Updated 8.45am

THE NATIONAL TRANSPORT Authority (NTA) will announce the preferred bidder for 10% of bus services in Dublin this morning.

The 23 routes do not serve the city centre, and instead connect different suburbs in the greater Dublin area.

The process has been ongoing for quite some time, with the NTA first announcing that certain routes would be put out to tender in 2012.

Routes currently operated by Dublin Bus that are included are the 17 (Rialto – Blackrock), 18 (Palmerstown – Sandymount), and the 45a (Dún Laoghaire – Ballywaltrim).

While a commercial business will operate the routes, the NTA will retain the revenue earned while paying the company a fee.

Unions were originally opposed to the plan, with the NBRU and Siptu expressing concerns during the original consultation process.

At the time, Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe told unions that the 10% of routes out to tender would not amount to privatisation.

Donohoe said that Dublin Bus was not being privatised and “will not be over the lifetime of this government”.

He said that the purpose of the tendering was “to secure a better service for bus users at the same cost”.

Dublin Bus consistently has by far the highest number of passenger journeys in the country, with 128 million last year – around triple the journeys on both Bus Éireann and Irish Rail.

The routes that are on the table are:

17 Rialto to Blackrock
17a Blanchardstown Centre to Kilbarrack
18 Palmerstown (Old Lucan Road) to Sandymount
33a Swords to Balbriggan
33b Swords to Portrane
45a Dún Laoghaire (Rail Station) to Ballywaltrim
59 Dún Laoghaire to Mackintosh Park
63 Dún Laoghaire to Kilternan
75 The Square Tallaght to Dun Laoghaire
76 Chapelizod to Tallaght (The Square)
76a Blanchardstown Centre to Tallaght (The Square)
102 Sutton Station to Dublin Airport
104 Clontarf Road (Conquer Hill) to Santry (Shanard Road)
111 Loughlinstown Park to Dún Laoghaire
114 Ticknock to Blackrock Station
161 Dundrum Luas Station to Rockbrook
184 Bray Dart Station to Newtownmountkennedy
185 Bray Dart station to Enniskerry
220 Ballymun to Ladyswell Road
236 Blanchardstown Centre to Damastown
238 Tyrrelstown to Ladyswell Road
239 Blanchardstown Centre to Liffey Valley Shopping Centre
270 Blanchardstown Centre to Dunboyne

Read: Transdev planning to bid for bus routes set to be tendered this year

Read: Is your bus route going to be privatised? These ones could be