537. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Transport whether the National Transport Authority intends to develop a QR code-based reporting system at bus stops and on public service vehicles to allow passengers to quickly report incidents including service cancellations, overcrowding, refusal of boarding due to capacity constraints, damaged bus shelters, accessibility issues, or inaccurate real-time passenger information; whether data collected through such a system could be used to inform service planning and performance monitoring; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62939/26]

538. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Transport whether the National Transport Authority has considered the installation of QR codes at bus stops throughout Galway city and county which, when scanned by passengers, would provide direct access to real-time bus location, service disruption, and timetable information relevant to that stop; whether such a measure has been assessed as a cost-effective means of improving passenger information, particularly for tourists and occasional users; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62938/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 537 and 538 together.

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. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally and for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including the development of related technology systems.

Improving the accessibility, reliability, and affordability of public transport, while ensuring the system remains well-funded and responsive to passenger needs, is a core priority under the Programme for Government. The National Transport Authority (NTA), plays a central role in achieving this.

In this regard the NTA awarded a contract to implement and support a National Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system for all Public Service Obligation (PSO) buses to Trapeze, a specialist transport systems company, which will enable the NTA to consolidate several existing and separate bus AVL systems into one central system to be used by all PSO bus operators in Ireland, and which has expansion capacity to meet the growing demand for public transport in Ireland.

The pilot of the new NG-AVL solution commenced on the first of Bus Éireann’s Waterford bus services in early July this year. As part of this pilot, the new real-time feed was connected to NTA’s TFI Live app, meaning that for the pilot services the predicted arrival times are now being generated by the new solution and have been validated as being correct. The NTA and supplier teams will continue to monitor performance closely to ensure stability and identify if any improvements are required. Subject to the pilot continuing successfully the NTA will commence planning the next deployments in early 2027.

In light of the NTA’s responsibility in this area, I have forwarded the Deputy's specific question to the NTA for direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.