Dublin Bus is to provide hundreds of extra buses to ferry an estimated 500,000 athletes and spectators to the dozens of Special Olympics venues dotted around the capital.
The company has cancelled annual leave for its employees to cope with the extra pressure expected on the public transport system between June 21st and 30th.
Free shuttle buses for athletes, coaches and volunteers will depart regularly from Phoenix Park to the 20 sports venues across the city.
Spectators will be able to travel to all events using existing public transport routes, and a range of pre-paid tickets will be available for use from Dublin Bus, Iarnród Éireann, the DART and Bus Éireann for the duration of the games.
The tickets range in price between €38 and €55 for children and adults for "short-hop" trips within the Dublin area, and between €68 and €98 for "long-hop" trips beyond Dublin.
A spokeswoman for Dublin Bus said the extra fleets of buses would be sourced by placing the entire fleet on the road and minimising the numbers due for maintenance.
The company was confident existing services would not be affected by the Olympics due to the extra numbers of staff and vehicles on the road.
"The staff in Dublin Bus have been very supportive, and the decision to cancel annual leave was done through voluntary agreements," she said.
"We normally have around 1,100 buses operating and 10 per cent in maintenance. We'll be putting as many of these buses on the street as possible."
A team of 30 inspectors will also be working on the ground to ensure there is a ready supply of buses to events which prove particularly popular.
A booklet showing the bus routes to the venues is available from Dublin Bus or on its website (www.dublinbus.ie).
In total it is estimated that around 7,000 athletes, 3,000 coaches and 28,000 volunteers will need to be transported to events.
The Special Olympics organisers expect that in total up to 500,000 spectators will travel to events during the course of the games.
Around 800 members of the Defence Forces will provide expert technical and engineering support to the organisers. A communications centre is being established in Phoenix Park to help monitor one of the largest radio networks ever established in the State.
