Dublin Bus unveiled its enhanced Christmas Nitelink service yesterday, saying it expects to carry up to 10,000 passengers nightly.
Another 10,000 are due to travel on extended late-night DART services.
Beginning on Thursday December 6th, buses will run every night between 12.30 a.m. and 4.30 a.m.
They will leave the city centre every 20 minutes from Thursday to Saturday and every hour on the half hour from Sunday to Wednesday.
The improved service continues until New Year's Eve, excluding Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
A late-night DART service will operate from Thursday to Saturday, December 6th to December 22nd.
Trains will run at 1 a.m., 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. northbound from Pearse Station to Howth and southbound from Connolly Station to Greystones.
Announcing the upgraded timetables, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Mrs O'Rourke, said more than 800,000 people were now taking the Nitelink annually, compared to 204,966 in 1992, its first year in existence .
She said: "I am delighted that both Dublin Bus and Iarnr≤d ╔ireann will be providing late night services during the Christmas period.
"Dublin Bus provides its Nitelink services throughout the year, but increases its capacity significantly over Christmas," Mrs O'Rourke added.
"Such is the popularity of the Nitelink bus service that 103,000 people availed of it during the three weeks to its operation last Christmas."
Last year, Christmas Nitelink services recorded a 25 per cent increase in passenger numbers over 1999.
An estimated 2,300 people took a late-night DART in 2000, just its second year in operation.
Nitelink tickets are priced at £3, with some exceptions for longer routes.
DART tickets are priced at £3.50. Combined DART/Nitelink tickets will be available for £4.50.
Dublin Bus currently operates 22 Nitelink routes from the city centre triangle of Westmoreland Street, D'Olier Street and College Street.