People who use public transport deserve to be treated better

This week’s Mediahuis?INM Irish regional newspapers’ column.

Michael Commane

Our public transport is a mosaic of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Rural Ireland is not well served. But there have been seismic improvements in bus and rail infrastructure.

When I went working in The Kerryman in 1998 I think there were four trains a day between Tralee and Dublin, today there are seven. There are eight trains a day between Sligo and Dublin. Wexford still has a patchy service with just five trains a day to the capital. Journey times on all services need to be shortened. There are only two mainline routes that have double tracks, Dublin Cork and Dublin Belfast. 

The Dublin Cork train boasts the fastest maximum speed of 160 km/h or 100 mph.

Technology means that we can check departure, arrival times and timetables on our phones, tablets and computers. 

Irish Rail’s online booking system is excellent. Real time information on the Dart and Luas is a great help, as it is at Bus stops in our cities.

Some years ago Dublin Bus introduced a real time app. It meant passengers could check on their phone the time the bus would arrive at their stop. It also contained timetables. It was simple to use and most reliable. 

On Tuesday May 23 the Dublin Bus app was replaced by the new TFI Live app. The new app covers all public transport in the State, bus and rail. 

It is proving in its first early days a shambles. It is difficult to navigate and it’s not doing all it is advertised to do. There has been zilch explanation about the new app in the media.

I was unable to obtain timetable information from it so I phoned TFI. The person I spoke to stumbled and stuttered and on many occasions used the expression ‘sort of’. It was clear the person with whom I spoke simply knew little or nothing about the new app. 

I subsequently emailed the NTA. They promptly replied with a generic email apologising for the ‘intermittent teething issues’. They are not intermittent, they are constant. I received an email in response to my phone call, guaranteeing they will reply to my email within 15 working days.

You might be confused with TFI and NTA. TFI is Transport for Ireland and NTA is National Transport Authority. I have spent months trying to discover the difference between the two agencies. The app is called TFI Live but when you call them you get through to the NTA. This sentence appears on he TFI website: ‘If your comment relates to Transport for Ireland please email info@nationaltransport.ie'.

Has there been a publicity campaign to explain what the different agencies do? It’s one big mystery. The TFI Live app adds to the confusion. The new app is a metaphor for the mystery that surrounds the worlds of the TFI and the NTA. There is far too much confusion concerning these two public bodies.

People who use public transport, those who pay for it, that includes all tax payers, deserve to be treated better than this.