Reliability, breaking a red light and giving 'abuse' among complaints made about buses serving Kilkenny

Almost 50 complaints were made about different bus services operating in Kilkenny between January 2023 and the end of March 2024.

Information obtained from the National Transport Authority (NTA) reveals that 41 complaints were made about bus services in Kilkenny in 2023. A further eight complaints were made in the first three months of this year.

One complainant accused a bus driver of speeding through a red light in Kilkenny, while another accused a driver of ‘abuse’ when they were buying their ticket.

The 897 route (Kilkenny to Athy) was mentioned in complaints on more than one occasion, as was the Dublin Coach. Nine people complained about the reliability of bus services in Kilkenny during the 15-month period, while eight more raised concerns about staff/driver behaviour.

Six people highlighted issues with routes or services in Kilkenny, five submitted queries or concerns about timetables in the county, and two more criticised scheduling. Eight complaints were lodged in October last year alone while five were submitted in February 2024.

The NTA and Bus Éireann were contacted for comment. Bus Éireann provides three public service obligation (PSO) routes in Kilkenny. A spokesperson for Bus Éireann said the company served in excess of 45 million PSO passengers nationally in 2023, ‘a significant increase of over 28% on the previous year’.

“Bus Éireann welcomes this growth and hopes it can be maintained into 2024 and beyond with the support of additional government investment in our fleet and public transport infrastructure. Bus Éireann takes all complaints about its services very seriously and all incidents are fully investigated,” the spokesperson said.

“Bus Éireann achieved a customer satisfaction rate of 93% in 2023.”

Bus Éireann said it should be noted that bus stop design, location, erection, maintenance etc is the responsibility of the local authority and the NTA, not Bus Éireann.

The spokesperson added: “Bus Éireann would like to reassure customers that we are always happy to receive feedback so that we can improve our services.

“If a customer has a complaint, they should contact our customer care team by telephone on LoCall 0818 919 910 with the hours operating from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 6pm weekends and public holidays.”