Bus Éireann celebrates a record 1.3 million additional customer journeys on Route 220

  • 1.3 million additional customer journeys on Route 220
  • Over 70% growth reached in the first year of operation
  • Recruitment of 180 new drivers in Cork over the last two years

Bus Éireann celebrates a record 1.3 million customer journeys on Route 220

This month marks the first year anniversary of Cork’s first ever 24 hour city bus service, Route 220 (Ovens (EMC) - Ballincollig - City Centre - Maryborough Hill - Carrigaline (Liosbourne & Ferney Road) that came into operation in conjunction with the National Transport Authority (NTA) on the 13th of January 2019.

Since its introduction, Bus Éireann has seen an increase of over 70% growth reached on the Route 220, which has resulted in 1.3 million additional customer journeys.

Some of the key service improvements included:

  • A 24 hour Ballincollig to Carrigaline via city centre route
  • Weekday frequency doubled to every 15 minutes between 0600 and midnight
  • 30/60 minute frequency between midnight and 0600
  • All services operating to Grange Manor

Since 2018, Bus Éireann has recruited 180 new drivers in Cork with 30 of these created specifically for the Route 220 service. Currently there are over 400 drivers operating on all Bus Éireann PSO and Expressway services in Cork city and county - these services carry up to 50,000 passengers every day.

Bus Éireann in conjunction with the NTA continues to make improvements for our customers and in 2019, service improvements were made to Routes 216, 223, 225 and the Route 213. These included frequency increases, extended hours of operation and better connections for our customers.

Leap Card usage has grown to over 63% on all trips in Cork city and in early December, Bus Éireann introduced new ticketing software that has reduced boarding times for our customers.

In Cork last year, Bus Éireann made a significant contribution to the local economy contributing €25m. Customer usage on all our services in Cork city performed strongly and early indications for this year are that they will exceed expectation, which is very welcome news for Bus Éireann.

For more information on Cork timetables or services in your area, check out www.buseireann.ie or www.transportforireland.ie.

Thursday, 30th January, 2020