New buses pledge for ageing Navan Town Bus Service

Newer buses will come into service on the Navan Town NV bus route in the New Year, the NTA and Bus Éireann told councillors last week.

The news will come as a welcome relief to users of the service who complain of regular delays and no shows by buses on the route.

The service was extremely popular with 415,000 trips taken on buses in Navan in 2024, but that figure was down by 21,000 in 2025, which Cllr Eddie Fennessy believes was the result of the breakdowns.

At a meeting of councillors with the National Transport Authority and Bus Éireann last week, Cllr Fennessy was told there will be modern buses on the route next year.

“I welcome the announcement from the NTA and Bus Éireann that we will have modern buses on the service next year. Local bus services at Dundalk and Drogheda are due to be electrified, and vehicles operating on those routes will be transferred to the Navan service. I used the Drogheda service recently and their vehicles are modern, safe and reliable. This good news for our local bus service and the many commuters who use it every day,” he said.

Cllr Fennessy said a key plank of the council’s transport strategy is to encourage active travel.

“Public transport is an integral part of that plan and increased early morning work and school transport use is one of its key objectives.

“The local bus service, in its current state, is not meeting the most basic of those objectives. For it to do so, we need the NTA and Bus Éireann to invest in better quality buses for public transport users in Navan. I have continuously pressed those responsible to make a significant investment in the local NV bus fleet.

“Monday’s meeting gave me an opportunity to raise the two key problems affecting the local town bus service, which are, reliability and having no local maintenance capacity. Vehicles operating in Navan are up to 14 years old and by their own admission at the meeting, Bus Éireann vehicles have a shelf life of eleven years.

“394,000 trips were taken on buses in Navan in 2025. That figure was down by 21,000 on 2024. I can’t say for certain that bus breakdowns were the cause for that decrease. However, I know from personal experience that a lot of the services that were missed last year was due to breakdowns. And I can safely say that the condition of the existing vehicles was a major contributing factor.

“Maintenance of the local fleet has also been a huge problem. Currently, when a bus breaks down it is sent to Broadstone in Dublin for repair. This trip takes vehicles out of circulation for several hours and if two or three buses need work, it is impossible for the service to keep its schedule.

“A commitment to assign an additional mechanic to the Kells depot is very welcome. Having a mechanic available to repair the NV buses in real time will make a huge difference to maintenance turn around and bus reliability.

“I thank the NTA and Bus Éireann for listening to the concerns of the people and for their commitment to invest in our local bus service. I urge them to deliver on those commitments before long,” he said.