Over 308 million trips were taken on public service obligation (PSO) services provided by Transport for Ireland in 2023. These services include Go-Ahead Ireland, Bus Éireann, Iarnród Éireann, and Luas.

The State's public transport system saw its busiest year to date last year, with more than 300 million passengers travelling there annually for the first time.

Overall, public transport utilisation increased by 24% compared to 2022 data and by 5% over the previous high established in 2019.

Data on public transport was affected by the Covid epidemic during the three years between 2020 and 2022.

According to a breakdown of the data from the previous year, Dublin Bus made over 145 million trips, while Bus Éireann had a significant rise in ridership, going from 35 million in 2022 to over 44 million in 2023.

During the course of the year, the Luas handled around 48.2 million passengers, up 25% from 2022. Irish Rail's passenger counts likewise had a notable yearly gain, climbing by little under 10 million to 45.5 million.

Over 60 new and improved services were introduced nationwide, resulting in 3.2 million passenger travels served by TFI Local Link bus services in rural areas a 78% yearly increase.

Eamon Ryan, the Minister of transit, commented on the findings and stated that in 2023 public transit made considerable progress.

“Communities up and down the country are now benefiting from the significantly increased and enhanced public transport and the new lower fares we have introduced.”

He called the statistics on public transport use “incredibly encouraging” and continued, saying that they “prove that when you offer excellent transport services, people will come, both in urban and rural areas.”