Route x51 buses to Shannon airport for summer 2025

Bus Éireann have announced that for the 2025 summer-season, there will be four bues each way on the Expressway x51 Galway - Shannon Airport service:

• Three in the very early morning (leaving Galway at midnight, 2:45am and 5:45am) 
• One in the evening, from Galway at 9pm.

These buses will stop at ATU Dublin Road (ex GMIT).

This starts from Sunday 27 April, several months earlier than in 2024.   End-date for these services is to be advised.

Other services on route 51:  Galway to Cork via Limerick, are not affected.

Because this in an Expressway service, tickets can be booked and purchased from their website.

Bus Eireann on-line seat-booking and ticket-purchase has been stopped

Bus Éireann have announced that from 8 April 20205, it is not possible to book seats or buy tickets on-line for their public local and commuter bus services.

The only exception is for Expressway services can still be booked online, using the Expressway website.

For all other Bus Éireann services, the only way to buy a ticket is:

• With a Leap Card:   Single tickets and some 24 hour and 7-Day  / 1-week tickets can be bought from a bus driver, using a  Leap-card
• With the Transport For Ireland TFI Go App:  Single, 2 Journey and 10 Journey tickets, and 24-hour and 7-Day / 1-week tickets can be purchased using the Transport for Ireland TFI Go smart-phone app.
• From the driver on a board bus using with cash
• From a ticket vending machines at main bus stations only, using cash or an ATM / debit card. 

This means that the only way to "book" a seat in advance on Bus Éireann non-expressway coaches is to buy a ticket from a ticket vending machine at a main bus station - and even then, it's not clear if these "bookings" will be honoured if there are more passengers than seats.

The only exception is wheelchair accessible Regional PSO services, which must be booked by phoning LoCall: 0818 294 015  (or +353 1 575 6110 from outside of the Republic of Ireland) at least 24 hours in advance.