merrion street

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar today unveiled the first of 80 new highly advanced double decker buses for Dublin’s bus services through the Government’s capital programme. The new buses are being funded by the National Transport Authority as replacement vehicles for Dublin Bus under its public service obligation contract. The new buses represent an investment of €26 million in the Dublin Bus fleet replacement programme.

All vehicles are low floor wheelchair accessible and will ensure that Dublin Bus will have a 100% accessible fleet by the end of 2012. The buses also feature bilingual passenger information signs, centre doors to improve efficiency at bus stops andfree Wi-Fi amongst other features.

Minister Varadkar said:

When combined with other Government investments like integrated ticketing, providing more bus shelters, real time passenger information, and the National Journey Planner, we hope these 80 replacement buses will encourage more people to switch from cars to public transport. I encourage anyone who hasn’t used public transport for a while to see for themselves how the new improvements are making a difference.

These new replacement vehicles are the most environmentally friendly to date. They meet “Euro 5” emission standards, consume less fuel and are quieter – ensuring the whole community will benefit from their arrival.

The new buses will operate on routes 1, 4, 7, 29a, 33, 102, 104 and 151 and are another significant development in the provision of convenient and comfortable public transport.