Sir, – I used to rely on Bus Éireann’s 133 route, which has always been an odd one. With primary service elsewhere in Wicklow, it only ran once in the morning from Arklow to Dublin, and once in the evening back to Arklow.
This peculiar schedule was helpful, though! It catered exclusively to nine-to-five workers from Arklow, making it the best way for us to reach Dublin on time for work.
That changed this week. I discovered, along with a bus-stop worth of morning commuters, that the Arklow stops on this route have been permanently cancelled. Bus Éireann’s website offered no service updates.
The new schedule should have been distributed to commuters, posted prominently on the web, or announced onboard.
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The only observable change is a new effective date on our bus timetable online, effective May 7th, which omits the Arklow stop.
Somebody did their job, and not one iota more. All of which is to say that we commuters were late to work.
For Arklow residents needing to reach Dublin before 9am, the options are limited. One can board the early Expressway Route 2 bus arriving before 7am, or take the 740A Wexford Bus that reaches Dublin city centre after 9am. Or endure a lengthy two-hour journey on Irish Rail.
Who is responsible for this set of options? It is awful.
You reported on April 20th that the Central Statistics Office listed a budget surplus of €8 billion for Ireland in 2022. This surplus is part of Ireland’s rise in economic prominence in Europe and internationally. Now is the time to build a better Ireland, if incrementally.
I’m an American citizen, relocated here from Houston, Texas. Texas has scarce, if any, public transit options. So I’m grateful on some level. But why not give commuters a quality experience? Improve what you are lucky to already have. – Yours, etc,
OMID BACHARI,
Arklow,
Co Wicklow.
