National Transport Authority (Ireland)
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The National Transport Authority () or NTA is the transport authority for
Greater Dublin The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: ''Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath''), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. At the expansive ...
and the public transport licensing agency for
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. It was established under the provisions of the ''Dublin Transport Authority Act (2008)'' and the ''Public Transport Regulation Act (2009)'', on 1 December 2009. The NTA took over certain functions from the
Department of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
and the entire role of the Dublin Transportation Office. It has also taken over the functions of the
Commission for Taxi Regulation The Commission for Taxi Regulation (also An Coimisiún Um Rialáil Tacsaithe and Taxi Regulator) was a public body in Republic of Ireland, Ireland that existed between 2004 and 2011 regulating small public service vehicles (SPSVs) - the generic te ...
when Part 4 of the Public Transport Regulation Act (2009) commenced on 1 January 2011. The NTA operates under the consumer facing brand Transport for Ireland.


Organisation

The act establishing the NTA made it a
body corporate In law, a legal person is any person or legal entity that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for the term "''legal'' person" is t ...
consisting of the City Manager of
Dublin City Council Dublin City Council () is the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authority of the city of Dublin in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the authority was k ...
, the
Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
and a member of the senior
management team Senior management, executive management, or upper management is an occupation at the highest level of management of an organization, performed by individuals who have the day-to-day tasks of managing the organization, sometimes a company or a cor ...
, and a
chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
and six other members appointed by the
Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
. The NTA has charge of public transport in the
Greater Dublin Area The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: ''Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath''), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. At the expansive ...
, which is defined legally for the first time in the Act. The counties covered are the City of Dublin,
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown () is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished in 1994. It is named after the former ...
,
South Dublin South Dublin () is a county in Ireland, within the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. South Dublin Cou ...
,
Fingal Fingal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which ...
,
County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...
.
County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...
, and
County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
. An advisory council, consisting of local government officials and councillors, representatives of the
Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...
, the
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and business and community interests, was also established. The Public Transport Regulation Act retains this structure, though it provides that its functional area in respect of the additional functions that it is granted under that Bill its functional area is the entire state. The NTA subsumed the activities of the former Dublin Transportation Office, which was dissolved on 1 December 2009. John Fitzgerald is
chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...
of the NTA, and Anne Graham is
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
.


Activities and services

The National Transport Authority (NTA) is in charge of most
public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
within Greater Dublin. Unlike authorities such as
Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
and RATP, it does not normally operate services itself, although there is provision for it to do so in certain circumstances. It operates public service obligation contracts with transport operators, including Córas Iompair Éireann,
Transport Infrastructure Ireland Transport Infrastructure Ireland () is a state agency in Ireland, dealing with road and public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general ...
and private operators. It was originally intended that the Railway Procurement Agency would, like the Dublin Transportation Office, be subsumed into the NTA, but a lobbying campaign by the agency led to it retaining its separate status. The CIÉ companies (
Dublin Bus Dublin Bus () is an Irish State-owned enterprise, state-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 145 million passengers in 2023. It is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann ...
,
Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann, () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national Rail transport in Ireland, railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal I ...
and
Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...
) have retained their existing services, but they are now subject to directions from the NTA within Greater Dublin. In 2011, the NTA oversaw the development of the
TFI Leap Card The TFI Leap Card is a contactless smart card for automated fare collection overseen by Transport for Ireland (TFI). It was introduced in the Greater Dublin area in 2011 for Luas, DART, Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Bus, but acceptance has si ...
scheme which introduced integrated ticketing in the
Greater Dublin Area The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: ''Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath''), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. At the expansive ...
. During 2012 and 2013, a rebranding of services took place on taxis all over Ireland, and on some of the fleet in both
Dublin Bus Dublin Bus () is an Irish State-owned enterprise, state-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 145 million passengers in 2023. It is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann ...
and
Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...
, using the new name Transport for Ireland. This continued over several coming years. In December 2013, the NTA announced that around 10% of routes then operated by Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann under their direct award contracts would be subject to competitive tendering, with a view to services commencing in 2016. Also in late 2013, the NTA published a plan for a cycle network in Greater Dublin, with greenways, cycleways and cycle paths which would potentially make the city and its surrounds accessible by bicycle – the Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network. The cycle network plan has not been implemented and, as of 2021, the NTA noted that the organisation was then "in the process of updating the GDA Cycle Network Plan" and that it planned to publish this update "later in 2021". As of 2022, the NTA had partially implemented an infrastructure program, titled BusConnects, with a focus on the
bus network A bus network is a network topology in which Node (networking), nodes are directly connected to a common half-duplex link called a bus (computing), bus. A Host (network), host on a bus network is called a ''station''. In a bus network, every ...
s in several cities in Ireland. Described by the NTA as intended to "improve bus services across the country", by mid-2022 the BusConnects program was in "implementation" phase in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, "
consultation Consultation or consultative may refer to: * Public consultation, a process by which the public's input on matters affecting them is sought * Consultation (Texas), the 1835 Texas meeting of colonists on a proposed rebellion against the Republic of ...
" phase in
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
, with the
Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
projecting similar initiatives in Galway, Limerick and Waterford.


Establishment timeline

The name of the body, under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008, was originally to be "Dublin Transport Authority". However, in the budget announced in October 2008, the Irish government announced a major review of public service bodies, with bodies being amalgamated where it was felt savings could be made. A separate national transport regulator was originally intended to be set up to license public transport, but an annex to 2009 budget revealed that the government intended to incorporate both this body and the
Commission for Taxi Regulation The Commission for Taxi Regulation (also An Coimisiún Um Rialáil Tacsaithe and Taxi Regulator) was a public body in Republic of Ireland, Ireland that existed between 2004 and 2011 regulating small public service vehicles (SPSVs) - the generic te ...
into the DTA. In an interview in ''
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' on 14 January 2009, the Minister for Transport at the time,
Noel Dempsey Noel Dempsey (born 6 January 1953) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Transport from 2007 to 2011, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources from 2004 to 2007, Minister for Education and Scie ...
, confirmed this would be the case. In January 2009, the Public Appointments Service advertised the position of
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of the DTA. The advertisement noted the government's intention to "assign national responsibility to the DTA for bus market regulation and the procurement of public transport services under public service obligations" and for the DTA to take over the duties of the
Commission for Taxi Regulation The Commission for Taxi Regulation (also An Coimisiún Um Rialáil Tacsaithe and Taxi Regulator) was a public body in Republic of Ireland, Ireland that existed between 2004 and 2011 regulating small public service vehicles (SPSVs) - the generic te ...
. In September 2009, former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald was appointed chairman designate of the NTA, with Gerry Murphy appointed
chief executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
designate. Also in September 2009, the Public Transport Regulation Bill (2009) was published. This gave it responsibility for licensing road passenger transport services throughout the state. It also provided for the abolition of the Taxi Regulator and the transfer of its functions to the renamed National Transport Authority. This is in addition to its Dublin-specific functions granted under the DTA Act, which it retained. In October 2009, the Minister announced that the Commission for Aviation Regulation would be merged with the new authority, with certain functions of the
Irish Aviation Authority The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) () is a commercial semi-state company in Ireland responsible for the regulation of safety aspects of air travel. Its head office is in The Times Building in Dublin. Background The authority regulates the safe ...
also to be transferred. However, neither of these proposals actually made it into the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009, which was
promulgated Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect. After a new law i ...
on 27 November 2009. The ''Public Transport Regulation Act (2009)'' proposed to change the name of the organisation to the National Transport Authority, and this was done with effect from the establishment day of the Authority under the ''Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 (National Transport Authority) (Appointed Day) Order 2009''.


References


External links


The Seanad Éireann "Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008"Official site – National Transport AuthorityOfficial site – Transport for IrelandOfficial site – Dublin BusOfficial site – Iarnród ÉireannOfficial site – LuasOfficial site – RPA
(archived 2004) {{Authority control CIÉ Bus transport in the Republic of Ireland Transport companies of the Republic of Ireland Transport in County Dublin Local government in County Dublin