The National Transport Authority (NTA) has said it issued five new licences for inter-regional bus services over the last five years or so, as unions for Bus Éireann workers say the market has been "saturated".
The NTA said passenger numbers on inter-regional services had grown significantly in recent years despite the economic downturn.
State-owned Bus Éireann has blamed growing competition in the market for losses incurred by its Expressway inter-regional coach service. The company on Wednesday proposed highly controversial re-structuring plans which would see its Expressway services separated from the rest of Bus Éireann with inferior terms and conditions being put in place for staff employed there.
The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) said on Thursday the current licensing regime had resulted in “market saturation” across many bus corridors.
NBRU general secretary Dermot O’Leary said Department of Transport policy in this area would result in the transfer of reasonably paid jobs at Bus Éireann to new low-cost operators in a race to the bottom.
The union is to ballot members in Bus Éireann for strike action in protest at the re-structuring plans at the company.
The NTA said it assumed responsibility for bus licensing in 2011 and in that year issued two licences, one for a Dublin - Limerick service and one for a Dublin-Cork route.
It said in 2012 it issued a licence for a Dublin- Cork service which was jointly operated by Bus Éireann and a private operator.
The NTA said in 2014 it issued a licence for a Dublin- Waterford service and in 2015 it awarded a licence for a Wexford - Waterford route.
It said no licences have been issued so far in 2016.
The NTA said that over the same period it had approved amendments to three licences had had refused applications for eight licences.
“It is also worth noting that over the 2013 to 2015 period, there was significant growth in intercity passenger numbers despite the economic downturn,” the NTA said.
“Total passengers numbers on commercial licensed public transport between Dublin and the regional cities of Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford grew by 15 per cent between 2013 and 2015 with a growth of 22 per cent on the Dublin - Cork corridor, 34 percent on the Dublin - Limerick corridor, 15 per cent on the Dublin - Waterford corridor and 3 per cent on the Dublin - Galway corridor in that time period.”
