Public Transport in Donegal: Routes, Times & Operators
A complete index of public transport in Donegal: 94 routes, 2,877 journeys today, every one linked to its live timetable. Search covers every stop on every line.
City buses 70
Routes running inside Donegal and its immediate suburbs.
Regional buses 21
Services connecting Donegal with the towns and countryside around it.
TFI Local Link 3
Rural connections serving smaller villages near Donegal.
How the network is laid out
Almost every journey inside Donegal touches the same handful of streets, which is why the network looks the way it does. The 70 city routes fan out from the centre rather than crossing it, so a trip between two suburbs usually means changing in town.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Assuming one ticket covers everything
Leap works on TFI services, not on private coaches. Check the operator on the route card before you rely on it.
Trusting the terminus time
The headline departure time is from the first stop. Your stop may be twenty minutes later — open the route page for times from where you actually board.
Rural connections
3 TFI Local Link services reach Donegal from the smaller towns and villages around it. These run a handful of times a day rather than hourly, and they are frequently the only public transport those places have.
Where these numbers come from
Everything on this page is generated from the official GTFS timetable data published for Irish public transport, refreshed weekly. The journey counts reflect services scheduled to run today — not a yearly average — which is why they move from day to day. Operators set the times and can change them, so confirm before travelling.
Who runs the buses
4 operators serve Donegal, and they do not share ticketing. Knowing which company runs your route matters because it decides whether a Leap Card works.
| Operator | Routes here | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Metro | 69 | City |
| Ulsterbus | 18 | City |
| Bus Éireann | 4 | City |
| TFI Local Link Donegal Sligo Leitrim | 3 | Selected routes |
Fares and tickets
TFI services in Donegal take the Leap Card, and it is cheaper than paying cash. Private coach operators sell their own tickets, so a Leap will not cover an intercity journey.
- Leap Card — tap on as you board; the fare is deducted automatically.
- Cash — accepted on most services but at a higher fare, and exact change is often required.
- Coach tickets — book directly with the operator, usually cheaper online than at the desk.
How to use this page
Find the route
Search by number, stop, suburb or operator in the box above — the search covers every stop on every route listed.
Open its timetable
Each card links to the full schedule, with departures from any stop on the line.
Check the connection
If you need to change, the transfer tool on each route page shows what you can connect to.
Weekends and evenings
Weekend timetables in Donegal are lighter than weekday ones and Sunday is lighter again. Some routes on this page run Monday to Friday only. The journey counts shown are for today, so check the route page itself if you are planning for a different day.
Early starts and late finishes
The earliest departure listed for Donegal today is early morning and the latest is late evening. Outside that window there is no scheduled service, so late arrivals need a taxi.
Check the day type
Saturday and Sunday timetables are thinner than weekdays, and some routes do not run at all.
Work backwards
Pick the arrival you need first, then find the departure that gets you there with a margin.
Confirm the last bus
The final departure of the day is the one most often missed — check it before you commit to the trip.