Many companies operate public transport services in Dublin, most of which are state-owned or semi-state-owned.
Contents
- Rail
- Light rail
- Bus
- City and local services
- Longer distance and express services
- See also
- References
Many companies operate public transport services in Dublin, most of which are state-owned or semi-state-owned.
Historically, bus services in Dublin were operated mainly by the Dublin United Transport Company, which was incorporated into CIÉ in 1945.
Today, two subsidiary companies of state-owned Córas Iompair Éireann operate most of the bus services in and around Dublin but many other private companies also provide services.
Most routes are awarded to the state-owned firms by non-tendered direct award [1] (with the exception of Dublin Bus Airlink and Bus Éireann Expressway services, which are entirely commercial); but recently a portion of both firms routes were offered for public tender. Neither firm retained these routes, with Go-Ahead Ireland winning both contracts [2] [3]
Some additional routes are tendered where a need is identified by the National Transport Authority. These are public service obligation routes and occasionally replace sections of withdrawn or altered Bus Éireann Expressway services.
Most of the transport system in Ireland is in public hands, either side of the Irish border. The Irish road network has evolved separately in the two jurisdictions into which Ireland is divided, while the Irish rail network was mostly created prior to the partition of Ireland.
Swords in County Dublin, the county town of the local government area of Fingal, is a large suburban town on the east coast of Ireland, situated ten kilometres north of Dublin city centre. It is the eighth largest urban area in Ireland, with a population of 40,776 as of the 2022 census. The town was reputedly founded c. AD 560. Located on the Ward River, Swords features Swords Castle, a restored medieval castle, a holy well from which it takes its name, a round tower and a Norman tower. Facilities in the area include the Pavilions shopping centre, one of the largest in the Dublin region, a range of civic offices, some light industries, the main storage facility and archive of the National Museum of Ireland and several parks. Dublin Airport is located nearby.
Dublin Airport is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA. The airport is located in Collinstown, 7 km (4.3 mi) north of Dublin, and 3 km (1.9 mi) south of the town of Swords. In 2019, 32.9 million passengers passed through the airport, making it the airport's busiest year on record. It is the 13th busiest airport in Europe, and is the busiest of Ireland's airports by total passenger traffic; it also has the largest traffic levels on the island of Ireland, followed by Belfast International Airport.
The Dublin Area Rapid Transit system is an electrified commuter rail railway network serving the coastline and city of Dublin, Ireland. The service makes up the core of Dublin's suburban railway network, stretching from Greystones, County Wicklow, in the south to Howth and Malahide in north County Dublin. The DART serves 31 stations and consists of 53 route kilometres of electrified railway, and carries in the region of 20 million passengers per year. In a similar manner to the Berlin S-Bahn, the DART blends elements of a commuter rail service and a rapid transit system.
Córas Iompair Éireann, or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of the Republic of Ireland, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport within the Republic and jointly with its Northern Ireland counterpart, the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, for the railway service between Dublin and Belfast, via Drogheda, Dundalk, Newry and Portadown. The company is headquartered at Heuston Station, Dublin. It is a statutory corporation whose members are appointed by the Minister for Transport.
Dublin Bus is an Irish state-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 145 million passengers in 2023. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann.
Bus Éireann is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). The company's primary hub is Busáras, located in Store Street, Dublin. In 2022 it operated 229 Public Service Obligation Routes, 14 expressway routes and 8940 school transport routes.
Luas is a tram system in Dublin, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line which opened on 26 September 2004. Since then, the red line has been extended and split into different branches further out of the city and the green line has been extended north and south as a single line. Since the northern extension of the green line in 2017, the two lines intersect in the city centre. The system now has 67 stops and 42.5 kilometres (26.4 mi) of revenue track, which in 2023 carried 48.2 million passengers, an increase of 24% compared to 2022.
Connolly station or Dublin Connolly is the busiest railway station in Dublin and Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. On the North side of the River Liffey, it provides InterCity, Enterprise and commuter services to the north, north-west, south-east and south-west. The north–south Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Luas red line light rail services also pass through the station. The station offices are the headquarters of Irish Rail, Iarnród Éireann. Opened in 1844 as Dublin Station, the ornate facade has a distinctive Italianate tower at its centre.
Transport 21 was an Irish infrastructure plan, announced in November 2005. Its aims were to greatly expand Ireland's transport network. A cost estimate of €34 billion was attached to the plan at the time.
The Green Line is one of the two lines of Dublin's Luas light rail system. The Green Line was formerly entirely in the south side of Dublin city. It mostly follows the route of the old Harcourt Street railway line, which was reserved for possible re-use when it closed in 1958. The Green Line allows for passengers to transfer at O’ Connell GPO and Marlborough to Luas Red Line services and also allows commuters to use Broombridge as an interchange station to reach outer suburbs such as Castleknock and Ongar as well as Iarnrod Éireann services.
MetroLink is a proposed metro line for the city of Dublin. It replaces an earlier proposal called Metro North which was first recommended in the then Irish Government's 2005 Transport 21 transport plan.
Bray / Daly Railway Station is a station in Bray in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is located adjacent to Bray seafront and is 600 m from Bray Main Street via Florence Road or Quinsborough Road.
This article deals with transport in the Greater Dublin Area centred on the city of Dublin in Ireland.
The Dublin to Sligo main line is a railway route operated by Iarnród Éireann in Ireland. It starts in Dublin Connolly station, terminating at Sligo Mac Diarmada railway station in Sligo. The route is a double-track railway as far as Maynooth, being a single-track railway with passing loops between there and Sligo.
Aircoach is an Ireland-based subsidiary company of FirstGroup. It provides airport express coach services from Cork, Belfast, Derry, Greystones, Bray, Southside Dublin and Dublin to Dublin Airport and from Derry to Belfast International Airport.
This article deals with transport in Waterford city in Ireland. The city is connected by road, rail, bus, air and sea. There are currently proposals for a bus rapid transit system, consisting of bus trams, or streetcars, to be used in future.
The TFI Leap Card is a contactless smart card for automated fare collection overseen by Transport for Ireland (TFI). It was introduced in the Greater Dublin area in 2011 for Luas, DART, Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Bus, but acceptance has significantly expanded, and it is now accepted in cities nationwide and on some longer distance commuter routes. Initially, Leap Cards offered only a pre-paid electronic wallet system for single-trip fares; since May 2014, it has also been possible to load it with weekly, monthly and annual subscriptions. In September 2017, there were over 2.5 million Leap Card users according to the National Transport Authority. The Leap Card is the result of many years' work by the Railway Procurement Agency and the National Transport Authority as part of the rollout of an integrated ticketing scheme for public transport in Dublin city. Fares are generally discounted compared to cash prices, and integrated ticketing is offered in the Dublin area via a flat fare system across all modes of transport. The minimum top-up for the card is currently €5, and it can be topped up via iPhone/Android App, at LUAS or DART ticketing machines, and in convenience stores offering Payzone services.
Bus Éireann Route 101 is a bus route in Ireland, that runs from Talbot Street, in Dublin city centre, to the Bus Station in the town of Drogheda, via Swords, Balbriggan and Julianstown. It is operated by Bus Éireann and is the main bus route connecting Drogheda to Dublin. Routes 101X and 100X are peak time express services using the Dublin Port Tunnel and M1 motorway and route 101N a weekend Nightrider service.
Go-Ahead Transport Services (Dublin) Limited, trading as Go-Ahead Ireland, is a bus operator in Dublin that commenced trading in September 2018. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group.