Bus Éireann confirmed today it was planning to reduce the frequency of its services on a number of routes across the country due to a sharp fall-off in demand.
The company, which saw a 10 per cent drop in passenger numbers last year, said it was conducting a review of routes with “poor levels of customer support”.
Spokesman Andrew McLinden said the company was facing significant potential losses unless cuts were made to bring services back in line with demand.
The majority of the changes would be to frequency and routing, he said on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme.
Dublin Bus, which has seen a similar reduction in demand for its services, is also set to announce a major restructuring of services.
The Government allocated €920 million for public transport in the last budget.
CIÉ, which operates Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Iarnród Éireann, will receive direct subvention of €276 million. This is a reduction of €27 million (8.8 per cent) on last year.