TD's claim of 35 new buses lying idle denied

A Labour TD has claimed that 35 news buses are lying idle in Dublin Bus garages because of a funding dispute between the company and the Department of Public Enterprise.

But both Dublin Bus and the Department have denied any disagreement, citing normal logistical delays in getting the buses into service. A Dublin Bus spokesman said the new vehicles would be on the streets "in the coming weeks".

The TD, Mr Sean Ryan, said the buses had cost more than £200,000 each, and his information was that drivers were in place to use them. He added: "At a time when the bus service in many areas of Dublin is still quite inadequate I find it outrageous that buses that could and should be available to the commuters of Dublin are, instead, gathering cobwebs in the garage."

Mr Ryan said that a lot of public money was rightly being spent in developing quality bus corridors. But commuters using the new corridor between Swords and the city centre, opened in November, were reporting that very few additional buses have been provided.

A spokesman said buses were being delivered at a rate of six per week, and the longest delay involving the vehicles referred to by Mr Ryan was five weeks. There were logistical reasons why buses were not immediately operational, he added, including the need to programme electronic destination scrolls and ticketing equipment, and to fit bilingual signs.