TRAFFIC gridlock is costing CIE's two bus companies €1m a week as some services are slowed to a crawl, writes Fergus Black. And the cost is set to rise even higher this year as construction on the Dublin port tunnel, Luas, Dublin's new Spire and the rejuvenation of O'Connell Street add to the disruption.

Gridlock continues to be one of the biggest cost factors and operational difficulties for bus operations in Irish cities and last year cost Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann a combined €52m, according to the company's annual report.

Dublin Bus, battling against the city's traffic-clogged streets and the disruption caused by the Luas construction works, fared worst with a cost of €32m last year.

This was a result of a combination of overtime and extra fuel directly associated with late schedules and 200 additional buses which had to be laid on to ensure the timetable was met.

Bus Eireann was also suffering, with traffic congestion costing the company an estimated €18m last year, an increase of 40pc on the previous year.

On all routes into Dublin, traffic congestion in the morning peak was now worse than it was a year ago and was inhibiting the company's efforts to provide a reliable quality service for customers, it said.

"There is a real danger that, in the absence of bus priority measures outside the immediate city areas, the benefits of investment in modern coaches and frequent services will be lost," the report warns.

Bus journeys in Dublin are getting slower. Dublin Bus revealed that when journey times were compared with those in 22 other comparable European cities, the average peak time speed of buses in Dublin was 14.6 kph. This was 34pc slower than the 19kph average in the other cities while a similar differential applied at off-peak times as well.

With no underground or light rail service to speed passengers around the city, Dublin lags well behind the fastest, Helsinki and Oslo. Journeys in Brussels and Copenhagen were also quicker at more than 20kph.