With the Christmas period fast approaching, Bus Éireann, Ireland’s national bus company, is advising customers to note changes to normal schedules and with demand expected to be high, to book in advance to guarantee a seat on their preferred Expressway intercity service.
Bus Éireann operates the city services of Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, the town services of Athlone, Balbriggan, Drogheda, Dundalk, Navan and Sligo, regional and rural services, as well as the country’s largest intercity service, Expressway.
Normal services will operate up to and including Friday 23 December.
On Christmas Eve, services finish earlier than normal. City, Town, Commuter and Rural services will operate to a Saturday service with last departures at approximately 9pm, while Expressway services will also operate with earlier last departures.
Passengers should check their individual route on Bus Éireann’s website: https://www.buseireann.ie/service_updates.php?id=6664&month=Nov
No services will operate on Christmas Day.
St. Stephen’s Day will see a Bank Holiday/Sunday service timetable, beginning from approximately 9am, although some Expressway routes commence earlier. Passengers intending to travel should check the timetable for their route.
From Bank Holiday Tuesday 27 December onwards, normal schedules will resume – with weekday schedules running from 27 – 30 December, and weekend schedules as normal on New Year’s Eve (Saturday), New Year’s Day (Sunday) and Bank Holiday Monday 2 January.
A full schedule resumes from Tuesday 3 January.
Allen Parker, Bus Éireann Chief Customer Officer said: “We are delighted that demand for our services is very strong, with overall passenger numbers already 15% ahead of pre-pandemic levels. We are looking forward to connecting people with who and what matters to them at this important time of year.
“Christmas is expected to be one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, as people from across Ireland and beyond travel home for the festive period, in some cases for the first Christmas since 2019. We strongly advise passengers intending to travel intercity on Expressway to pre-book a ticket at expressway.ie to be guaranteed a seat. We expect our Dublin Airport services to be particularly busy as family and friends return from abroad. Passengers with an existing valid method of travel, including Taxsaver tickets and Free Travel Scheme passes can reserve their seat on expressway.ie for the low cost of €2 per journey. During the busy Christmas period, seats may not be available on a walk-up basis on all services.”
“With all the advantages of using public transport for Christmas shopping and socialising, avoiding congestion, parking charges and offering flexibility we also expect our city and town services to be very busy.
“We’re delighted to be able to operate a comprehensive schedule before and during the Christmas period to meet the demand from our customers. We’d advise everyone intending to travel to check their local timetables in advance.
“On behalf of everyone at Bus Éireann, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our customers a very enjoyable Christmas and holiday season.’
