Irish Citylink, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-headquartered ComfortDelGro group, has taken over GoBus for about €12 million. Galway-based GoBus was established by Jim Burke and his family in 2009.
This acquisition fits into Citylink’s plan to become the largest operator of intercity coach services in Ireland.
“Having navigated the challenges of Covid-19 and, as we are rebuilding and expanding the range of services we offer to the travelling public, the addition of the GoBus network will enable us to provide significantly more options to both Citylink and GoBus customers,” said David Conway, regional director of Irish Citylink.
“This enhanced network of services will encourage more people to travel via public transport and support our greater green agenda of moving towards a sustainable public transport network,” Mr Conway said.
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Frances Cahill, general manager of Irish Citylink, said: “This is just the beginning – the acquisition of GoBus brings so many new opportunities to the business in terms of employment, funding for local sponsorships, and the services we can provide for our passengers.”
Irish Citylink began in Galway almost 20 years ago, with daily services between Galway and Dublin, and has now expanded its business and network of routes to include services in Galway, Dublin, Limerick, Athlone and Cork.
GoBus operates frequent coach services across three main routes serving Galway, Dublin, Cork and Ballina, Co Mayo.
Irish Citylink employs more than 150 people and carries more than 28,000 passengers across all routes every week.