Commuter anger at ghost buses
Padraig Conlon 05 Feb 2025
South Dublin commuters were left frustrated and stranded last week as multiple Go-Ahead Ireland bus services failed to show up, causing severe disruption for those relying on public transport.
Routes such as the 114, S8, S6, and the newly launched L26 have seen buses disappearing from schedules, leaving passengers waiting for hours with no explanation.
The issue has caused widespread anger, with many calling for urgent action to address what some describe as an unacceptable collapse in services.
Green Party councillor for Glencullen-Sandyford, Oisín O’Connor, has publicly condemned the situation, saying it is undermining public confidence in Dublin’s bus network.
He has called for Go-Ahead Ireland and the National Transport Authority (NTA) to be held accountable for what he describes as “completely unacceptable” failures.
Speaking last Wednesday (29th), Councillor O’ Connor (pictured above) said he had heard several accounts of people being left stranded from lots of angry and let down commuters.
“I’ve been inundated with complaints from people who are being left stranded,” he said.
“This isn’t a case of the odd bus running late—whole services are disappearing for hours at a time.
“For example, yesterday morning the 114 bus from Sandyford simply didn’t run for three hours. The 7:05, 7:40, and 8:30 services all failed to turn up, leaving people with no way to get to work, school, or important appointments.
“The first bus after the 6:40 a.m. service wasn’t until 9:40 a.m.—how is that acceptable for a public transport provider?
“Public transport should be reliable, efficient, and encourage more people to leave their cars at home.
“But how can we expect people to do that when buses just don’t show up?”
Councillor O’Connor acknowledges that recruitment problems are affecting transport providers across the country, but he insists that Go-Ahead Ireland stands out as having the worst performance.
“I understand that driver and mechanic shortages are an industry-wide issue, but the only routes I’m hearing complaints about this week are the ones run by Go-Ahead Ireland,” he said.
“I’d prefer not to single out a specific company, but I can’t ignore the reality: it’s Go-Ahead routes that people are reporting as unreliable. Something clearly isn’t working.”
The councillor says he is now urging Go-Ahead Ireland and the NTA to take immediate action to prevent further disruption, outlining three key solutions:
- Better pay and conditions for drivers and mechanics – He argues that companies must offer competitive salaries to attract and retain workers. “The executives at these companies wouldn’t work for less than they’re worth, so why should the people who actually keep the service running?” he asked.
- More transparent performance reporting – O’Connor is calling for the NTA to publish reliability data for individual bus routes, rather than overall statistics.
“Right now, they can hide poor performance on struggling routes by averaging it out with more reliable services,” he said.
“But what use is it to you if the 45A is running smoothly when the 114 you need isn’t showing up at all?”
- Higher fines for unreliable operators – He believes bus companies should be financially penalized for poor performance, with the money reinvested as bonuses for operators that consistently meet service standards.
Frustration among bus users remains high.
Many passengers have taken to social media to vent their anger, with some calling for Go-Ahead to lose its contracts if reliability does not improve.
With public anger growing and no immediate solution in place, pressure is mounting on both Go-Ahead Ireland and the NTA to take urgent steps to fix the crisis.
For now, passengers in Kilternan, Sandyford, Ballinteer, and beyond are left wondering: when will the buses actually show up?
In response to an enquiry from Southside People, a spokesperson for Go Ahead admitted that services have been disrupted but insists they are working to resolve the issues.
The spokesperson said:
“Go-Ahead Ireland can confirm that a number of bus services including the 114, S8, S6 and L26 have recently experienced service frequency issues which have impacted passengers, and we would like to apologise to all those that have been affected.
“These service issues are due to a combination of factors. At a sectoral level, there is currently a shortage of mechanics impacting transport operators nationally. This has meant that buses are taking longer to service, thus reducing the number of active vehicles on the road at certain times. This issue has been further aggravated by seasonal illnesses which has further reduced the current number of active mechanics able to service our fleet at a given time.
“Cognisant of our responsibilities to our passengers and those communities that we serve, we have been running a dedicated mechanics recruitment campaign offering a comprehensive and competitive package for candidates.
“As such, we have experienced an increase in applications for the role of HGV Mechanics since the new year, which will address the current issues and enhance our engineering capacity overall.
“Finally, we would again like to take this opportunity to apologise to passengers impacted by the recent service issues.
“Our passenger commitment is fundamental to Go-ahead Ireland, and we strive to offer the best possible service to those communities that we serve.”