Here are the major changes expected on Bus Eireann as services to 'return to normal' on Monday

Bus Eireann services will "return to normal" on Monday but the experience for passengers onboard will be far from the norm.

Many people won't have stepped foot on buses since early March and will now be looking to use them again as phase two arrives.

However buses are operating at reduced capacity with a number of other measures changing onboard.

A spokesperson for Bus Eireann said: "In response to the Government announcement on moving to phase 2+ of Ireland’s roadmap for reopening society and business, all weekday Bus Éireann services will return to a standard Monday to Friday frequency from Monday, 8 June while Expressway will operate a normal schedule with some minor service reductions.

"Since 1 April, weekday services have been operating to a reduced schedule."

Here are all the changes you can expect onboard:

Bus Eireann coronavirus measures

• Single deck buses are limited to a maximum of 14 passengers, with double deck buses limited to a maximum of 19.
• Customers are requested, where possible, to travel at off-peak times.
• Customers are strongly encouraged to wear a face covering for the duration of their journey and to be mindful of the guidelines in relation to respiratory etiquette, hand hygiene and social distancing.
• A significantly enhanced cleaning regime has been introduced on board vehicles and in bus stations.
• A new inter-trip cleaning schedule has also been introduced where the driver’s cab area and customer touchpoints on vehicles are disinfected regularly throughout the day.

Stephen Kent, Chief Executive Officer of Bus Éireann said; “Over the past three months, our team at Bus Éireann have been hugely committed and proud to play our part by ensuring our services throughout Ireland remained available for those frontline and healthcare workers who absolutely needed to travel during the Emergency.

“In line with the new guidance on gradual easing of restrictions, we ask for continued support in observing necessary social distance and hygiene measures.

"These measures will continue to limit our bus capacity in this phase, especially during peak hours, and we therefore ask for public understanding and co-operation on this issue and to only travel on our service when the journey is essential.”