Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady has criticised the decision to award the licence for the provision of the new L1, L2, and L3 Bus service which will operate in North Wicklow to GoAhead. The company has previously been mired in controversy over the poor quality of its service provision on bus routes, for which it has been previously issued with fines by the National Transport Authority (NTA) of over €3 million for shortcomings relating to reliability, punctuality, and service quality.
Following a meeting with senior NTA representatives earlier this week, who confirmed that they will be launching the new bus routes in July, Brady called for Minister Eamon Ryan to intervene based on the poor record of GoAhead and have the licence awarded to Dublin Bus.
Brady said:
“In the first instance, it is very welcome that the original plan for the L1, L2, and L3 routes have been amended to allow for a more frequent and accessible service on paper. The new routes, due to be launched in July are: Route L1 which will run every 30 minutes between Bray and Newtownmountkennedy via Greystones, Delgany and Kilpedder. Route L2 will run every 30 minutes between Bray and Kilcoole and every 60 minutes between Kilcoole and Newcastle via Greystones, Charlesland and Kilcoole. Routes L1 and L2 will offer a combined service every 15 minutes between Greystones and Bray. Route L3 will run every 30 minutes between Delgany and Charlesland via Greystones.
The plan allows for the service of many of the newer estates in the area which have developed since the plans were first brought forward a number of years ago and will be particularly welcomed by communities in Greystones and Bray.
But again, the key issue here is the abysmal record of GoAhead in the provision of bus routes in North Wicklow. The continuing insistence on the privatisation of bus routes has witnessed a huge deterioration in the standard of transport services.
As I have noted repeatedly in the past, the experience for bus commuters in North Wicklow on GoAhead routes has been dreadful, and in some instances horrific. With last minute cancellations seeing many bus users stranded by the side of the road, resulting in missed hospital appointments, and being unable to get to work on time.
This is unacceptable. And it is unacceptable that considering the dreadful record of GoAhead, for which the NTA has issued fines of several million euro, that they would then turn around and grant them this new contract.
While I raised the issue with the Minister in the Dáil at the time, and with senior management at the NTA, who acknowledged GoAheads’ failings, the service continued to prove so bad, and was impacting so many public transport users in North Wicklow that I introduced a petition at the time calling on Minister Ryan to sort out the mess created by Go-Ahead’s mismanagement of their bus routes in Wicklow.
I was overwhelmed at the levels of support I received for the initiative with nearly 1000 people signing the petition. The accompanying feedback from ordinary people who were let down by GoAhead set out very clearly the failure of the company to deliver a fit for purpose service.”
Brady continued:
“Among the new routes due to come into operation in July, the L12 and L14 to be operated by Dublin Bus. Whose record of service delivery far surpasses that of GoAhead. And there is no reason why Dublin Bus cannot be awarded the contract for the L1, L2, and the L3 routes.
I am calling on Minister Ryan to intervene directly to direct the awarding of the contract to Dublin Bus, and put an end to the frustrations of bus commuters in Wicklow who are heartily sick and tired of GoAheads’ failures, of being left at the side of the road, of buses running late and overcrowded, of buses being cancelled without notification, of being left late for work, for school, and important medical appointments.
Speaking alongside Brady Sinn Féin local election candidate for the Greystones area, Esther Kelly commented:
“GoAhead currently operates the 184 bus that serves the Greystones and Newtownmountkennedy area. Nearly on a daily basis bus users are onto us complaining about the poor service, buses not showing up or late. We need a service that is fit for purpose and given GoAheads’ track record it is clear that they are simply incapable of delivering for public transport users in the area.”
Brian Fogarty who is also running in the Greystones area for Sinn Féin said:
“The Late buses, no shows, overcrowding and generally poor service standards on GoAhead routes are being raised constantly with us. People are literally being left stranded on the side of the road. This type of service will drive people away from using public transport. We in Sinn Féin have repeatedly warned that the privatisation of our bus services would drive down standards, as profits would be prioritised over punctuality, reliability, and customer service. The privatisation of public transport in Britain has been an unmitigated disaster and we must avoid that template at all costs. If Minister Ryan wants more people to use public transport, he needs to ensure buses are on-time and reliable. He needs to get on top of these problems.”