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  • A total of 226.7 million passengers were carried on scheduled bus services, 41.8 million passengers travelled on the Luas and 48.0 million passengers travelled by rail in 2018.

  • Iarnród Éireann carried 516,000 tonnes of freight in 2018. The principal commodity carried was mineral ores.

  • The largest number of journeys by users of the bicycle sharing scheme in Dublin in 2018 was in the month of July when 379,439 journeys were made. July was also the month when most journeys occurred in Galway (4,678), while May was the month when most journeys occurred in Limerick (2,906). For Cork, October had the most bicycle journeys recorded (33,470).

X-axis labelNumber of bus passengers
2011195.273
2012192.37
2013191.111
2014197.390
2015200.994
2016205.571
2017217.605
2018226.745
Table 8.1 Summary of scheduled bus passenger services, 2011 - 2018
   '000
Scheduled services20112012201320142015201620172018
Passengers
Dublin city services116,958115,198114,268116,262122,093125,377138,978143,104
Provincial city and town services16,38916,72817,65118,64119,35220,57820,17822,995
Other scheduled services20,11220,04618,07618,54718,50919,10817,68319,070
School transport scheme41,81440,39841,11643,94041,04040,50840,76641,576
Total passengers195,273192,370191,111197,390200,994205,571217,605226,745
         
Vehicle kilometres
Dublin city services53,90052,10050,30054,73055,34055,32057,35054,906
Provincial city and town services8,0617,8057,6647,9468,3608,9689,26610,176
Other scheduled services82,40982,63371,17170,80469,39071,40067,03174,155
Total vehicle kilometres144,370142,538129,135133,480133,090135,688133,647139,237
         
Litres of fuel used
Dublin Bus - diesel30,06028,00027,43927,11527,48727,41627,78627,012
Bus Éireann - diesel28,50028,70028,20028,21528,18328,74026,60628,487
Total fuel used58,56056,70055,63955,33055,67056,15654,39255,499
Sources: Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus
Table 8.2 Average daily flow of Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann passengers by city services and time of day, 2018
Hour% of daily flow
CorkGalwayLimerickWaterfordDublin
00:00 - 06:591.31.20.40.03.1
07:00 - 07:596.44.74.71.77.4
08:00 - 08:596.86.97.19.18.3
09:00 - 09:595.65.46.17.55.4
10:00 - 12:5919.219.922.728.615.8
13:00 - 15:5923.524.026.129.619.8
16:00 - 16:599.18.88.89.08.3
17:00 - 17:598.87.98.06.59.2
18:00 - 18:596.56.95.93.07.2
19:00 - 21:599.710.47.84.211.5
22:00 - 24:003.13.92.40.84.2
Total100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0
Sources: Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus
Table 8.3 Average weekly flow of Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann passengers by city services and day of week, 2018
 Number
Day of weekCorkGalwayLimerickWaterfordDublin
Monday39,85613,51410,1892,572405,383
Tuesday43,65814,57010,9602,848454,256
Wednesday45,83415,07211,5602,975457,491
Thursday45,07014,99411,6933,033469,742
Friday45,29414,86311,5533,029469,734
Saturday30,30310,9137,9961,633301,550
Sunday17,7736,6803,91368212,860
Total267,78890,60667,86416,1582,771,016
Sources: Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus
Table 8.4 Dublin Bus passenger numbers by month, 2014 - 2018
Month20142015201620172018
January8,991,1759,577,5289,857,29110,468,42711,419,534
February9,117,3939,596,45810,700,55310,718,42511,279,304
March10,327,49710,543,38010,701,98712,051,13911,067,489
April9,648,83010,041,33911,091,97710,841,83212,046,319
May9,439,4799,371,54510,825,74711,771,83212,737,152
June9,096,2539,470,6749,957,22010,986,48211,490,525
July9,250,78010,317,02710,480,10911,629,83312,074,231
August9,348,4489,537,13310,243,16911,342,24811,679,839
September10,288,40910,979,8848,559,90912,432,52912,448,501
October10,746,11511,432,62811,236,56712,546,92113,240,113
November10,545,02111,052,01311,318,90213,024,61012,765,522
December9,462,59110,172,94610,403,92211,163,86110,855,955
Total116,261,991122,092,555125,377,353138,978,139143,104,484
Source: Dublin Bus
Table 8.5 Dublin Bus fleet by garage, 2017 - 2018
Number
Depot2017 2018
Low floor busesOther busesTotal Low floor busesOther busesTotal
Donnybrook 11130113 1130113
Donnybrook 21130113 1150115
Ringsend1070107 1100110
Conyngham Road95095 97097
Summerhill1010101 1030103
Clontarf81081 81081
Phibsboro1850185 1770177
Harristown1950195 2150215
Total9900990 1,01101,011
Source: Dublin Bus
Table 8.6 Bus Éireann passenger numbers, 2014 - 2018
Million
 20142015201620172018
City/town services
Cork city10.911.712.612.313.9
Galway city4.14.04.34.24.7
Limerick city 2.92.82.92.83.5
Waterford city0.80.80.80.80.8
      
Stage carriage/commuter11.010.911.510.612.3
Expressway/eurolines6.97.06.96.36.4
Schools43.941.040.540.841.6
Other services0.60.70.70.70.4
Total81.178.980.278.683.6
Source: Bus Éireann
Table 8.7 Bus Éireann fleet, 2014 - 2018
    Number of buses
 20142015201620172018
Expressway/eurolines170180148144146
Stage carriage/commuter305308312325332
City/town services
Cork city8588103104130
Limerick city2122353640
Galway city2526383844
Waterford city1111121217
Sligo town66667
Navan town33332
Athlone town33338
Dundalk, Drogheda, Balbriggan777713
Other services10101098
Total646664677687747
Source: Bus Éireann
Table 8.8 Number of licensed bus operators by county, 2014 - 2018
County20142015201620172018
Carlow2221201918
Cavan6059565146
Clare6769656458
Cork136133131123120
Donegal124126128127126
Dublin232234229227228
Galway132128129130130
Kerry101104105104102
Kildare9089807472
Kilkenny3231323230
Laois4340414041
Leitrim2221202120
Limerick7171676970
Longford2120192018
Louth4751494949
Mayo9492908991
Meath101107110103101
Monaghan4342413837
Offaly3836383833
Roscommon3838353332
Sligo2931312628
Tipperary7878777172
Waterford2929282528
Westmeath3031343332
Wexford6465676467
Wicklow7472676568
Total1,8181,8181,7891,7351,717
Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport
Table 8.9 Luas passenger numbers by month and line, 2018
MonthRed lineGreen lineTotal
January1,664,4951,554,1533,218,649
February1,657,5621,460,7273,118,289
March1,661,0981,436,4723,097,570
April1,794,4241,555,6313,350,056
May1,934,5531,687,7853,622,338
June1,822,5001,556,2503,378,751
July1,841,1841,649,3293,490,513
August1,730,2391,633,0353,363,274
September1,810,9191,676,4543,487,373
October2,018,3901,901,5873,919,977
November2,047,7471,969,8204,017,567
December1,854,1561,918,4563,772,612
Total21,837,26819,999,70041,836,968
Source: Transport Infrastructure Ireland
Table 8.10 Luas infrastructure, 2018
 Red lineGreen line
Length of line20.5km22.0km
Journey time51 minutes40 minutes
Number of trams4033
Length of tram40.8 metres43.6/54.7 metres
Capacity of tram262287/367
Passengers carried21,837,26819,999,700
Vehicle kilometres2,119,7031,945,776
Passenger kilometres112,040,329205,145,908
Average length of journey4.45km8.1km
Average number of stops per passenger77
Timeliness (% services to timetable)97.05%97.64%
Source: Transport Infrastructure Ireland
Table 8.11 Average weekly flow of Luas passengers by day of week and line, 20181
 Number
Day of weekAverage red lineAverage green lineAverage Total
Monday60,67356,594117,267
Tuesday65,63261,457127,090
Wednesday67,36463,034130,399
Thursday69,44265,568135,011
Friday72,70568,013140,718
Saturday49,27041,84991,119
Sunday34,86028,09462,955
Total419,947384,610804,557
Source: Transport Infrastructure Ireland
1 Data based on the period 1/1/2018 to 31/12/2018
Table 8.12 Average daily flow of Luas passengers by time of day and line, 2018
   Rate
HourDaily flow green line %Daily flow red line %Weighted average %
05:00 - 05:590.250.390.32
06:00 - 06:591.832.342.08
07:00 - 07:597.386.056.72
08:00 - 08:5911.768.6210.19
09:00 - 09:595.556.425.98
  
10:00 - 10:593.645.464.55
11:00 - 11:593.825.134.47
12:00 - 12:594.585.815.19
13:00 - 13:595.236.675.95
14:00 - 14:595.096.285.68
  
15:00 - 15:596.256.946.59
16:00 - 16:598.388.938.65
17:00 - 17:5910.859.6610.26
18:00 - 18:598.536.347.44
19:00 - 19:595.314.745.03
   
20:00 - 20:593.923.243.58
21:00 - 21:592.892.702.80
22:00 - 22:592.252.322.29
23:00 - 23:591.711.441.58
00:00 - 00:590.800.510.66
Source: Transport Infrastructure Ireland
Table 8.13 Summary of passenger and freight traffic by rail, 2013- 2018
  '000
 201320142015201620172018
Passengers   
Mainline and other services8,14410,23010,49010,77211,55712,438
Dublin suburban services11,73010,58410,96211,95412,69613,299
DART15,98515,94917,15018,98720,07720,934
International journeys8801,0411,0581,1031,1751,290
Total36,73937,80439,66042,81545,50547,960
       
Passenger kilometres1,591,8511,862,7931,916,7221,989,7982,120,9872,281,083
    
Freight traffic tonnes589578540581546516
       
Freight traffic tonne kilometres98,84599,82796,406101,480100,39988,551
Source: Iarnród Éireann
Table 8.14 Principal commodities conveyed by rail, 2013 - 2018
Thousand of tonnes
Commodity201320142015201620172018
Ale, beer, stout000000
Beet and beet pulp000000
Cement000000
Fertiliser000000
Mineral ores364339299334291297
Petrol and oil000000
Wood and cork495963585245
General freight176180178189203174
Total589578540581546516
Source : Iarnród Éireann
Table 8.15 Rail infrastructure, 2013 - 2018
 201320142015201620172018
Length of lines, total [line km]1,894.01,894.01,894.01,894.01,894.02,045.0
Length of lines, passenger [line km]1,679.01,679.01,679.01679.01679.01679.0
Length of lines in single track [line km]1,208.01,208.01,208.01,208.01,208.01,579.0
Length of maintrack [main track km]2,384.02,384.02,384.02,384.02,384.02,384.0
Length of electrified maintrack [main track km]107.5107.5107.5107.5107.5107.5
Number of passenger stations [passenger stations]144144144144144144
Source: Iarnród Éireann
Table 8.16 Bicycle sharing scheme data for Dublin, 2017 - 2018
        Number
Month20172018 20172018 20172018
Long term subscriptions1 Short term subscriptions Number of journeys
January1,3521,028 646542 325,331277,641
February934906 597738 299,437270,019
March1,277831 1,129772 348,944250,631
April1,2661,318 1,7481,417 329,188299,454
May1,5871,414 1,8042,102 388,889359,842
June1,2981,701 1,9581,930 354,559355,956
July1,6111,708 2,4752,256 373,039379,439
August1,4031,429 2,1202,004 358,825361,489
September1,8371,706 1,7561,473 364,989347,396
October1,4131,324 1,6201,290 357,107371,443
November883852 1,066809 347,689327,085
December684716 565918 256,470258,487
Total15,54514,933 17,48416,251 4,104,4673,858,882
Source: JCDecaux
1 Data refers to new memberships each month
Table 8.17 Bicycle sharing scheme data for Cork, Galway and Limerick, 2018
        Number
 Annual subscriptions1 Short-term subscriptions2 Number of journeys
CorkGalwayLimerickMulti-city CorkGalwayLimerick CorkGalwayLimerick
January11,3883,3502,964233 262315 17,0482,1951,717
February11,4253,3772,978234 381223 19,8762,9841,961
March11,5003,4002,994235 521570 18,6892,3912,054
April11,5543,4553,024236 711396 21,1223,0402,425
May11,6553,5243,055236 11831175 22,0243,6122,906
June11,7863,5733,076238 20741235 21,3263,7742,707
July11,9203,6293,098239 19938226 23,6454,6782,899
August12,0363,6033,122239 14954176 22,1253,6552,579
September12,3753,6353,157243 12630104 26,3843,8602,405
October13,3623,6653,166252 873182 33,4703,7532,515
November13,4313,8333,194254 302122 28,1693,1942,039
December13,4663,8433,199253 51941 17,7031,8691,565
Source: National Transport Authority for 'Coca Cola Zero Bikes'
1 Figures represent cumulative annual membership numbers at the end of each month.
2 Short-term refers to the three day/temporary membership
Note: A user can be a member in more than one city.

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