The 30 and X30 Bus Eireann service from Donegal to Dublin has never been on time for some travellers, the Dáil has heard.
Issues with lateness and unreliability were raised with Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan by Sinn Féin TD for Cavan-Monaghan Pauline Tully last week.
Deputy Tully said passengers have complained of the Expressway bus being up to an hour and a half late.
Departing from Dublin’s Busáras Bus Station to Donegal and back, Route 30/X30 passes through Dublin Airport, Cavan and Ballyshannon before arriving at the Abbey Hotel in Donegal.
“It is just not an efficient service and it needs to be addressed,” the Minister was told.
“One couple, who divide their time between Britain and Ireland, contacted me. They have been using the bus service to the airport approximately once a month over the last three years and not once has the bus come on time,” Deputy Tully said.
“It is consistently late, anything from 30 minutes to an hour. We are not talking about five or ten minutes, nobody would mind that. We know that buses can get held up.”
Deputy Tully said the last time that the couple went to get the bus it was 50 minutes late and then the driver said he needed to take 30 minutes to have his break.
“Everyone is deserving of a break but that should be factored into the bus timetable,” she said. “It should not affect the bus. The bus therefore was almost an hour and a half late.”
She added that the inconsistency adds hours of travel time to journeys: “I hear from holidaymakers who might only use the service once or twice a year. They say the bus has never been on time and they have to leave a couple of hours’ additional time to get to the airport to make their flight.”
Minister Ryan commented that Expressway is the commercial branch of Bus Éireann and services receive no State subvention.
He said that Bus Éireann has acknowledged issues with the Cavan-Dublin Airport bus service. They conducted a review and proposed a new timetable to improve reliability and better meet customer needs.
“I understand that Bus Éireann is on track to roll out the new, improved timetable, which will increase the frequency of services at certain stops along route 30, in the coming months,” Minister Ryan said.
“Additionally, Bus Éireann have made adjustments to create a more realistic and dynamic timetable, which the company believes will benefit customers.”
