More than fare numbers using public transport
Country has busiest year ever across bus & rail network
PUBLIC transport passenger numbers exceeded pre-pandemic levels, new figures show.
The data collated a record number of people on public transport, with 308 million users causing capacity challenges for some service providers.
In all, public transport use rose by almost a quarter in the year, according to the National Transport Authority.
Its figures show the country had its busiest year ever across public bus routes and the rail network.
An NTA spokesperson said: “Over 308 million passenger journeys were provided.
“The preliminary figures represent an overall 24% increase in passenger numbers during 2023 when compared with the previous year, and a 5% increase above the previous record year in 2019.
“Dublin Bus carried over 145 million passengers last year, a 20% increase on the 121 million passengers in 2022.
“Bus Eireann served in excess of 44 million passengers during the past twelve months, a significant increase on the 35 million passengers who used its services the previous year.
“Go-ahead Ireland’s Dublin Metropolitan area bus services, served over 16m passengers over the last twelve months compared to 12.5m in 2022.
“Luas carried 48.2 million passengers last year, a 25% rise compared to the 38.6 million passengers in 2022.
“Preliminary figures from Iarnrod Eireann show rail passenger journeys in 2023 also grew significantly, as the post Covid recovery continues.
“An estimated 45.5 million passenger journeys were made by rail during the past 12 months, up from 35.8 million in 2022.” The sharp increase of usage coincided with a cut in public transport fares in the first half of last year plus new services being added across the country.
Capacity challenges were revealed by Dublin Bus and Iarnrod Eireann due to the increased numbers.
Irish Rail stated it mainly experienced issues on intercity routes. It added that pressure would be eased over the coming months when new carriages are introduced on these routes.
The NTA spokesperson said: “TFI Local Link regular bus services, connecting towns and townlands in rural Ireland, carried 3.2 million passengers in 2023.
“That is a 78% increase on the 1.8 million passenger journeys in 2022.
“Over 60 new and enhanced services were launched in towns and villages across Ireland, under the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan last year.
“The annual patronage on TFI Local Link services has seen a seven-fold increase since 2018.”
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said: “Public transport has turned a significant corner this year.
“Communities up and down the country are now benefiting from the significantly increased and enhanced public transport and the new lower fares we have introduced.
“The numbers of people using our buses, trains and trams this year are really encouraging.
“It shows that when you provide good transport services people flock to them, in both urban and rural areas. This year we will continue to invest in and improve transport services with more town buses, more rural services and progression on transformative Bus Corridors in our cities, now starting to come out of planning. “As new services are introduced, people are talking with the feet and jumping on board, which is hugely encouraging as lots of new services have been introduced, allowing people to travel sustainably and to leave their cars at home.”
NTA chief Anne Graham added: “Ireland continues to be a leader in Europe with our public transport passenger numbers growing strongly.
“The NTA has continued to plan, implement and invest in our public transport network and we are seeing the results of that around the country.
“Last year, we implemented over 60 new and enhanced bus services, connecting towns and villages across Ireland giving our people the option to take public transport to work, school, and college or to leisure appointments.
“The passenger numbers speak for themselves.”