Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to very briefly raise a couple of questions I asked earlier and that the witnesses have omitted to answer. One concerns the direct city service commuter town links. If the NTA omits them, what will be done to prevent a private operator coming in to fill this gap? There are a lot of commuter towns that are serviced by direct links at present. If passengers will now be obliged to interchange once or twice, there is an opportunity for a private operator to come in.

In regard to the branding of the buses and the legislation's use of the word "shall", are the witnesses aware that Dublin Bus has said it has no objection to other operators using the Dublin Bus brand? The NTA is proposing to change 90% of the fleet to accommodate 10%. Would it not be better to use the branding that is currently on 90% for the 10%? It would certainly make an awful lot more economic sense, given the fact that the Dublin Bus brand is so highly thought of.

When I made a suggestion about Google Maps, Mr. Gaston said that the NTA is in the process of developing a tool. I think Ms Graham used words to the effect that the NTA hopes to develop a tool that will enable users to take a virtual journey on the new network. When does the NTA hope to develop that? The consultation process has commenced. I would have thought that would be developed in advance of the consultation process, not midway through or, heaven forbid, at the end. I ask the witnesses to update us on that.

I thank the Vice Chairman for leniency. Finally, the witnesses said that only a certain percentage of journeys would need an interchange. They said that a percentage of those interchanges will be at the same hub. Do they know at present what percentage of journeys will need an interchange? Do they know what percentage of those interchanges will take place at the same hub? What percentage will require a walk of 100 m? What percentage will require a walk of 400 m? That distance is the parameter the NTA uses in saying that 1 million of its passengers will be within 400 m of a bus stop.

The witnesses will correct me if I am wrong, but I think they said that there will be no new fleet. I imagine there would be a huge demand for additional buses to ensure that this works. What additional buses will be required? Are the witnesses confident that a multi-annual capital budget will be put in place to ensure that the additional buses required to make this work will be available?