Charging Delays Leave Nearly 100 New Electric Buses Waiting in Storage

Almost 100 brand-new electric buses remain parked in storage across Ireland as operators wait for the charging infrastructure needed to put them into passenger service.

The issue came under scrutiny during a meeting of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee, where concerns were raised over the number of vehicles purchased but unable to enter service while charging facilities are completed.

According to figures presented during the session, 98 battery-electric buses have been delivered but are still awaiting deployment. The wider review also found that 384 buses have spent time in storage over the past four years, prompting questions over the cost to taxpayers and the pace of Ireland's transition to zero-emission public transport.

Fine Gael TD Grace Boland said communities were missing out on much-needed transport capacity.

"These are much-needed buses that should be servicing our community."

Responding to concerns, Minister of State for Transport Jerry Buttimer acknowledged that the delays were disappointing but argued the Government had taken the financially prudent approach by purchasing the vehicles before inflation pushed prices significantly higher.

He said waiting until charging infrastructure had been completed before placing orders would have added around €12 million to procurement costs, compared with approximately €7 million incurred through storing the buses.

Despite the current delays, Ireland's electric bus programme continues to gather pace. More than 250 battery-electric buses have already entered service with Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann, supporting fully electric operations in cities including Limerick and Athlone.

Of the buses still awaiting deployment, 56 are allocated to Dublin and are expected to begin entering service later this year. The remaining 42 vehicles will operate in Galway, with deployment planned between the end of 2026 and early 2027.

Mr Buttimer said the rollout had highlighted one of the key challenges facing large-scale fleet electrification: synchronising vehicle procurement with the delivery of supporting infrastructure.

He explained that while manufacturing and delivering a new electric bus can take between 12 and 48 months, installing charging facilities often involves planning approvals, procurement processes and major engineering works that can take a similar length of time.

To help overcome those challenges, the National Transport Authority (NTA) is preparing to introduce a new national procurement framework for electric bus charging infrastructure later this month.

The framework is expected to replace the current depot-by-depot approach, enabling charging facilities to be delivered more consistently and accelerating the future rollout of zero-emission bus fleets across Ireland.