Residents fed up as bus cancellations hit Dublin Mid-West

A Southside councillor says he is being inundated with complaints from angry residents who are fed up with unreliable bus services.

Clondalkin independent councillor Francis Timmons has described ongoing transport issues in Dublin Mid-West as a crisis.

“I’ve had a lot of representations from angry and dissatisfied members of the public who are totally fed up with regular cancelled and late buses,” Cllr Timmons said.

He said planning in some new developments provides limited to no parking spaces and the public is being told to use public transport even though it is often unreliable.

“The Minister wants more land zoned for housing while we don’t have a transport system fit for purpose.

“I call on the Minister for Transport to immediately deal with the crisis in public transport in Dublin Mid West, we have two of the biggest SDZs in the country in Clonburris and Adamstown and this demands immediate action.

“The public are sick of broken promises, they want to get where they are going efficiently and on time. The public is sick of standard replies that don’t address the issues.

“The buck stops with the Minister, we need a modern public transport system that addresses the increasing population and housing growth needs.

We no longer want excuses we want and demand action, does the Government in Leinster House care?”

Cllr Timmons (pictured above) said many of the complaints he has received relate specifically to the 13, 151 and L54 routes arriving late, being cancelled or diverting from their usual paths.

“It is incredibly frustrating for the public who are finding it increasingly difficult to get to places on time,” he added.

In response to the concerns raised by Cllr Timmons, the National Transport Authority said bus cancellations occur for a variety of reasons, including shortages of drivers or mechanics that prevent services from operating. It said incidents such as traffic accidents, health emergencies or bus breakdowns can also lead to cancellations.

The NTA said Dublin Bus has recently been experiencing a high number of cancellations due to driver availability issues and is currently undertaking a recruitment campaign in South Africa with a view to engaging about one hundred drivers.

“This is a very welcome initiative which will assist in addressing the current driver shortages and will ultimately improve performance to the benefit of the travelling public,” the NTA said.

It added that aside from staff availability issues, traffic congestion is the most frequent cause of cancellations. Buses that are meant to reach the end of an outbound trip in sufficient time to make the return journey are often delayed in heavier than usual traffic, leaving them unable to begin the scheduled return trip, which is then cancelled.

“Unfortunately, this is a frequent occurrence as traffic congestion increases,” the authority said.

The NTA said it has raised these issues with Dublin Bus and will continue to work with the operator to identify any adjustments that may be needed to timetables to address the impact of congestion on reliability. Any such changes will depend on the availability of buses, drivers and funding.

“I confirm that where a bus service does not operate due to circumstances within the operator’s control, a deduction is made from the amount due to the operator, equivalent to the cost of operating the cancelled services. The operator contracts also provide for deductions to be made when punctuality and reliability targets are not met.”

The NTA said it would continue to monitor services on the affected routes and work with Dublin Bus to improve reliability for commuters.

Separately, the issue of delays and shortcomings across the wider public transport network was raised in the Dáil on Thursday (4th).

Dublin South West TD and Labour transport spokesperson Ciaran Ahern said commuters nationwide are facing growing disruption due to Government decisions on transport investment.

Questioning the Tánaiste, Deputy Ahern said the lack of joined up thinking is contributing to congestion on roads across the country.

“It was bitterly disappointing to see the Government returning to its old vice of building more roads and bypasses, while delaying critical public transport infrastructure in the National Development Plan published last week,” he said.

“Not alone has the Government abandoned the two to one investment ratio, but the active travel budget is, in effect, being cut over the course of this plan, and crucial public transport projects are being put on the long finger.”

He said the consequences are being felt daily by workers travelling to and from Dublin.

“Earlier this week we saw Transport Infrastructure Ireland throw up the white flag on the M50, saying that there is nothing more they can do to address congestion issues. It is disgraceful and it is having enormous consequences on the lives of people coming to and from Dublin for work.”

He said congestion problems extend far beyond Dublin.

“My colleague Deputy Mark Wall has been to the fore in raising alarm bells about the M7 and N7, and we are seeing similar congestion issues in all of our major cities in Galway, in Cork, in Limerick and in Waterford.”

Deputy Ahern said the Government is repeating past mistakes.

“This Government is choosing to build a ring road around Galway rather than a Luas, despite the fact that the M50 is an example of a ring road that simply does not function any more. Adding more lanes to it has just led to more cars and further congestion chaos.”

He also criticised delays to projects that have already cleared key hurdles.

“This Government moans about judicial reviews delaying crucial infrastructure projects, but Dart South West has planning permission and is shovel ready to bring twenty thousand commuters per hour into Dublin city. But the Government have themselves now delayed this project.”

Deputy Ahern said the consequences are being felt across the public transport system.

“We know that trains simply are not leaving stations early enough in the morning for many commuters, nor are there ample options of departure times. Our buses can be extremely unreliable and are then stuck in gridlock. We know people want to use public transport, but they are effectively being prevented from doing so due to a failure of Government policy.”

He added that the National Development Plan had failed to provide the basis for meaningful progress.

“It is in this context that I have requested a debate on the transport plans of this Government. The NDP failed to lay the groundwork for any meaningful action on the delivery of the missing piece in the puzzle, viable public transport options.”

“There has been a lot of talk from this Government about infrastructure and delivery, but when it comes to public transport and active travel infrastructure, the rubber does not meet the road.”