“The demand is not just from party revellers going home in the small hours."

Dublin Bus could introduce a 24-hour service before the year is out.

A proposed pilot scheme aims to roll out a 24-hour bus service for the three main Greater Dublin routes in 2018.

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast on Monday morning, Green Party councillor and Chairperson of Dublin City Council Transportation Committee Ciaran Cuffe welcomed the proposal and argued that the demand is high.

“The full details have yet to emerge but my understanding is that Dublin Bus in conjunction with the National Transport Authority will pilot three routes; north, south and west of the city,” said Cuffe.

“These routes will operate through the night. I’m not sure if it will be hourly or every two hours, but I certainly think that the demand is there,” he added. “The demand is not just from party revellers going home in the small hours. There’s quite a demand from night workers who simply want to get to and from home through the night, and that’s what a modern city needs.”

Cuffe believes that Dublin citizens are craving a cheaper alternative.

“I think we’re seeing a growing trend towards night-time working, and I think people are sick and tired for paying a lot for taxi fares and they want to have the alternative of public transport that can get them to and from where they want to go," he said.

It was suggested that there could be valid safety reservations and concerns about using a service like this due to people out drinking in the early hours.

“That’s understandable and that has to fairly carefully considered," noted Cuffe, but I think Dublin Bus has a very good record on customer safety, they have CCTV on some of their buses and their drivers are trained to deal with antisocial behaviour if it arises, but obviously it has to be monitored.”

Dublin Bus has been contacted for comment.