Thousands of complaints made over 'ghost buses'

Almost 6,000 complaints were made about delayed, cancelled, or so-called “ghost” buses in the first five months of this year.

“Ghost” buses are those that disappear from the live timetable.

The data from the National Transport Authority (NTA) showed 5,984 complaints made until May 19th.

Ciarán Ahern, Labour Party’s transport spokesman, told the Irish Examiner it is very concerning.

"If you want people to switch to public transport, you need to be able to rely on the bus services," he said.

He said issues with delays and cancellations could force people to move away from public transport and back into their cars.

Speaking on Newstalk, Transport commentator Conor Faughnan said that this is just not good enough:

"It's a pretty chunky number, but a run rate in the order of 300 a week. The bus timetable counts down faithfully from 10 to 1, and then it disappears. The bus just doesn't turn up.

"It's exasperating, and it really does inhibit the quality of the service."