Éireann received 36.5 complaints per 100,000 passengers last year, although the figure was down from 49.0 in 2021.

Almost €20m was deducted from contractual payments due to public transport companies last year as a result of their failure to meet minimum performance standards.

The National Transport Authority has confirmed that it withheld over €19.4m from the operators of bus and rail services in 2022.

It represents a five-fold increase on the level of deductions from public transport providers by the NTA in 2021.

The difference is largely due to the resumption of normal timetables for public transport services last year following the NTA’s agreement on a reduced level of services during the covid-19 pandemic over the preceding two years.

Figures show that Iarnród Éireann received 36.5 complaints per 100,000 passengers last year, although the figure was down from 49.0 in 2021.

Bus Éireann had 25.5 complaints per 100,000 passengers.

NTA chief executive Anne Graham said one of the main challenges last year was “the reduced level of performance in reliability and punctuality of PSO (public service obligation) bus services that became apparent in the second half of the year.” 

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

PSO services are bus and rail services that are socially necessary but not generally commercially viable.

Ms Graham said the NTA acknowledged that this had caused disruption and inconvenience to customers with all bus operators affected by a shortage of drivers.

She claimed one of the main reasons for the reduced reliability of services was the problem with recruiting extra bus drivers.

“The knock-on effect of the lack of drivers was service cancellations, which in turn affected reliability,” said Ms Graham.

She said traffic congestion from the recovery of the economy after the pandemic also caused significant issues in urban areas which negatively impacted the punctuality of services.