Sir, – When writing on the efficient delivery of public transport, Gerry Mullins of the Coach Tourism and Transport Council (Opinion, September 18th) conveniently forgot to mention the 2009 Deloitte Report commissioned by the Department of Transport into Bus Éireann. This exhaustive, independent report found Bus Éireann was as efficient and effective as European peers in delivering public transport, while receiving one of the lowest levels of State funding in the EU. Since 2009, State funding of Bus Éireann has been further reduced by 25 per cent to €37 million in 2012, while we have also reduced our cost base by €30 million (10 per cent). This has all been achieved without a significant reduction in service levels.
When writing about the recent Value for Money report into the School Transport Scheme, Mr Mullins also conveniently forgot to mention that the report found Bus Éireann is an efficient and effective administrator of this “complex” and “significant” scheme, and is the only organisation on the island of Ireland with the skills, experience and expertise to manage the scheme. Bus Éireann works with 1,400 local bus and coach operators around the country in delivering the School Transport Scheme. Just 3 per cent of these operators are members of the Coach Tourism and Transport Council. – Yours, etc,