Bus Éireann, the Irish state-owned bus and coach operator, has announced plans to roll-out 20 new double-deck electric vehicles in 2023 in its Limerick city fleet. This will contribute to its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. In 2022, the company delivered 470,000 emission-free kilometres, which it plans to increase to 1 million km in 2023.

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The company's success to date was facilitated by the National Transport Authority's investment in new zero and low-emission vehicles, as well as passenger numbers returning to pre-pandemic levels. Currently, the company operates 61 hybrid buses on routes in Galway and Limerick, as well as the only hydrogen buses in Ireland, which operate on Dublin commuter routes. Together these buses contributed to the 470,000 emission-free km in 2022, with the hybrid buses delivering 415,000 km and the three hydrogen buses 55,000 km emission-free. With the new buses in Limerick, the company aims to deliver over one million emission-free km in 2023.

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The new buses will enable Limerick to have a 100% low or zero emission public transport fleet. The company has also been growing its operations more generally by adding 1.7 million km of new public transport routes to its network in 2022. It has also seen impressive increases in passenger numbers in some places, including a 750% increase in passengers in Navan since 2019.

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The company has also made progress on other sustainability projects, such as energy and alternative fuels initiatives, with the support of the CIÉ Sustainability Fund. 

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Source: Eltis