Earlier this year I delivered a leaflet to households across Dublin Rathdown with a link to a detailed survey on your bus service. Thank you to the more than 850 people who responded, and to the many more who have since emailed me about their experiences.
I promised I would put what you told me straight to the people who plan and run our buses, and that is what I have done.
What you told me in the survey
Overall the picture is poor, though it varies widely across the constituency: average satisfaction was 2.3 out of 5.
- Ghost buses. Nearly three in ten respondents described services that count down on the TFI Live app or the stop display, then vanish without arriving and without any cancellation notice.
- Hospital access. St Vincent’s University Hospital was the place most often named as unreachable by bus, but several other destinations also featured. Some respondents described needing three buses to get to appointments.
- New communities left behind. The areas with the most new homes are the worst served, particularly Carrickmines, Stepaside, Kilternan and Ticknock.
- Lost routes. Almost one in six respondents still mention routes withdrawn under the network redesign, including the 17, 75 and 175, and say their regular journeys have got much worse since.
Many of you also told me you had gone back to the car, not because you wanted to but because you could no longer rely on the bus.
What I have done with it
I have analysed your responses and produced a 75-page report entitled ‘Left Waiting’. It sets out the findings across the constituency in detail and contains a section for every bus route.
At its heart are 58 numbered actions, each naming who has to act. 39 fall to the National Transport Authority, 24 to Dublin Bus, 15 to Go-Ahead Ireland and 4 to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (some actions are assigned jointly). They range from restoring frequency on particular routes and fixing real-time information to orbital links, hospital access and accessibility at stops.
The report has gone to senior management at the NTA, Dublin Bus, Go-Ahead Ireland, the County Council and the Department of Transport. I have asked each of them for a written response, which I will publish on my website, ShayBrennan.ie.
What happens next
I numbered the actions deliberately, so that each one can be tracked. I will keep raising them in the Dáil through parliamentary questions, in correspondence and in public until each has a clear answer.
If your route or area still isn’t working for you, I want to keep hearing about it. For that, or for a copy of the full report, contact my office at shay.brennan@oir.ie or 01 269 2085. You can read the full report and download it at shaybrennan.ie/bussurvey.
Please contact me for more information on (01) 969 2020 or shay.brennan@oireachtas.ie.