CIE's annual report, published today, says the problem of traffic gridlock has increased the cost of its bus services by £40 million. This is despite the largest ever investment in new buses by the group.
A peak hour bus journey from the western Dublin suburb of Blanchardstown to the city centre now takes one hour and 45 minutes. That compares to one hour in 1997.
Journey times in Limerick, Cork and Galway have also increased dramatically forcing the CIE group to purchase a record additional 300 buses and invest in additional garage facilities in order to control journey times. National bus routes have also been affected.
Today's report shows that the group made a surplus of £18.3 million last year. This figure represents the grant given to the CIE by the Government, less what it costs to run its services.
The Government subvention rose last year by £45 million to £160 million. However, CIE says that its rail services in particular still receives the lowest level of subvention of any state owned operator in Europe.
