Aircoach, Ireland’s leading private bus and coach operator, and a wholly owned subsidiary of FirstGroup plc, today confirmed a 3 million euro investment in ten state of the art new coaches which will enter service from 30th January, 2014.
The coaches will operate daily on the successful Cork – Dublin City – Dublin Airport non-stop express service. This service operates 36 departures per day, seven days per week and runs via the motorway giving a city centre to city centre journey time of just three hours.
In the current year, passenger volumes on the route have already grown by more than 50%. Today’s announcement is further good news for customers and underlines the company’s commitment and confidence in being able to attract more passengers to public transport by investing in its vehicles and providing innovative, high quality services.
Minister Alan Kelly, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport attended today’s launch and said that he would like to “congratulate Aircoach on their continued success. They have been in Ireland for over 14 years and this significant investment of €3m underlines their commitment to delivering high standards in public transport today. I look forward to further growth in customers using public transport as a result of these types of investments.”
Speaking at the launch Allen Parker, Aircoach MD, said: “We are delighted to launch this fleet of new coaches. It shows our continued investment in Ireland and reflects our commitment to continue to deliver high quality services aimed at attracting more customers to public transport. These fuel efficient, low emission state of the art vehicles will provide our customers with a first class comfortable service. ”
The fleet of vehicles costing 3 million euro are the latest model Volvo B11R chassis with a Plaxton Panther 3 body. These low emission fuel efficient vehicles are built to Euro 5 standard. They feature wheel chair access, comfortable leather seating, on board toilet facilities, full air conditioning and climate control for complete passenger comfort. Additionally plug and USB charging points can be found at every seat. Aircoach also offers free Wi-Fi on all its coaches, to cater to all traveling needs. CCTV is fitted on the coaches for added safety and security.