Go-Ahead Dublin and Ireland’s National Transport Authority have signed a €172m, five-year contract for the operation of 24 bus routes in the Dublin area. This includes full mobilisation costs and the provision of depot facilities.
Go-Ahead is expected to begin operating some of the routes by the middle of October and all routes by the end of January 2019.
Go-Ahead Dublin was last year selected as preferred bidder under a competitive public procurement process.
Under this process the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (the ‘MEAT’ tender) is identified through detailed assessment which includes a weighted score for price and quality.
Chief Executive of the National Transport Authority (NTA) Anne Graham said: “This is ultimately about improving bus services for Dublin and NTA is confident that passengers will benefit from this decision.
“We believe that with Go-Ahead Dublin as an operator there will be a fresh dimension to the way that services are offered. Introducing new providers encourages everybody to focus on their customers’ needs and it encourages innovation and improvements to service quality.
“It has also been the experience internationally that introducing some level of competitive tendering into services like this, usually results in a better deal for passengers and for the public in general.
“Under the provisions of the tender, not only will service levels on the routes in question be maintained, they will actually be increased by about 35%.
“Passengers in areas served by these routes have absolutely no reason to worry about this change. Matters such as fares, frequency and scheduling for the service will all be set by the NTA, and not the operator. There will be no changes to ticketing, and the services will accept payment by Leap and the Free Travel Pass.
At the official signing was Ed Wills, Managing Director of Go-Ahead Dublin, who said: "We are delighted to have been awarded this new contract by the NTA and are looking forward to rolling out the new fleet of buses and drivers, commencing Autumn 2018.
“Go-Ahead is passionate about putting customers first and signing our first contract in Ireland is something we are very proud of.”
The contract is modelled on the arrangement that has been in place for years for the Luas tram network in Dublin, which is owned by the state and run by Transdev.