WATCH Bus Éireann launches first electric regional city bus fleet in Limerick

Bus Éireann launch Ireland’s first electric regional city bus service, as part of a €54 million investment in Limerick

Limerick’s city bus service, operated by Bus Éireann, becomes Ireland’s first fully electric regional city bus service, as part of a €54 million investment by the National Transport Authority (NTA)

The new service was officially launched by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD at Limerick’s Colbert Station on Friday, 12, April 2024.

As part of the investment, a total of 55 new state-of-the-art double deck battery-electric buses, operated by Ireland’s national bus company, Bus Éireann, will service more than 2.1 million emission-free kilometres across Limerick city service annually. Currently, 34 all-electric buses are in Limerick ahead of their introduction into service en-masse, with a further 21 of these buses expected to enter service in early 2025.

The all-electric service will be enabled by a network of 35 Hitachi Energy charging stations (providing a total of 70 charging guns), with 15 of these charging stations already in place. The remaining 20 charging stations are expected to be operational in early 2025.

Speaking with I Love Limerick’s Richard Lynch at the launch event, Stephen Kent, Chief Executive Officer, Bus Éireann said this is a “massive transformation for bus services”.

He told I Love Limerick, “For a hundred years everybody’s been driving diesel, an internal combustion engine. Now we’re moving into the future, so this is about embracing new technology and this will be electric vehicles, good for the environment, cleaner, quieter rides for customers.

“If you look at Limerick, four and a half million people we’re carrying, and we’ve just heard from the Minister there, plans to drive it up by another 70 per cent in increase in services over the next two years. A very exciting day.”

The NTA’s investment builds on recent double-digit YoY (year-on-year) passenger growth across Bus Éireann’s Limerick city services. In 2023, Bus Éireann operated over 44 million passenger journeys nationally. Of those, 4.6 million were in Limerick, representing a 15 per cent increase (600,000 additional journeys) compared to 2022.

The all-electric buses will be charged using newly-installed charging infrastructure at Limerick’s Roxboro depot where construction and installation work was carried out by Hitachi Energy.

Bus Éireann employs in excess of 300 people in Limerick and continues to invest in growing the team across all of its operations. In preparation for the new all-electric service, Bus Éireann drivers and mechanics have undergone a comprehensive training programme – more than 500 hours – on the driving, maintenance and operation of the state-of-the-art new fleet.

The investment builds on the success of Ireland’s first ever all-electric town bus service launched in Athlone in January 2023.

Minister Ryan said, ‘It is great to see the launch of electrified bus services in Limerick city today. This follows on from the successful rollout of a fully electrified town bus service in Athlone last year and the ongoing decarbonisation of the Dublin bus fleet.”

The minister spoke about commitment to the “greening” of public transport, saying today’s announcement “represents an important step toward meeting our climate targets”.

“In other city and town locations people have responded to the transformation of our public transport services in their droves and I fully expect it will be the very same here in Limerick,” Said Minister Ryan.

It’s all eyes 👀 on Limerick this morning as Bus Éireann, along with the NTA, unveils Ireland’s first electric regional city bus fleet in Limerick. https://t.co/q2gco5lrk0#ClimateActionIRL #DrivingChange #ElectricLimerick #ElectricBus #ZeroEmmissions@TFIupdates pic.twitter.com/NDFEMkMh7a— Bus Éireann (@Buseireann) April 12, 2024

CEO of the National Transport Authority Anne Graham said, “The introduction of the 34 state-of-the-art electric buses today in Limerick marks a milestone in the NTA’s ongoing commitment to decarbonising the urban bus fleet. These zero- emission vehicles will not only provide a smoother, more accessible journey for our customers, but will also significantly reduce CO2 emissions and noise pollution in the areas they operate.

This investment highlights the NTA’s dedication to creating a cleaner, greener and more efficient future for the people of Limerick”.

Stephen Kent, Chief Executive Officer, Bus Éireann said, “We are delighted to launch our first ever all-electric city bus service. Our mission is to help make life better and this transformative €54 investment in new zero emission fleet, funded by the NTA, helps us reduce greenhouse gas emissions, providing a cleaner and greener public transport solution for everyone in Limerick city.

“In the months ahead, we will see a total of 55 new all-electric double deck buses in service. This, coupled with investment in Roxboro Depot in Limerick City, will see Bus Éireann deliver a cleaner, quieter and enhanced customer experience for our 4.6 million Limerick city service passengers annually.

“Finally, I would also like to recognise the support of the Department of Transport and the National Transport Authority, together with the exceptional commitment on the part of our team in Limerick and all of the great companies who collaborated to deliver this exceptional transformation. I am confident it will enrich the lives of this and future generations.”

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Pictures: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick