Fine Gael TD Emer Currie has said there is no logic in cutting an all-day direct bus service from Littlepace to Dublin city centre.
The 70 bus route, under the new BusConnects service, will only have a direct service during peak times only, and a local service during the day to Blanchardstown centre.
Currie questioned the logic of such a move; in a survey carried out by the Dublin West TD, 98% of the 978 responses received said they wanted the daytime direct service retained.
Under BusConnects, the 70 bus service, which is one of the most popular routes in Dublin West, will be split in two, with a direct service at peak times only and a local service during the day to the Blanchardstown Centre.
Currie’s party colleague, Cork TD and junior minister Jerry Buttimer, defended the move, claiming that the changes for the 70 bus route were an important part of the wider BusConnects network redesign for Dublin
Buttimer trotted out the party line of “one of the core principles of BusConects is to provide a more frequent, reliable and better-connected public transport network across the greater Dublin area; the redesign seeks to provide improved service levels and reduced waiting times for all passengers throughout the day.”
He explained, “under the proposed network, the existing 70 service will be replaced by two new routes, namely, L64 and P64. The peak-time P64 service will continue to provide direct links between Dunboyne and Dublin city centre. I am told that the L64 will operate between Dunboyne and the Blanchardstown Centre and is currently projected to run every 15 minutes.”
He said that both routes will also connect with Dunboyne rail station, providing access to rail services into the city.
“For journeys to the city centre outside peak periods, passengers can travel to the Blanchardstown Centre using the L64 route and transfer to one of four B spine services, which are expected to operate every four minutes.”
Of course, a Dublin Bus being expected to operate every four minutes and it actually showing up every four minutes is fanciful thinking.
Currie said the people of Littlepace know the “plans inside out” and that “some things can look good on paper but are counter-intuitive.”
“Nothing annoys people more than when the NTA, supported by the government, focuses on fixing something that does not need to be fixed and decides to remove something that is working for them and gets them to work, college or appointments on time during the day,” she said.
Currie said that buses in the Dublin West constituency have well-documented problems with capacity, but are not receiving adequate investment.
“The people who responded to my survey were overwhelmingly regular users. They said that the service is now reliable. Some 93.5% of them said that the service is now reliable. This change seems illogical. We are giving residents something they did not ask for. They just want the 70 to work well,” she said.
Buttimer said he “hears the frustration” that Currie and Dublin 15 commuters have on the issue.
“As a public representative, I fully understand that sometimes what is proposed does not align with reality. It is important that I, having taken the question this morning, articulate and communicate the Deputy’s views and those of residents back to the NTA.”
“I am not obfuscating responsibility but, as the Deputy knows, the NTA is charged with the project. As a Minister and Ministers of State, we do not have any direct, day-to-day engagement. I will sit down with the Deputy to look at the situation and will ask the NTA to do so.”
Buttimer said he was of the view “if it is not broken, why fix it?”
The junior minister said, “we need to ensure that our overarching policy is about an enhanced bus experience. It is about ensuring that bus corridors are brought in, we have a continuous bus lane and improve active travel facilities.
He also noted, “the points made by the Deputy are hard to go against. The travelling public who use the service in a place understand. They use it every day. I will certainly reflect with the Deputy and take her views back to the NTA.
Currie pointed out further stats from her public consultation.
Out of 978 people surveyed over a three-week period, only 12 said they would have no issue with having to change buses at the Blanchardstown Centre.
Some 99.1% of them described the direct service as either “extremely important” or “very important” to them.
“Worryingly, 60% of people said that if this change makes their journey longer or less reliable, they are more likely to drive instead. The biggest issue that they identified was increased journey time. Some 80% of people said that was the issue.”
Currie called on the NTA to meet with local residents and attempt to justify the changes.
She said, “it is important that the NTA shows it is willing to engage with communities about issues that impact them. Nearly 1,000 people in a three-week period responded to my survey when I only dropped it to 1,300 homes.”
Buttimer said “all of us, no matter where we are from, want Bus Connects to succeed. At its core, it is about bringing new service and providing better all-day frequency and more reliability. Every day, we get complaints about the quality of a bus service, whether in Cork city or Dublin. We are not immune,” he said.
Buttimer shared Currie’s frustrations with the NTA being unaccountable to elected representatives.
“It disappoints me, as a Minister of State and a public representative, that the NTA would not meet residents. Ultimately, the NTA is the solution-maker for any issue. It will be putting the network in place. It has a duty to meet residents, community groups and whoever else in Littlepace, in this case, to sort out the matter, work, listen and have that engagement.”
He said that public engagement allows them (the NTA) to be informed.
“It allows us all to have a better outcome in the end, we hope. I commit to sitting down with the Deputy and articulating with her on behalf of the people she represents. All of us must work together to have a better bus system that will benefit the travelling public who want to use the service.”
If I were using a bus, which I do occasionally, and the journey became longer, I would ask whether I wanted to use it. The connectivity piece is important. The success of Local Link has been that A to B connectivity for people,” he said.