Where are the promised buses?
Issued : Thursday 30 March, 2006
“Dublin Bus caters for thousands of Dubliners on a daily basis yet it appears that the Transport Minister Martin Cullen has chosen to neglect the needs of the travelling public by providing more buses and a better service in his Transport 21 plan,” Councillor Eric Byrne has said.
“The general public has little choice but to drive to and from work as a result of the shortage of buses. This has resulted in Dubliners having to pay huge parking fees. The buses on our streets are overcrowded, with customers left at bus stops and some journeys taking double the imagined time at peak hours.
“I’m shocked to find that Minister Martin Cullen is refusing to acknowledge the desperate state of the bus service, there needs to be major improvements in the fleet size and the regularity of the service. Under the National Development Plan 160 buses were promised which have yet to arrive.
“The cost of expanding the fleet is minimal and this investment will help to unblock our grid-locked capital. Dublin’s Quality Bus Corridors are extremely helpful and can make a difference to travel times, yet these are not being used to their full advantage, due to insufficient bus numbers.
“This is simply not good enough. There needs to be numerous improvements and the public should not have to deal with such conditions, more buses need to be on the streets of Dublin now.”
