Dublin Bus has voiced concern over what it perceives as a more stringent penalty system imposed on late services, suggesting it is more severe than those set for railway services. The company has highlighted these worries to Transport Minister Éamon Ryan, explaining that Irish Rail essentially has a leeway of ten minutes before their services are deemed late. Contrarily, Dublin Bus, operating in an urban sphere full of congestion, is deemed unpunctual after a mere six-minute delay.
Dublin Bus argues that if the ten-minute slack was incorporated into their contract with the National Transport Authority (NTA), they would be eligible for incentives rather than penalties. In this regard, negotiations are set between the NTA and Dublin Bus, including Bus Éireann, which operates under similar terms with the NTA. According to Dublin Bus, these talks continue.
The NTA affirms its dedication to punctuality and improving the reliability of services, especially those running at lower frequencies. Based on global metrics, buses are punctual if they depart a minute early or within five minutes and 59 seconds post the published departure time from the stop, the NTA explained.
In the current contract, effective since December 1st, 2019, the NTA holds more power to prompt greater service punctuality and reliability from Dublin Bus than in previous terms. Now, performance standards are set for each route individually, rather than having an overall network standard. Failure to meet these individual route standards could lead to sanctions for Dublin Bus; however, if these standards are exceeded, Dublin Bus could receive incentive payments.
Each route’s performance standard is determined by the NTA and considers factors such as historical performance and prevailing conditions. Although ambitious, the organisation confirms these standards are feasible. The NTA maintains that these performance standards are continuously reviewed and modified when needed.
The performance criteria for bus and train services are not interchangeable in this situation. The ten-minute parameter for rail services is exclusive to intercity and regional rail services covering longer distances, as pointed out initially. The National Transport Authority (NTA) stated that a five-minute measurement was used for short-haul commuter and DART services, which is consistent with international standards.
Additionally, the use of automated vehicle location (AVL) technology in buses has made it simpler to manage, track and measure them on a stop-to-stop basis. There are, however, restrictions on the rail system with the existing mechanism only allowing performance monitoring at the final station. The NTA aims to address this issue as soon as they increase their investment in upgrading their systems.