202 206 304
205 208 309
Category Route MPS
A 304 2.3
B 208 2.0
409
202
205
D 206 1.4
Period 2018 Punctuality Standard 2019 Punctuality Standard 2020 Punctuality Standard
P1, P2, P3, P4, P5
(Late Winter / Spring)49% 57%
*Region Specific Minimum
Performance Punctuality
Standards Introduced*
P6, P7, P8, P9
(Summer) 50% 58%
P10, P11, P12, P13
(Autumn / Early Winter)53% 57%
Period
Q4 2019 2.2 minutes
2020 Route By Route EWT KPI
Q1 2019 2.1 minutes
Q2 2019 2.0 minutes
C 1.7Q3 2019 2.3 minutes
2019 Bus Éireann EWT KPI
High Frequency Regularity:
The Regularity of High Frequency Routes is calculated as follows:
EWT (min) = Average Actual Waiting Time (min) - Average Planned Waiting Time
Bus Éireann must achieve the Regularity Standards set out in the table below for High Frequency Routes.
Punctuality Overview
Punctuality is a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) of the performance of Bus Éireann, as part of the terms of their PSO contract with the NTA.
For the purpose of measuring punctuality, Bus Éireann routes are divided into two groups – Low Frequency Routes and High Frequency Routes. Further details for each
group are provided below.
The following pages detail the Punctuality and Regularity Performance achieved by Bus Éireann for each relevant period.
Low Frequency Punctuality:
The Punctuality of Low Frequency Routes is calculated as follows:
Punctuality (%) = Number of Actual Departures on Time
Number of Actual Departuresx 100
Bus Éireann must achieve the Punctuality Standards set out in the table below for Low Frequency Routes:
For each full 1% of departures for a Region below the Punctuality Standard in a Reporting Period, a Punctuality Deduction equivalent to
0.2% of the Maximum Period Payment for that Route as outlined in Schedule 20 shall be made by the Authority.
Low Frequency Routes are defined as services which operates less than 4 times per hour on a weekday, outside the peak periods. High Frequency Routes are defined as services which operate at a frequency of 15 minutes or greater on a weekday,
outside the peak periods. These routes are as follows:
High Frequency Regularity:
High Frequency Routes differ from Low Frequency Routes, as passengers on High Frequency Routes are less likely to
base their journey on the bus schedule and are instead more likely to just turn up at the bus stop and wait for the next
bus to arrive. These passengers are generally more concerned with the average amount of time they must wait at the
stop for the next bus to arrive, as opposed to whether the bus is running to schedule.
On this basis, the NTA has introduced a means of measuring regulairty of High Frequency Routes called Excess Wait
Time (EWT). This metric provides a measure of the average time a passenger must wait for the next high frequency
bus, in excess of the wait time which would be expected as per the schedule for that route – i.e. if you are a passenger
who arrives at a stop for a high frequency bus route without checking the schedule, the EWT will calculate how much
longer you have to wait for the next bus, in comparison to a baseline situation where all buses are calculated to the
timetabled gap (headyway) between services. Up until P9 2018, the punctuality methodology for low frequency routes
was also applied to high frequency routes.
Bus Éireann EWT KPI deductions became live in Q3 2019.
Period 1 (2020) is the first Period where route by route specific minimum performance EWT standards apply. A full
region breakdown by MPS category as outlined below.
For each 0.1 minute that EWT is greater than the EWT Standard for a Route, an EWT Deduction of 0.2% of the
Maximum Period Payment for that Route as outlined in Schedule 20 shall apply.
Notes:
The Number of Actual Departures is the total number of bus departures from individual bus stops, along all routes combined for all
services during the relevant period.
The Number of Actual Departures on Time is the total number of “on time” bus departures from individual bus stops, along all routes
combined for all services during the relevant period - where “on time” is defined as a bus which departs from a bus stop not more
than one minute early or not more than five minutes and fifty nine seconds late when compared to the scheduled departure time.
Punctuality Targets differ throughout the year as they are significantly impacted by traffic conditions. Traffic conditions vary due to a
number of factors including school terms and weather conditions, with levels of congestion generally lower during the summer
months.
There are also a number of commercial bus services operated by Bus Éireann. These routes are not part of the PSO contract with the
NTA and are therefore not included in any KPI calculations.
The data has not been adjusted for first and last stop time recording issues. These can arise, for example, when a bus is recorded
leaving the first stop early because other vehicles parked at first stop mean the bus needs to pull up after the first stop to allow
passengers on board, or where bus is not recorded arriving on time at final stop because stop is occupied by another bus waiting to
enter service. It is estimated that 5% of all recorded stopping times for journeys on the Bus Éireann PSO network are recorded at first
or last stops, and therefore prone to this error, resulting in lower recorded punctuality than may actually be the case.
Period 1 (2020) is the first Period where region specific minimum performance punctuality standards apply. A full region
breakdown by MPS category is outlined on the following page.
Covid-19 Note: Applicable from 16th March 2020, the Punctuality Standard for on time services according to the approved schedule
(-1 minute to +5:59 minutes of schedule) was reduced by 10% compared to the contractual standards (e.g. an original standard of
65% would reduce to 55%). The Punctuality Performance Payment and the Punctuality Incentive Payment were reduced to one half
of amounts stated in the operating contract. The Covid-19 MPS reduction as outlined above ended in Period 6 2020.
2020 Bus Éireann - PSO ServicesPunctuality Report
*Covid-19 Note: Applicable From 16/03/20 a 50% adjustment will apply to EWT Standards in cases where more than
5% of scheduled kms are lost due to staff absence directly linked to Covid-19 in any Reporting Period.
301, 302, 303, 304A, 304X, 305, 306, 313
Covid-19 Note: Applicable from 16th March 2020, the Punctuality Standard for on time services according to the approved schedule (-1
minute to +5:59 minutes of schedule) was reduced by 10% compared to the contractual standards (e.g. an original standard of 65% would
reduce to 55%). The Punctuality Performance Payment and the Punctuality Incentive Payment were reduced to one half of amounts stated in
the operating contract. The Covid-19 MPS reduction as outlined above ended in Period 6 2020.
Galway Urban - MPS = 75% (*65%)
401, 402, 404, 405, 407
Town Services - MPS = 66% (*56%)
A1, A2, D1, D2, 173, S1, S2, 174, 174A, 174B ,B1, 110A, 110B, 110C, 360, 360A
Stage Carriage - MPS = 54% (*44%)
65, 70, 72, 73, 100, 134, 135, 136, 160, 161, 162, 163, 168, 166, 167, 175, 175A, 182, 182A, 187, 189, 190, 226, 233, 235, 236, 237, 239, 240,
241, 243, 245, 248, 252, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 278, 279, 279A, 280, 282, 284, 314, 320, 321, 322, 323, 323X,
324, 328, 329, 332, 333, 334, 336, 341, 343, 343X, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349, 350, 355, 362, 365, 366, 370, 371, 372, 373, 374, 375, 377, 378,
379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 385, 417, 419, 420, 421, 422, 424, 425, 429, 434, 440, 442, 443, 444, 445, 446, 447, 448, 450, 451, 454, 455, 456,
457, 458, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 471, 474, 475, 476, 479, 480, 483, 486, 487, 489, 490, 491, 492, 494, 495,
275A, 276
Dublin Communter - MPS = 52% (*42%)
101, 101X, 103, 103X, 105, 105X, 107, 108, 109, 109A, 109B, 109X, 111, 111A, 111X, 115, 115C, 132, 133, 133X, NX
Cork Urban - MPS = 60% (*50%)
201, 203, 207, 207A, 209, 209A, 213, 214, 215, 215A, 216, 219, 220, 220X, 221, 223, 223X, 226A, 225
Limerick Urban - MPS = 65% (*55%)
Low Frequency Routes are defined as services which operates less than 4 times per hour on a weekday, outside the peak periods.
2020 Bus Éireann - Regional Minimum Performance Standard (MPS) BreakdownPunctuality Report
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)Punctuality (%)
Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 68.5 *Region Specific Low Frequency - Total 66.4 *Region Specific
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)EWT (mins)
Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 0.65 *Route By Route High Frequency - Total 0.95 *Route By Route
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)Punctuality (%)
Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 68.6 *Region Specific Low Frequency - Total 68.2 *Region Specific
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)EWT (mins)
Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 0.85 *Route By Route High Frequency - Total 0.90 *Route By Route
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)Punctuality (%)
Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 68.4 *Region Specific Low Frequency - Total 68.8 *Region Specific
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)EWT (mins)
Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 0.64 *Route By Route High Frequency - Total 0.58 *Route By Route
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 61.4 *Region Specific
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 1.16 *Route By Route
* Note from the 1st January 2020 (Period 1), Low Frequency Punctiality transitioned to region specific minimum performance punctuality standards whilst High Frequncy Punctuality (EWT)
transitioned to Route by Route specific minimum performance EWT standards.
P13 Punctuality - November 30th 2020 December 31st 2020
P8 Punctuality - July 13th 2020 August 9th 2020 P11 Punctuality - October 5th 2020 November 1st 2020
P9 Punctuality - August 10th 2020 September 6th 2020 P12 Punctuality - November 2nd 2020 November 29th 2020
P7 Punctuality - June 15th 2020 July 12th 2020 P10 Punctuality - September 7th 2020 October 4th 2020
Q3 & Q4 2020Bus Éireann - PSO ServicesPunctuality Report
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)Punctuality (%)
Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 60.5 *Region Specific Low Frequency - Total 63.8 *Region Specific
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)EWT (mins)
Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 1.25 *Route By Route High Frequency - Total 0.75 *Route By Route
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)Punctuality (%)
Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 58.1 *Region Specific Low Frequency - Total 68.2 *Region Specific
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)EWT (mins)
Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 2.11 *Route By Route High Frequency - Total 0.47 *Route By Route
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)Punctuality (%)
Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 60.1 *Region Specific Low Frequency - Total 69.6 *Region Specific
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)EWT (mins)
Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 1.54 *Route By Route High Frequency - Total 0.55 *Route By Route
P1 Punctuality - January 1st 2020 January 26th 2020 P4 Punctuality - March 23rd 2020 April 19th 2020
* Note from the 1st January 2020 (Period 1), Low Frequency Punctiality transitioned to region specific minimum performance punctuality standards whilst High Frequncy Punctuality (EWT)
transitioned to Route by Route specific minimum performance EWT standards.
P2 Punctuality - January 27th 2020 February 23rd 2020 P5 Punctuality - April 20th 2020 May 17th 2020
P3 Punctuality - February 24th 2020 March 22nd 2020 P6 Punctuality - May 18th 2020 June 14th 2020
* Note: The 13th of March has been excluded from Period 3 data due to AVL techincal issues
Q1 & Q2 2020Bus Éireann - PSO ServicesPunctuality Report
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)Punctuality (%)
Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 59.5 58.0 Low Frequency - Total 54.4 57.0
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)EWT (mins)
Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 1.46 2.3 High Frequency - Total 2.46 2.2
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)Punctuality (%)
Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 59.6 58.0 Low Frequency - Total 54.6 57.0
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)EWT (mins)
Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 1.26 2.3 High Frequency - Total 2.74 2.2
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)Punctuality (%)
Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 57.8 58.0 Low Frequency - Total 53.3 57.0
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)EWT (mins)
Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 1.41 2.3 High Frequency - Total 3.46 2.2
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 54.2 57.0
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 2.44 2.2
P7 Punctuality - June 17th 2019 July 14th 2019 P10 Punctuality - August 12th 2019 September 8th 2019
P13 Punctuality December 2nd 2019 December 31st 2019
P8 Punctuality - July 15th 2019 August 11th 2019 P11 Punctuality - October 7th 2019 November 3rd 2019
P9 Punctuality - August 12th 2019 September 8th 2019 P12 Punctuality - November 4th 2019 December 1st 2019
Q3 & Q4 2019Bus Éireann - PSO ServicesPunctuality Report
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)Punctuality (%)
Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 59.8 57.0 Low Frequency - Total 59.2 57.0
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)EWT (mins)
Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 1.49 2.10 High Frequency - Total 1.75 2.0
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)Punctuality (%)
Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 58.8 57.0 Low Frequency - Total 58.8 57.0
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)EWT (mins)
Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 1.87 2.10 High Frequency - Total 2.26 2.0
Punctuality (%)Minimum Performance
Standard (%)Punctuality (%)
Minimum Performance
Standard (%)
Low Frequency - Total 58.5 57.0 Low Frequency - Total 60.4 58.0
EWT (mins)Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)EWT (mins)
Minimum Performance
Standard (mins)
High Frequency - Total 2.02 2.10 High Frequency - Total 1.57 2.0
P1 Punctuality - January 1st 2019 January 27th 2019 P4 Punctuality - March 25th 2019 April 21st 2019
P2 Punctuality - January 28th 2019 February 24th 2019 P5 Punctuality - April 22nd 2019 May 19th 2019
P3 Punctuality - February 25th 2019 March 24th 2019 P6 Punctuality - May 20th 2019 June 16th 2019
Q1 & Q2 2019Bus Éireann - PSO ServicesPunctuality Report
* Higher punctuality (%) values are better as they measure the number of departures from stops which are punctual
* Note from the 1st January 2020 (Period 1), Low Frequency Punctiality transitioned to region specific minimum performance
punctuality standards whilst High Frequncy Punctuality (EWT) transitioned to Route by Route specific minimum performance EWT
standards.
* Lower EWT values are better as they reflect less excess waiting time
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12 P13 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12 P13
2019 2020
Bus Eireann - Low Frequency Punctuality (%)
Low Frequency Punctuality (%) Minimum Performance Standard (%)
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12 P13 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12 P13
2019 2020
Bus Eireann - High Frequency Regularity (EWT)
Excess Wait Time (mins) Minimum Performance Standard (mins)