151. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Transport for his assessment of the new Citylink bus service in Mayo serving Ballina-Galway that replaced Bus Éireann’s route 52; if signage for bus stops and new timetables can be upgraded along the route for those who wish to use the service; the reason the replacement service no longer stops in Straide; if a review of the new timetable will be carried out to identify improvements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46353/26]

As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.

Bus Éireann operates both Public Service Obligation services funded by the State subvention and Expressway intercity services which operate on a commercial basis and do not receive any State subvention. I am aware that Bus Éireann recently announced the withdrawal of some services which operate under its Expressway service. This decision was taken following a financial and operational review carried out by Bus Éireann with regard Expressway performance over recent years, which sought to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the company as a whole.

The National Transport Authority are the licencing authority for the commercial bus sector. As is the case with any such commercial route withdrawals, the withdrawal of these routes triggered the NTA’s Public Service Obligation (PSO) Determination process, the outcome of which has been published on the NTA's website.

Citylink announced in May that it was granted approval by the NTA to operate five additional daily services across two routes in its network, one of which will include three additional daily return services on the company’s Galway-Ballina route, and two additional daily return services on its Castlebar-Dublin/Dublin Airport route.

In light of the NTA's responsibility in the scheduling and timetabling of these services in conjunction with the relevant transport operators, I have forwarded the Deputy's query to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.