Bus Éireann achieves 470,000km of emission-free transport in 2022

Credit: Bus Éireann

Bus Éireann has announced that it has achieved a significant milestone, delivering 470,000 emission-free kilometres in 2022, according to its second Annual Sustainability Report. The increase has been facilitated by the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) investment in new zero and low-emission vehicles and a return to pre-pandemic passenger numbers.

Currently, the company operates 61 hybrid buses on routes in the cities of Galway and Limerick. It also operates the only three hydrogen buses in Ireland on Dublin commuter routes and had introduced the company’s first all-electric town bus service in Athlone in January 2023.

The 61 hybrid buses, which comprise the entire Galway city fleet and half of the Limerick city fleet, delivered 415,000km emission-free in 2022, while the three hydrogen buses operating between Dublin and Ratoath, Co Meath achieved 55,000km emission-free in the same period.

Bus Éireann has stated that it aims to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and expects to reach the milestone of delivering over one million emission-free kilometres in 2023. The company currently provides zero or low-emission transport to over 200,000 people in Ireland.

Ireland’s first all-electric town bus service launched in Athlone

Among other key achievements outlined in the Annual Sustainability Report 2022, Bus Éireann has carried out more than 225 million service kilometres in 2022, including school transport services for a record 151,000 children each school day. The company has also added 1.7 million additional kilometres of new services in 2022, funded by NTA, with its Navan town bus service seeing a 750% increase in passenger numbers since 2019.

Furthermore, the company has made progress on sustainability projects, such as the energy and alternative fuels initiatives, with the support of the CIÉ Sustainability Fund. The Annual Sustainability Report also highlights Bus Éireann’s 22.2% improvement in its Energy Performance Indicator, calculated as a percentage of the total energy used by the organisation per available seat kilometre.

Looking ahead, Bus Éireann has stated that it plans to deploy 20 new double-deck electric vehicles in its Limerick city fleet later in 2023, completing the transition of its Limerick city services to 100% zero or low-emission vehicles. 

“Bus Éireann, as Ireland’s national bus company is leading the drive to make Ireland’s bus network more sustainable, and in doing so, to convince travellers to choose public transport over private cars. We continue to prioritise climate action with the ambition of halving our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030,” said Stephen Kent, Chief Executive of Bus Éireann. “Furthermore, we are also proud that our customer satisfaction rate stands at 91% for the last six months of 2022.”