Government urged to extend free travel for children under nine and pensioners to commercial services
The Coach Tourism and Transport Council also wants financial incentives and funding to decarbonise the national bus fleet.
It said in the third quarter of this year, the National Transport Authority will allow passengers under nine on state transport providers free of charge.
The organisation said the same benefits will not be afforded to those using commercial services.
It claimed this disparity is creating an unfairness for passengers, establishes an urban-rural divide, and unfair competition in the marketplace.
Chairperson David Conway said the expansion of free travel is a welcome development in recent years.
'We would urge the government to include commercial operators in the next phase of the roll out of free transport, particularly for the free transport scheme for children under-nine which is due to brought in in 2026,' he said.
He said this would be an important step in ensuring that thousands of families who use commercial bus operators on a daily basis can avail of an important cost reduction, 'particularly when we provide many transport routes where the state cannot".
Mr Conway said the IT infrastructure is already in place, as commercial providers are part of the Young Adult Leap Card and Free Travel Pass schemes.
Due to a shortage of drivers, the organisation wants older drivers to be able to continue working longer.
"We know that many drivers over 70 are well able to continue working as school bus drivers,' said Mr Conway.
'They should be allowed to continue serving the communities that they have for many years.' A CCTC spokesperson said its members operate more than 95pc of school transport services and provide almost all private coach hire.
It represents nearly 90 operators with a combined fleet of 11,500 coaches. Operators include, Kavanagh Coaches, Flightlink, Aircoach and Wexford Bus.
Previously, a report by the National Office for Traffic Medicine warned the government of potential risks if people over 70 were allowed to drive school buses.
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