Bus Éireann is central to Ireland’s regional growth and connectivity
Ireland’s public transport network is in a period of transformation. Across regional cities, towns, and rural communities, new services, cleaner fleet, better infrastructure, and stronger connections will shape how people access work, education, healthcare, and opportunity.
For that transformation to deliver for the entire state, investment in public transport must support balanced regional growth as well as capacity in our largest urban centres.
As this expansion takes shape, demand will continue to grow, and passenger expectations will keep rising. Therefore, a balanced approach to public transport development will be all the more important.
In 2025, Bus Éireann delivered 116.5 million passenger journeys throughout the country reflecting sustained growth across our services and continued public confidence in bus transport with our customer satisfaction scores achieving 93 per cent.
These results matter because they show that public transport investment delivers measurable returns for regional communities and for local economies, while also enabling national climate objectives.
As Ireland’s national bus company, Bus Éireann operates 216 public transport routes on behalf of the National Transport Authority, connecting communities across the country every day. Crucially, many of these services operate in areas where alternative transport options are limited or unavailable.
This makes Bus Éireann a vital part of Ireland’s regional infrastructure, supporting access to jobs, education, healthcare, services, and social connection in communities that might otherwise be left behind.
The importance of that regional reach cannot be overstated.
Balanced regional development cannot happen without strong and reliable public transport links. If Ireland is to achieve sustainable growth beyond the Greater Dublin Area, then investment in regional connectivity must accelerate.
Regional public transport infrastructure is not simply an enabler of growth; it is a prerequisite for it. This aligns directly with the National Planning Framework’s ambition for more balanced growth across Ireland’s regions. Bus Éireann sits at the centre of this regional and rural transport ecosystem.
Regional cities and towns need transport systems that allow people to access employment, education, healthcare, and social opportunities efficiently and affordably. Regional and rural businesses need reliable transport links on par with the reliability now being delivered for the greater Dublin area to attract workers and investment.
Our Expressway network illustrates this particularly clearly. Operating commercially in a competitive market, Expressway connects more than 200 communities nationwide and plays a vital role in linking regional Ireland with key economic centres, airports, universities, and healthcare services.
The network supports tourism, regional enterprise, and labour mobility while also contributing to the overall sustainability of the organisation. Our regional and rural network must also be resourced to help people travel independently and confidently and reflect the wider responsibility public transport operators have in creating services that are accessible to all, inclusive, and practical for daily life.
As demand for public transport continues to increase, however, the need for supporting infrastructure becomes more urgent.
Fleet investment alone is not enough. Delivering a modern and sustainable public transport system requires accelerated investment in depots, charging infrastructure, and, most especially, bus priority measures across Ireland’s regional cities and towns. Without that supporting infrastructure, it becomes increasingly difficult to expand services at the pace our regional economy requires.
This is particularly important in the context of decarbonisation. Bus Éireann continues to make significant progress in transitioning towards a lower-carbon fleet. During 2025, we operated 2.3 million electric vehicle kilometres and completed the transition of our Roxboro depot in Limerick to support Ireland’s first fully electric city bus service. This has resulted in an 88 per cent reduction in diesel use compared to 2021 levels.
Plans are advancing to expand electric operations in Cork, Galway, and Sligo, but achieving national climate ambitions will require faster delivery of regional public transport infrastructure.
The transition to sustainable transport cannot be over-concentrated in Dublin; regional Ireland must be enabled to participate fully in this moment of public transport transformation.
The scale of Bus Éireann’s wider operations also continues to grow. The School Transport Scheme, operated on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth, saw passenger numbers increase by almost 5 per cent in 2025, with more than 181,000 tickets issued. Every day, almost 8,750 vehicles operated across more than 11,000 routes nationwide.
Behind those figures is a nationwide logistics network that connects communities across Ireland on a daily basis.
For many households, school transport is not a convenience; it is an essential service that enables access to education and supports participation in community life and the wider economy. This is especially so for regional and rural Ireland. It provides certainty for families, reduces transport pressures on local communities, and ensures students can access education safely and reliably regardless of geography.
The scheme also continues to play an increasingly important role in supporting students with additional needs. Demand for Special Educational Needs (SEN) transport grew strongly in 2025, with more than 24,400 pupils availing of SEN transport services, representing growth of over 12 per cent year-on-year.
These services provide tailored transport solutions that are essential for many families and are a critical part of ensuring equitable access to education. The scale of this growth also underlines the importance of continued investment in systems, fleet, technology, and operational capacity to ensure services can continue to meet demand effectively.
Taken together, our public service routes, commercial Expressway network, school transport operations and depot footprint give the country a national delivery platform for regional connectivity, decarbonisation, and inclusive growth.
With the right investment and coordinated delivery, public transport can support stronger regional economies, more connected local communities, reduced emissions, and a better quality of life for people across all the regions of Ireland. Bus Éireann’s role is to make that connection real every day, using our national footprint to link people, places, and opportunity across all the regions we serve.
