SINGAPORE - Transport giant ComfortDelGro has doubled its coach fleet in Ireland with a new acquisition.
Through wholly-owned subsidiary ComfortDelGro Irish Citylink, the Singapore-based group bought Irish coach operator GoBus - which operates 31 buses - for €12 million (S$17 million).
This has made ComfortDelGro the third-largest inter-city coach operator in Ireland, with a fleet of 64 buses.
ComfortDelGro Irish Citylink, which has been operating since 1991, runs a range of services in Galway, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Clifden, Loughrea, Athlone and Ballinasloe.
ComfortDelGro said on Wednesday (July 13) that all three routes plied by GoBus "have been experiencing strong commuter demand in recent months", with the Cork-Dublin one already operating at pre-Covid-19 levels.
ComfortDelGro group deputy chief executive Cheng Siak Kian said: "As the world emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen transport ridership levels improve. In Ireland, demand for inter-city coach services has picked up significantly, especially now that fuel prices are treading at close to record high levels.
"The addition of the GoBus network therefore comes at an opportune time."
Established in Galway in 2009, GoBus was named "Coach Operator of the Year 2020 - Intercity" at the biennial Fleet Bus & Coach Awards, which is organised by Fleet Publications, the largest publisher of transport-oriented magazines in Ireland.
ComfortDelGro Irish Citylink currently ferries more than 28,000 people a week and expects to reach a ridership of "well over 35,000 by year-end", barring unforeseen circumstances.
ComfortDelGro is also one of the largest bus and coach operators in Britain, with scheduled bus operations in London and across South Wales, as well as inter-city coach services in Scotland.
In London, the group's wholly-owned subsidiary, Metroline, operates about 17 per cent of the city's scheduled bus mileage.
In addition to bus and coach services, the group also operates private-hire businesses in Liverpool and Aberdeen.
ComfortDelGro's two other major overseas markets are Australia and China. For the year ended Dec 31, 2021, the group's net earnings more than doubled to $130.1 million on the back of a 9.1 per cent rise in revenue to $3.5 billion.
Overseas businesses accounted for 46.2 per cent of revenue and 42 per cent of operating profit.
