Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The last time the witnesses were in here, I think we were talking about the metro. Many members from the vastly growing areas of Dublin, Kildare, Meath, etc., all made the point that we need a huge investment in public transport for such areas and that we need things like light rail and not over-reliance or pure reliance on buses. In the case of the Blanchardstown area, which I am sure the witnesses accept is one of those huge, vastly growing areas over the last ten to 15 years, I am hugely disappointed in what they have brought back. There is no way they have listened. I am guessing that the biggest single issue - the witnesses can tell me how many submissions they received - would have been to retain the 70 bus service from Dunboyne. That serves Littlepace and then goes directly into town all day. People think it is a great service. It is not often that one hears people saying that is a great bus service but what do the witnesses do? They get rid of it. As a result of all the submissions, the witnesses will say that they listened and introduced a peak hour-only service. From what I have read, it is an hour, because everyone only needs a bus from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., which is ridiculous because not everyone goes to work at those times. Shift workers, weekend workers and night workers have lost their direct route into town.

I compared this with what the witnesses are proposing, even for the peak hour, and what is currently provided. Between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. the 70 bus service provides seven buses, a bus every ten minutes. The witnesses are proposing four buses and then two buses, so even taking the proposed peak hour, people are losing out and it is also farther away. They have nothing for the rest of the day. It is because the witnesses are absolutely fixated on this idea of creating a hub and an interchange. I am disappointed, and it is not just me. I know many people are having public meetings.

The witnesses have not listened to people say that making Blanchardstown shopping centre the hub for every bus in the area is not a good idea. It seems the witnesses are in cahoots with the centre management on this, because there is no way the centre is currently set up to cater for that in terms of getting in and out of there in the evening. I have talked to people who work with people from Blanchardstown. Some of them come in crying to work because of how long it takes them. I refer to the idea of women workers trying to get home in the evening and stopping over in Blanchardstown shopping centre. They do not want to do that, but the witnesses are insisting that they have to. It is very obvious that the centre is going to become a park-and-ride. Those who are lucky to have a car are going to have to drive there and it is going to be paid parking. One of the witnesses' consultants basically told me that when I talked to him. The idea of paying for parking in the centre while one is at work is not right. What we need is to keep the buses that we have. We are happy to take the new local services the witnesses are introducing, but we must keep the direct routes into the city for people. It seems like the witnesses are hell-bent on an idea and will not listen to the people who live there and endure the journeys from the city every day and who do not think it will work.

There is no question but that the witnesses received hundreds of submissions on the 70 bus service. They did not really listen because a peak hour is not an all-day service. Mulhuddart, where I live, is so badly served by public transport, but what do the witnesses do? They take away the 38 bus service, which goes directly into the city, and they want people to make another forced stopover in Blanchardstown centre.

It is bad enough trying to get into town on the 38; nobody is saying that bus service is God's gift, but people do not want to lose it. Will the NTA listen to a second round of consultations or are we just wasting our time here?

My third issue is a small issue but important for the people who live there. For one of the buses, the 264 from Littlepace, the NTA is proposing opening up a private open space to create a bus route. This has been proposed twice previously and on both occasions the residents refused. They did not want buses coming through their estate because they had had enough. The NTA needs to listen to that and stop trying something for a third time. I was on the council when this happened before. It was tried in Rusheeny and then in Huntstown Wood. I do not know why it is now being brought back onto the table; it is not necessary.

I was in TU Dublin Blanchardstown campus the other day and the students are very poorly served by the current service. They were not jumping with joy at what is proposed. The current private shuttle service is unreliable and does not run after 6 p.m. How can students staying on to study get home? There are no bus shelters, security, lighting etc. I have asked the students to make a submission without me giving every detail at this meeting. I implore the NTA to listen to that. The 4,000 students there are suffering badly with the service they have.

On the Blanchardstown town centre interchange, the idea of an interchange may work in other areas I am not familiar with. From talking to people, they tell me that once they are on a bus, they generally like to stay on that bus. They do not like the idea of getting off and waiting for another bus. It would be different for people getting off to get on a Luas or a train because they would know exactly when it will arrive because it will not get snarled up in traffic. The NTA claims that the buses on the spine routes will come more frequently, but how many additional people will be competing to get on them? How many additional buses will there be? People are just not convinced and are really disappointed. I know meetings have taken place. I know there will be consultation and I am sure further meetings will be held. For working-class communities in the west and north-west of Dublin, what we need in terms of climate change is a massive boost of public transport and we do not see it here.

I have a general question. While the witnesses may not have the answer to hand, they might send it on to the committee. I noticed a considerable amount of advertising by BusConnects over the summer. As this was post the consultation period, it was not money being spent telling people about the system. I am talking about propaganda for BusConnects which seems like an awful waste of public money. Why does the NTA need to advertise the term "BusConnects" and get people into the idea? How much was spent on advertising nationally? I saw it on bus shelters and elsewhere.

Is the NTA committed to working with trade unions in the transport sector to maintaining the bus service in public ownership? The idea of Go-Ahead seems to be to not go ahead. It is the worst service anybody has endured. The workers are on worse terms and conditions, with some of them eating their lunch on the side of the road, which is going backwards in society. There are constant complaints about the service.