Mark Ward TD recently called on Minister Eamon Ryan and the National Transport Authority to address the atrocious standards being delivered on bus routes served by Go-Ahead Ireland. Deputy Ward speaking ahead of Sinn Féin private members motion on affordable, reliable and safe public transport.
The Dublin Mid West TD said “Commuters in Dublin Mid West are fed up to the teeth of the poor service being delivered by Go-Ahead Ireland. “Late buses, no shows, over-crowding and generally poor service standards on commonplace on routes 76, 18, L51 and L52. “This is causing serious problems for people in Clondalkin, Palmerstown and Lucan who rely on these buses and very little is being done by the Minister or the regulator to fix the ongoing issues.
“People are literally being left stranded on the side of the road. This type of service will drive people away from using public transport. “Go-Ahead Ireland are a number of years into their contract, so we simply don’t accept this is still teething problems. “Sinn Féin warned the privatisation of our bus services would drive down standards, as profits would be prioritised over punctuality, reliability and customer service. “Go-Ahead’s Irish subsidiary made a €2.6m profit last year, which is hard for commuters to stomach given the poor service they are experiencing on the ground.
“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. “Our motion includes calls for the Minister for Transport to mandate the NTA to ensure that the current contractual agreement between the NTA and Go-Ahead Ireland will not be extended beyond its current contractual timeframe and that the 10% of previously privatised services would be brought back under public or state-owned control”
