This week’s Independent News & Media/Mediahuis Irish regional newspapers’ column.
Michael Commane
I am constantly intrigued by how we as a nation organise our public transport system.
Some months ago I explained how flabbergasted I was to discover that the new single decker buses currently being rolled out across rural Ireland do not take bicycles, not even fold-ups. I was painfully reminded of this after Christmas when I was travelling from Tralee to Camp in West Kerry.
Fortunately I had a bicycle bag for my fold-up, which meant I was allowed carry the bicycle on board with me.
There are no words to explain that the State has bought a fleet of buses to travel to the most scenic areas in the country that do not have the capacity to carry bicycles. I mentioned it on one occasion to a driver. He looked at me and said: ‘That’s Dublin for you. They make all the decisions and they have not got a clue.’
We all know the vital importance the role public transport must play if we are to clean up our act.
Dublin Bus has now a significant number of hybrid electric vehicles in its fleet. It is planning to roll out all electric buses later this year. And Bus Éireann is operating a small number of hydrogen buses.
We are making progress but as we do, the confusion grows.
In 1987 Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) was split into three new entities, Dublin Bus, Iarnród Éireann and Bus Éireann, with CIÉ becoming the holding company for all three companies. But two new entities have now been created. They are the NTA - National Transport Authority and TFI - Transport for Ireland.
When I went to ask or complain about not being able to take even a fold-up bicycle on one of the new rural buses I was told that I should make my complaint to NTA.
The gentleman with whom I spoke clearly explained to me that Bus Éireann was no longer in the picture when it came to decision making. Of course the design of the bus did not allow for bicycles. He went on to point out that Bus Éireann has been contracted to run the service under an NTA licence for a specific number of years and that Bus Éireann or CIÉ had no say in the purchase of the vehicles. He also told me that the time tables are no longer the remit of Bus Éireann.
He then tried to explain to me the role TFI is playing in the overall transport project. When I asked him what was the difference between the role of the NTA and TFI I became confused. To tell you the truth, I got the distinct impression that he too was lost.
Google tells me that National Transport Authority is the transport authority for Greater Dublin and the public transport licensing agency for Ireland. And I discovered that Transport for Ireland is the public brand of the National Transport Authority.
Is this just all quango speech?
I have no idea what it’s all about but I do know the new rural buses are not fit for purpose. Next time you travel on one look for the phone charger. A driver kindly told me there was one and that was under a seat. I eventually found it. Imagine placing a charger socket in a place where it cannot be seen. You couldn’t make it up.
Who made the decision to buy these buses?
No comments:
Post a Comment