Bus Éireann

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Bus Éireann, or Irish Bus, provides bus services in the Republic of Ireland with the exception of those operated entirely within the Dublin Region, which are provided by Dublin Bus. Bus Éireann, established as a separate company in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. The logo of Bus Éireann incorporates a red Irish Setter, a breed of dog. The company's primary hub is Busáras - Central Bus Station, located in Store Street, Central Dublin.

1 Route network
2 Services
3 Safety
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Route network

Bus Éireann main services in Ireland, and in Northern Ireland in association with Ulsterbus, include: "expressway" (i.e. intercity), commuter, local and school services. Additional services within Ireland include city services in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford and town services in Athlone, Balbriggan, Drogheda, Dundalk, Navan and Sligo.

External services to Britain and Europe are also provided via the ports at Dublin, Dún Laoghaire and Rosslare Europort via the Eurolines system. Cities served include London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds.

[edit] Services

Bus Éireann's fleet have been substantially invested in as part of the National Development Plan. The vast majority of the operating fleet for "expressway", commuter and local services are now 5 years old or less. The fleet for "school" services is significantly older and consists of buses cascaded from other work (mostly old Expressway coaches from the early 90s and the CIE's custom-built GAC city buses from the 1980s) as well as second-hand buses imported from the United Kingdom.

The company mainly uses buses built by firms such as Scania, Volvo and Plaxton.

The National Development Plan included a large expansion in commuter services, especially in the greater Dublin area, and so the company greatly increased services on routes such as Dublin/Drogheda/Dundalk, Dublin/Ashbourne, Dublin/Ratoath, Dublin/Dunshaughlin/Navan/Kells/Cavan; this has been driven mainly by the economic boom of the Nineties, known as the Celtic Tiger.

Bus Éireann have also introduced regular clockface schedules on popular Expressway routes, such as hourly services on the routes Dublin/Athlone/Galway, Dublin/Belfast, Tralee/Killarney/Cork/Waterford, Cork/Limerick/Shannon Airport/Galway.

The Dublin/Dublin Airport/Newry/Belfast route is jointly operated by Bus Éireann and Ulsterbus. In fact, at the time of the establishment of the company in February 1987, there were no bus services between Dublin and Belfast. Now there is an hourly service each way, from 0600 to 2100 daily; this has come about due to several factors, including the economic boom in the Republic of Ireland, known as the Celtic Tiger; the Northern Ireland peace process, which has helped to boost the economy in the North, and the rise of the low-cost airline industry, which has greatly increased the numbers of people flying in and out of Dublin Airport. In October 2006, further services were introduced on this route, departing at 0100, 0300, 0500, and 2300, thus the route became the first "24-hour service" in the country.

Likewise, the Dublin/Derry route is also jointly-operated. On Monday 4th September 2006 a new timetable on the Dublin/Derry route was launched, increasing the service level up to nine trips per day, including night-time services.

According to transport law in the Republic of Ireland, Bus Éireann must receive permission from the Department of Transport for any alterations to services or any new routes.

Bus Éireann also operate special one-day sightseeing tours from Dublin to locations such as Glendalough, Newgrange, and a Mountains of Mourne tour; from Cork, day tours to the Ring of Kerry, Couty Clare, West Cork and Cape Clear Island; and from Galway, tours of Connemara and the Burren.

Bus Éireann's stations have also been upgraded in many locations around the country. the prime example is Cork bus station, located at Parnell Place in the city centre. It was remodelled as part of the city's preparation for being European Capital of Culture, 2005. It now sports a more modern face, with well organised bus bays and a useful layout of services, making it one of the most modern and attractive of Ireland's bus stations. Other new bus stations include Sligo, Waterford and Letterkenny. Limerick will also be getting a new bus station in the near future.

Bus Éireann was awarded the contract to provide bus services in connection with the Ryder Cup, which was held at the K Club, near Straffan, County Kildare, from 22nd to 24th September 2006.

[edit] Safety

Bus Éireann have a good safety record, but have had a few fatal incidents in recent years, with those involving school buses being particularly scrutinised. After the death of five schoolgirls in a fatal accident in County Meath in 2005 involving a school bus, all school buses are to be fitted with seatbelts. This is likely to involve the withdrawal of many of the oldest buses. Some non-fatal incidents have also been quite serious, for example, an off-duty bus plunging into the River Liffey in Dublin, after a collision with another vehicle. The company have also posted notices to encourage orderly queuing at bus stops after a series of incidents where pedestrians on the foot path were struck on the head by the wing mirrors of city buses.