Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has strongly criticised Dublin Bus, claiming he could no longer stand over a public transport system that is not serving commuters.
The Minister made his comments at the launch of the Government’s plan for sustainable transport which aims to reduce Ireland’s car dependent culture and encourage 160,000 people to cycle for their daily commute by 2020.
Mr Dempsey claimed the economic downturn was partly to blame for the fall in passenger numbers but insisted company bosses must do more to encourage people out of their cars and onto buses.
“I can’t stand over a system where people can’t read timetables, don’t know when the next bus is coming, can’t get access to a bus for 15 or 20 minutes and then get three in a row,” Mr Dempsey said.
“Or if you have buses bunching, if you have work practices that mean people see buses out of service for a considerable period of time. All of those things just mean that people will say, ‘ah to hell with it, it’s easier to hop in a car’.”
Mr Dempsey said management had promised an aggressive marketing and advertising campaign to lure people away from their cars, but insisted more needed to be done.
“There’s a whole range of things that they have to do, and it’s not just about promotion or marketing,” Mr Dempsey said. “It’s about providing a service that people want.”
The semi-state company is to slash 290 jobs and take 120 buses of the road in a bid to stem some €30 million in losses this year.
Mr Dempsey said he would like to see local authorities rising to the challenges posed by the plan and that moves to free up the capital for public transport be rolled out as soon as possible.
Mr Dempsey said he had been told plans for a bus-gate at College Green had been put back to July because traffic would be lighter. “Maybe that’s a valid reason,” he said.
“I hope that is the reason, and that it’s not that public representatives haven’t the courage before a local election to do something that I think is in the best interest of the public in Dublin,” he said.
He added he would also like to see bus services improved in regional cities by rolling out bus lanes, but hit out at some councillors for not having the courage to support the move.
“We have ridiculous situations where the bus lane comes to the edge of the city or the county and then the other people won’t take the courage in their hands,” Mr Dempsey said.