Ireland reports major progress on sustainable mobility action plan

The Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien, has released the third annual Progress Report on the National Sustainable Mobility Policy (SMP) Action Plan 2022–2025, together with a summary of the National Sustainable Mobility Forum held in May.

The report details substantial progress since the launch of the SMP in 2022, noting the delivery of key milestones in the third year of implementation. Among the most notable achievements is the transformation of Ireland’s bus fleets: 41.3% of Public Service Obligation (PSO) buses in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford are now low- or zero-emission, exceeding the 40% target. Significantly, Limerick has become the first city in Ireland to operate a fully electric bus fleet.

Accessibility has also improved. The number of wheelchair accessible vehicles in the small public service vehicle fleet has risen by 25.5%, above the 25% target. Furthermore, the Independent Travel Support scheme, designed to help passengers with additional needs travel independently, has expanded beyond Dublin to Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford.

Public transport demand has reached record levels. Passenger numbers across PSO services hit an all-time high in 2024, surpassing one million trips per day in October. Local services have also seen remarkable growth: TFI Local Link carried 4.7 million passengers in 2024, representing a 47% increase on the previous year. This expansion was supported by 45 new and enhanced routes under the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan.

Cycling and walking infrastructure has been strengthened. The regional bike schemes in Cork and Limerick continue to grow, with public bike trips rising by 23% in 2024 across the four regional cities and surging by 51% in the first five months of 2025. In addition, more than 1,000 kilometres of active travel and greenway routes were delivered between 2020 and 2025, exceeding targets in regional and non-metro areas. Rural services have also benefited, with 507 new bus shelters installed since 2022, more than double the initial commitment.

Overall, the report shows that close to 70% of the SMP Action Plan’s 91 measures will be achieved by the end of 2025, with steady progress on the remainder.

Author: Claus Köllinger

Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of the European Commission.