Bus Éireann to restore services to some of Cork city’s busiest routes

Cork city’s only 24-hour bus route still undergoing a timetable review to address punctuality issues

Bus Éireann recorded 16.5m passenger journeys across its Cork services in 2024, an increase of 364,000 on the previous year.

Bus Éireann is set to restore a raft of services it cut from some of Cork city’s busiest high-frequency bus routes last October.

However, it said the 220 Ballincollig to Carrigaline service, the city’s only 24-hour bus route and one of the busiest bus routes in the country, is still undergoing a timetable review to address punctuality and reliability issues.

It said the reduced timetable introduced on this key route in October will remain operating for the time being, with a new 220 service timetable expected to be in place by late April.

The company confirmed, however, the resumption of full timetabled scheduled services for routes 202/202A, 205 and 208 from Sunday, February 2, as follows:

•  services on route 202/202A will return to every 20 minutes from every half an hour;
•  services on route 205 will return to every 15 minutes from every 20 minutes;
•  and services on route 208 will return to every 10 minutes from every 15 minutes.

Despite increased congestion, unreliable bus services, complaints about ghost buses, a chronic bus driver shortage,  and the raft of service cuts introduced last October, Bus Éireann recorded 16.5m passenger journeys across its Cork services in 2024, an increase of 364,000 on the previous year.

In December alone, it recorded a 14% increase in passenger journeys compared to December 2023.

It said as a result of ongoing intensive recruitment efforts, it now has “a strong pipeline” joining its driver training school and it is now in a position to resume full service on Cork’s 202/202A, 205 and 208 routes.

However, it warned that traffic congestion remains an operational challenge with just 2% of its service kilometres in the city delivered through bus lanes.

“Bus Éireann is committed to growing and improving public transport for the people of Cork and will continue to work with all stakeholders to secure additional bus prioritisation measures which are essential to support the delivery of reliable and punctual public transport services,” a spokesman said.

“Bus Éireann is also working closely with the National Transport Authority (NTA) to facilitate the rollout of Bus Connects Cork.

“Again, we would like to apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused over the last number of months and we look forward to delivering further improved levels of service to our customers in Cork in 2025.”

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

Chairperson of Cork City Council’s transport committee, Labour Cllr Peter Horgan, welcomed the news but said the issues on the 220 must be addressed quickly.

“I welcome the resumption of services on the 202, 208 and 205 routes,” he said.

“However, I have significant concerns now that the most used route in Cork, the 220, which has seen the most impact in my view with service reduction, will not be known until April.

“This was our marquee route — the first 24-hour bus route in the country — passenger numbers topping over three million in 2023.

“The desire is there for this route and more. Bus commuters and potential bus commuters are now let down by this sop of a timetable review as congestion mounts daily.” 

The first of the NTA's plans for sustainable transport corridors (STCs) across the city are due to be submitted to An Bórd Pleanála on a phased basis from the middle of this year.

The NTA has said it aims to have submitted all applications for all 11 STCs by the fourth quarter of this year.