Bus operator Go-Ahead Ireland has said all services it runs in the Greater Dublin Area have had issues with buses failing to turn up in recent weeks.
The company said the disappearance of buses from timetables, which passengers describe as "ghost buses", is due to a shortage of mechanics and seasonal illness, but also admitted the roll out of a new BusConnects service has contributed to the problem.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) said it has asked the operator for a plan to remedy the issue.
Over the past three weeks, passengers on a number of privatised services in and around the capital - including the N2, N6, S4, S6, S8 and W4 - have been reporting long waits as multiple scheduled buses failed to appear, some during peak hours.
Similar issues have arisen on new routes run by Go-Ahead Ireland on the BusConnects Phase 6a which was launched just 11 days ago.
Watch: Dubliners discuss 'ghost bus' problems
The company confirmed there are issues on services "throughout the entire Go-Ahead Ireland Outer Dublin Metropolitan Area network", saying some services have been affected more than others.
In a statement, it said it is aware that, at times, consecutive trips have been cancelled or curtailed and that it is prioritising hourly services to ensure prolonged waiting times are limited.
"We are currently working to recognise the issues, address the causes and adjust our services with the resources available".
Meanwhile, the Minister for Transport has said the ability of private companies to deliver bus services needs to be interrogated further.
Minister Darragh O'Brien said the service being provided in some areas is "not up to scratch" and that the government needed assurances on delivery of services.
"We need to make sure that the service operators who are given these contracts are providing the service that is required and contingencies have to be built in. So, if there are vacancies, we know it can be difficult in some areas to fill those vacancies. But we need to make sure that there's headroom in these organisations to deliver the services that people deserve and need."
He also said that when a service is cancelled it should be reflected in the app much sooner so that people can find alternatives.
He said he understands the annoyance among commuters about the issue and he will meet with the National Transport Authority to discuss the issue.
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Mechanic shortage, illness to blame
Go-Ahead Ireland said the main causes of the issues are a shortage of mechanics and seasonal illness, which has reduced the number of active vehicles on the road.
However, it also said the increased number of buses in its fleet due to the latest phase of BusConnects has been a "contributing factor" to delays because of the additional vehicles that require maintenance.
The company apologised to those who have been affected and said that it is beginning to see improvements to services.
"We continue to see incremental increases in service provision as more vehicles become available.
"For example, we have seen a 40% improvement in lost trips yesterday compared to the same day last week."
Go-Ahead Ireland said it expects to see continuous improvements each day "leading to the resumption of a reliable service within the next two weeks".
The operator is short of six mechanics, but an increase in applications since the start of the year for roles advertised in a dedicated recruitment campaign will address the issue.
The NTA, which oversees the delivery of bus services, said it is aware Go-Ahead Ireland is experiencing "fleet reliability issues" across Dublin, including routes launched on 26 January as part of the Phase 6a BusConnects network redesign.
The authority said it is monitoring the situation closely and is receiving daily reports from the company on service availability.
The latest reports, the NTA said, indicate a significant improvement in the situation and the operator expects this to continue to improve in the coming days.
"The authority has requested a remedial plan from the operator to include details of when services are expected to return to full timetable on each route."
In 2023, the NTA imposed performance-related penalties of €1.1 million on Go Ahead Ireland and just over €3m in 2022.
Labour Spokesperson on Transport Duncan Smith said he has been raising issue of the unreliability of Go Ahead services in his constituency in north Co Dublin since 2022 and has called for the contract there to be terminated.
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He said there have been particular issues with the 33B service from Portrane to Swords
Mr Smith said the situation has deteriorated further in recent weeks and that he will raise the mechanism for reviewing the their contract when he is meets the NTA later.
Bus service a 'disaster' - councillor
Green Party Councillor for Glencullen-Sandyford Oisín O'Connor described the Go-Ahead Ireland service as a "disaster" in recent weeks.
He said multiple services have failed to show up in a row at peak times while the Transport for Ireland app shows that they are running.
He said the services affected include the 114, S8, S6, L26, L27, L28.
Mr O'Connor called on the operator to give advance notice of cancellations and to explain how they are going to resolve the issues which he claims is resulting in buses that do operate being dangerously overcrowded.
He also urged the company and the NTA to publish the statistics about the reliability of services.
People Before Profit-Solidarity Councillor for Finglas-Ballymun Conor Reddy said Go-Ahead Ireland services are in "disarray" and called for the privatised routes to be returned to Dublin Bus.
"Cancellations and disruptions are now commonplace and commuters are being left waiting for buses that never arrive. It seems an already unreliable service has become even worse in recent weeks.
"In my own area, multiple buses have been cancelled at peak times on the N6 and N2 routes for the past three weeks. Many other routes are facing similar failures.
"This is causing huge difficulties and stress for people trying to get to work, college and school - many of whom have no other option but the bus."
He added: "It's clear that Go-Ahead can't recruit or retain workers, particularly drivers and mechanics.
"It’s time to end the disaster that is the privatisation of bus services.
"The privatised bus routes should be returned to Dublin Bus to be operated for the needs of commuters."
However, the NTA rejected claims the problems are connected to the fact that the company is a private operator.
In a statement it said: "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.
"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."
It said that performance data on all operators - in terms of punctuality, reliability and service quality - shows that it is not the case that one set of customers is routinely let down on an ongoing basis.
The most recent annual figures, for 2023, show punctuality for Go-Ahead Ireland’s services are better than others, the NTA added, while figures showing services that failed to operate are also lower than others.
