The National Transport Authority (NTA) has announced that subsidised bus services in the Dublin area are to move to new schedules on a phased basis starting next week.
Revised Monday-Friday timetables for Dublin Bus will come into effect on Monday January 18th, while those for Go-Ahead Ireland will come into effect from Monday 25th January. Under the revised timetables, services will run at approximately 80% of current weekday levels. The operating hours of services will remain as they are currently.
The revised schedules reflect reduced demand levels under the current Covid restrictions and will ensure service continuity and resilience for essential workers and carers who must travel.
Passenger numbers on bus services in the Dublin area are down by almost 80%, compared to the same period in 2020.
NTA and the transport operators are confident that the Level 5 requirement to operate each service at 25% passenger capacity will continue to be met under the new timetables.
With these new schedules the operators will be in a position to ensure the ongoing reliable continuity of services in the context of high national rates of Covid.
Public transport services were first reduced in April 2020, during the first wave of the Covid outbreak and were largely restored to normal levels in June. The new schedules are broadly in line with those of April last.
Full details will be available at company websites in the coming days:
No changes are proposed to Bus Éireann schedules at this time, although the company and the NTA will continue to monitor the situation.
No changes are proposed to schedules for Go-Ahead Ireland commuter services along the Kildare corridor.
No major changes are proposed for Luas, although there will be some reduction in peak services.
No changes are proposed for Local Link services in rural areas.
A revised Iarnród Éireann schedule was announced last week and took effect on Monday.
NTA continues to advise customers that under Level 5 restrictions, people should stay at home where possible and that public transport is for essential workers and essential purposes only.
Passengers are required to wear face coverings at all times.
NTA strongly encourages people to walk or cycle where possible.