Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

Dublin Bus has denied allegations it ran services that were not authorised by the Government, saying it was satisfied it was "fully compliant with the Department of Transport service authorisations".

Reports on RTÉ this morning claimed that the Department of Transport conducted research that found that the State-owned bus company had increased its services on morning routes from Lucan and Celbridge, which did not comply with its timetables.

A Freedom of Information request uncovered communications between the Department and Dublin Bus, in which the department said the firm was operating unauthorised services.

However, Dublin Bus has rejected the allegations.

"Service levels on the [Lucan Quality Bus] corridor increased in the period between 1995 and 1997, at the time of the introduction of the QBC in 1996, when the daily volume of bus trips increased by 51 per cent. Since then there has been no significant development in terms of frequency or capacity on Dublin Bus routes to Lucan or Celbridge," it said in a statement.