DUBLIN BUS HAS cancelled its Nitelink buses indefinitely from this Thursday.

The Nitelink services, which were due to run in the city centre over Christmas and New Year’s, have now been suspended from 23 December.

“We wish to advise customers that Nitelink services will not operate from Thursday 23 December 2021, until further notice,” Dublin Bus said in a statement.

Last week, Dublin Bus published a timetable for the Nitelink services’ operating hours over Christmas.

The buses were scheduled to run fully on Thursday 16, Friday 17, Saturday 18, Thursday 23, and Thursday 30 December, as well as on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

In previous years before Covid-19, the Nitelink was often expanded during Christmas and New Year’s from early December to provide transport from the city centre during the night.

At the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Dublin Bus suspended the Nitelink service, though three other 24/7 routes in the regular schedule remained operational.

The Nitelink buses returned in October alonside the reopening of nightclubs and late bars.

Now, the hospitality industry in the city centre, usually experiencing its busiest period at this time of year, is expecting a quiet Christmas due to the current set of Covid-19 restrictions.

Pubs and restaurants must close at 8pm while indoor cultural and sporting events, such as concerts or cinemas, must be limited to 50% capacity of 1,000 people, whichever is lower.

The measures came into effect yesterday as part of efforts to curb the spread of the Omicron variant.