Dublin Bus is a force for good in the city, but it can be a much stronger one

When Dublin Bus chief executive Ray Coyne announced in January that he was stepping down, he was professionally upbeat about its present and optimistic about its future: "Dublin Bus is a real force for good in our city and it will be central to the postpandemic recovery."

As much as users’ and non-users’ very reasonable complaints and frustrations about the service can stack up – disappearing buses, unpredictable delays, peak-time crowding – the first part of this sentence is true. The second part should be.

Ireland’s largest public transport provider is currently engaged in two hugely important recruitment processes that have, yes, come along at once.

One is the appointment of Coyne’s successor, applications for which closed last week. As well as the usual bullet points about providing strategic leadership and fostering relationships with “internal and external stakeholders”, the next boss is tasked with “delivering” on the €2 billion BusConnects plan and the electrification of the bus network – two projects that have the capacity to make it more efficient, more reliable and more sustainable.

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Then there’s the massive recruitment drive, its biggest since 1989, now underway with the advertising line “get thanked for a living”. Today, the State-owned operator, in search of 450 drivers and 50 mechanics and engineering operatives ahead of a fleet expansion, is holding a walk-in recruitment information day at its depot in Broadstone.

Growth in demand

The temporary fare reductions being introduced in April and May as part of the Government’s cost-of-living package could promote bus usage at a time when it is rising anyway, with employers yanking remote-working staff back to the office and fuel costs high.

But the hiring spree is really designed to facilitate the passenger growth pencilled in for the longer haul: BusConnects is expected to be so brilliant, it will cause “modal shift”, increasing use of public transport and reducing that of private cars. This isn’t just a laudable aim – it’s an entirely necessary one in the context of climate action.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan is clearly an advocate for it, while the Cabinet recently signed off on the next of BusConnects' many phases. But after decades of stop-start investment, Dublin has visible catching up to do on other European capitals. The next Dublin Bus chief executive will have a lot to do to make it the much stronger force for good that Coyne suggests it can be.