A sustainable public transport system is the cornerstone of the future of mobility in Ireland. The commercial bus sector has a leading role to play in achieving decarbonisation of the sector ahead of 2030

The failure to treat the public transport system as a whole, alienates a whole swathe of the travelling public who rely on commercial operators. Not including CBOs in state fare reduction schemes, contradicts the principles of Connecting Ireland programme and only serves to discourage the modal shift away from private single-occupancy vehicles.

Accessibility of public transport is of critical importance to those who have no other form of transport and is a key challenge going forward with a rapidly ageing population. However, there are at present significant barriers which are restricting the continued positive growth in the provision of fully accessible services by CBOs.

Commercial bus operators have faced severe challenges in terms of both recruitment and retention of new and experienced drivers, and at times, this has acted as a direct threat to service provision.