Limerick and Dublin to receive 120 electric buses at a cost of €80 million

120 electric buses have been issued to Dublin and Limerick by the National Transport Authority as part of plans to decarbonise the country and promote green transport.

Twenty double-deck battery-electric buses will be issued by the NTA for arrival in Limerick

By I Love Limerick correspondent Ava O’Donoghue

The National Transport Authority has issued 120 electric buses to Dublin and Limerick as part of plans to decarbonise the country and promote green transport.

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The NTA made the announcement on Monday, June 13 that an order for 120 double-deck battery-electric buses will be made to the Bamford Bus Company, also known as Wrightbus, at a cost of €80.4 million. The order is part of a scheme to purchase 800 zero-emission battery-electric buses over the next five years.

The recently purchased 120 buses will be introduced in the two Irish cities over the next two years, with 100 going to Dublin and the remainder to Limerick.

The buses will be manufactured and assembled at the Wrightbus facility in Galgorm, on the outskirts of Ballymena in Northern Ireland.

The historic deal will allow buses to operate with zero tailpipe emissions, which will contribute to a substantial improvement in air quality in the area’s they are deployed.

Over the next few months, commissioning and training will start as work begins on installing the necessary charging infrastructure in key Irish cities.

Future orders will be deployed in Cork, Galway and Waterford according to the National Transport Authority.

“We know that decarbonising transport is imperative as part of our effort to tackle climate change. Because shared mobility is already a far more sustainable and economical way of getting around, particularly compared to a private car that runs on fossil fuel, the battery-electric buses that we are now ordering will accelerate the transition to a zero-emission fleet,” said Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan following the announcement.

“Going electric will reduce the carbon footprint of our public transport fleet and will help us reach our long-term climate goals, as outlined in the Climate Action Plan. These new electric buses will also help reduce air pollution, improve public health and improve access to public transport for people of all abilities.”

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For more information on the NTA Electric Bus Scheme go HERE