New figures show that Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead were hit with financial penalties of close to €5 million last year over performance standards failures, as passengers have recently complained about “ghost buses”.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) imposed deductions of €4 million on Dublin Bus and €761,000 on Go-Ahead for the first three quarters of 2024.
The performance-related payment deductions are made where an operator fails to meet “minimum performance standards”, according to the NTA. In 2023, total penalties of €9 million were imposed on Dublin Bus and €1.1 million for Go-Ahead.
There have been complaints about “ghost buses” in recent weeks, in particular in relation to Go-Ahead routes. “Ghost” or “disappearing” buses refer to services displayed on real-time, on-street screens and on the TFI mobile phone app, saying a bus will arrive at a certain time, only for it to vanish from the screen/app or suddenly appear as cancelled.
Go-Ahead Ireland said it had recently experienced “service frequency” issues which have impacted passengers and apologised to those affected.
It said this was due to a combination of factors including a shortage of mechanics, leading to buses taking longer to service and reducing the number of active vehicles on the road at certain times.
“This issue has been further aggravated by seasonal illnesses which has reduced the current number of active mechanics able to service our fleet at a given time,” it said.
The transport provider said it is running a dedicated mechanics recruitment campaign.
“Although we acknowledge we have experienced service disruption, we would like to reassure our passengers, as well as the people of the Greater Dublin Area, that we have begun to see service improvements and expect to see continuous improvements each day, leading to the resumption of a normal level of service on impacted routes within the next two weeks,” it said.
Dublin Bus said its operational performance has improved consistently over the last 12 months. A spokeswoman for the company said since the beginning of 2025, its real-time passenger information accuracy is “at a record high of 98 per cent”.
The NTA said new changes under the BusConnects programme which were rolled out in January would take “some time to bed in” and this was “not unexpected”.
In relation to Go-Ahead’s service issues, it said it was “monitoring the situation closely” and is receiving daily reports from the operator on service availability by route.
“The contention that in overall terms and compared to other operators, Go-Ahead Ireland services do not meet the standards required, does not stand up to scrutiny,” an NTA spokesman said.
“No transport operator is exempt from periods when delivery of services is more challenging and when customer expectations are not met, but it is incumbent on the NTA to work with operators in these situations and to come up with solutions, rather than react in a knee-jerk manner.”
The issue was raised when the Dáil resumed on Wednesday, where Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart asked the Taoiseach whether he agreed that the previous minister for transport [Eamon Ryan] did not take a “sufficient enough hands-on approach” with the NTA to “listen to the criticisms of the public and to communicate with them properly”.
[ Rush hour on a Dublin bus: ‘They’re all ghost buses now’Opens in new window ]
The Dublin South-West TD said there needed to be a “much more responsive and direct approach” with the NTA to ensure a reliable public transport system.
“Buses that appear due on the app are being cancelled minutes prior to their scheduled arrival with people at bus stops waiting for them,” he said.
“The next scheduled bus does not then meet the schedule, arrives late and is too full to take on board any other passengers.”
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