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Appalling Green surrender, as massive Dublin Bus cutbacks confirmed

Issued : Friday 16 January, 2009

Commuters across the Greater Dublin Area will be shocked today as Dublin Bus confirms that the Dublin Bus fleet will be reduced by 10% and that 120 buses are to be removed from the fleet. Dublin Bus has indicated that there will be "service and network level adjustments" to bus routes across the city.

Dublin Bus workers have also learned the grim news that staffing levels will be reduced by 10% at the company with the loss of 290 jobs. Dublin Bus management has also deferred the 2009 national pay award for staff.

Dublin Bus is clearly operating in very difficult circumstances and has estimated a potential loss of €31 million in 2009. Yet, public transport subsidies for CIE companies remain some of the lowest across the EU27. The government also abolished the public transport fuel rebate late last year even though CIE indicated the loss of this rebate would add millions in additional costs to CIE companies in 2009.

The slashing of bus routes and services is a devastating blow for commuters and will particularly hit low income workers many of whom have no option but to use public transport to get to work. Commuters had already been hit with fare increases of an average of 10 cent from the 1st of January last.

However, what is most astonishing is that the Green Party members of government are prepared to support the decimation of critical public transport services across Dublin (with more bad news expected on cutbacks at Bus Eireann and Iarnrod Eireann during next week).

Green Ministers now appear to have totally abandoned all of their core principles and policies in their desperation to stay in power with this discredited, incompetent and shambolic government. Unfortunately, the legacy of their surrender will be untold long-term damage to communities across Ireland as critical public transport services are cancelled or severely cut back.

If this Govt is really committed to persuading more people to use public transport, they should do what other transport operators do and provide for a DROP in the fares, rather than an increase.

In 2007 Labour proposed a €1 flat fare for the entire Dublin Bus network, and it is high time for that proposal to be revisited by the Govt once again.

I have also called for an urgent emergency meeting of the Dáil Transport Committee to address this unprecedented programme of cutbacks to bus and rail services.