The NTA offered an explanation for the phenomenon of ghose buses, as a number of issues with the BusConnects programme to improve bus services were flagged in the Dáil this morning
12:18, 14 Jan 2026Updated 12:21, 14 Jan 2026
A second BusConnects Core Corridor Scheme for Dublin has been approved (Image: Busconnects.ie)
The ongoing issues with bus-based public transport in Dublin have been called a “shambles” and “absolute chaos” in Dáil Éireann this morning.
Deputies Richard Boyd Barrett and Paul Murphy raised ongoing problems with bus reliability and the cancellations of buses across Dublin city and county with the Minister for Transport. They said that “ghost buses,” issues with apps displaying incorrect schedules and route planning have all been brought to them as complaints.
“BusConnects is a shambles,” said People Before Profit-Solidarity politician Deputy Boyd Barrett. He said that BusConnects – the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) programme to improve bus services in Irish cities – has added stress to the lives of daily commuters and bus drivers alike.
Speaking in the Dáil on Wednesday morning he said: “Late buses, ghost buses, cancelled buses, buses that go past you because they’re packed at peak hours, areas that have been completely abandoned, BusConnects is a shambles. Drivers are stressed to bits with the press-it box system, being harassed and being disciplined because they can’t meet unrealistic routes and timetable requirements.
“It is a shambles for commuters trying to get to work, for older people, for disabled people, for students and for bus drivers who are harassed to bits and then all of that compounded with the privatisation of the system, with apps that tell different information. So if you go on the Transport for Ireland app, it tells you one thing, you go to bustimes.org, it tells you something else, and reality tells you something else again. It’s absolute chaos.”
Touching on the phenomenon of “ghost buses,” where scheduled buses that appear on real-time apps and displays never actually arrive, Deputy Boyd Barrett said that some of the worst examples he hears complaints about are the E-Spine and F-Spine routes. He said that his colleague, Councillor Conor Reddy from Finglas, received 350 emails of complaint regarding the F Spine service in its first week.
People Before Profit-Solidarity politician Deputy Paul Murphy added that he has heard complaints that the commuter duration of journeys into town have increased by half an hour since the F-Spine was introduced. He added that the new routes “do not make sense,” and that the S-6 route has so many issues it has been granted its own Instagram route, where users of the service gather to complain and share their experiences. These complaints include waiting for prolonged periods in freezing temperatures for buses which do not show up.
“You have this new high frequency route and because the route is going in places that doesn’t make sense, that aren’t made for a whole number of buses to be going, the routes have slowed down significantly. That’s the NTA’s fault, that’s not a Dublin Bus fault,” said Deputy Murphy
A second BusConnects Core Corridor Scheme for Dublin has been approved(Image: Busconnects.ie)
He said that he is not seeing enough recognition of these issues from the government. He said: “I feel that for the last number of years, every couple of weeks I’ve been getting up here and giving out about the ghost buses, about the buses that are put out of order and they’re so packed and you can’t get on them, about buses that have been cancelled, about people waiting forever, about people not being able to rely on basic public transport services in this country. And there’s no recognition by the Government of the fundamental issues.”
Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien was not present for the meeting on topical issues this morning, and in his place Fine Gael’s Jerry Buttimer offered a response. He said that while the Minister has responsibility for the policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operations of the transport general service, which is the responsibility of the NTA.
He said that the issues articulated “highlights the importance of the need for BusConnects to be complete.” The BusConnects Dublin Network Redesign is a multi-phase program currently in Phase 7, with subsequent phases planned for 2026 and potentially beyond.
“It is unacceptable that members of the traveling public have experienced no buses, ghost buses or late buses,” he said. “The most frequent reason for bus cancellation on routes has been related to traffic congestion and traffic delays and the key point that I would make to all of us is that this isn’t about a lack of investment by government. Government have committed to public transport. That’s been seen in the budget allocation. I do appreciate that it is discommoding for members of the travelling public. It is unacceptable that buses have to be cancelled. It has an impact on passengers. That is unacceptable, full stop. And the frequent occurrence of this is in part because of the high volume of traffic.”
He said that the NTA has been responsive to the “challenging environment in Dublin.” He said that 24-hour spines have been introduced to support Dublin’s growing night-time economy, and new services have aimed to enhance connectivity across the capital. Deputy Buttimer added that following feedback from passengers and local representatives, alignment changes were made to a number of the new routes, and that the NTA are reviewing further amendments to the routes to tackle challenges to reliability.
As an explanation for the phenomenon of ghost buses, he said that when a service is cancelled, the operator is required to cancel the services on a system that monitors bus locations. This feeds into the real-time information system. “While that generally does happen, there has been some occurrences when relevant operator personnel did not input the cancellation in a timely manner. The NTA continues to monitor this item and stress to the operators the need for timely inputs of cancellations where they occur,” said Deputy Buttimer.
He added that it is “unacceptable” that real time apps are not providing accurate information. “We are talking about people here who want to use public transport and we must give them that certainty and that guarantee that public transport will work for them.”
Pictured in Dun Laoghaire at the launch of Phase 6a of BusConnects are; Hugh Creegan, Interim CEO, NTA, Gwen Morgan, Director of Service Operations, Dublin Bus, Dervla McKay, Managing Director, Go-Ahead Ireland, Florin Bozsa, bus driver, Dublin Bus and Sinead Byrne, bus driver, Go-Ahead Ireland.(Image: Julien Behal Photography)
Deputy Boyd Barrett responded to say that areas have been “abandoned” by the bus services, “particularly working class areas with older populations.” He highlighted a number of examples and said that those who cannot rely on their public transport services will resort to driving, adding to already heavy traffic across Dublin. “The government have to do something about it, not just say it’s terrible,” he finished.
Deputy Murphy added: “By every metric of reliability, punctuality, of penalties incurred, Go-Ahead is much worse than Dublin Bus. So why is the government persisting with privatising routes and giving them to Go-Ahead? Why are they not returned to Dublin Bus? Will the government call a halt to the plans to privatise even more routes to Go-Ahead? Routes 56A, the 65, the 77A, in light of all of the evidence showing that Go-Ahead provides a much worse service,” he queried.
Deputy Buttimer said in response that public transport and connectivity is key to revitalising villages, towns and urban centres and that BusConnect has already seen success, aside from the issues raised on Wednesday morning. He added that recent research found that four or five customers have expressed satisfaction with the bus service and 45% believe that the bus has improved. “I know we have a road to go and we’ve a journey to travel in that. The NTA and the department will continue to collaborate with operators and customers to enhance the punctuality and reliability of services throughout the network redesign,” he said.
“If we don’t take the experiences of the traveling public on board then we can’t learn. There are mistakes, there are gaps and I’d be the first to say that, I see it in my own city of Cork. I’m not living in an ivory tower, I use the bus myself in Cork so I recognise it.
“It’s, to me, crazy in a world where we’re living with technology, where an app can’t have correct real-time information for members of the traveling public. And that makes people daft, and that increases the volume of emails to you and the anger and frustration.”
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