Mr. Tim Gaston:

The G spines are combinations of bits of routes lifted from other routes. The timings were done from end to end, from Red Cow through to the docklands, by taking sections from existing AVL equipment, which we spoke about earlier. The initial plan will be set out and a timetable developed based on what we believe the running times to be. As I said earlier, one of our biggest challenges is that there is about a six-month lead time between when you have to do that detailed planning and when you actually implement the system. We were doing that planning very much in conjunction with Dublin Bus. We were looking at what we believed to be the running times. The running time includes the driver welfare period, the layover at the terminus and a period of time to allow catch-up if there is a problem on the route or congestion, etc. All of that is put together and that goes through a couple of iterations between ourselves and Dublin Bus to produce the files that eventually have to go into the RTPI system and the Dublin Bus rostering system. Dublin Bus then sits down and rosters the drivers and vehicles to match that and eventually there is a schedule that it can go live with.

In the case of the G spine, because we were running on alignments that buses had not previously run from one end to the other, we did not get it exactly right. Most of the running times for most of the day are actually fine. When I say the running times are out, it is clearly in the peak when you have congestion. That is the bit that is very difficult to predict. We do not know what time it is going to take to get through heavy traffic when you are planning in March and looking ahead to October or November. We have a better feel for it now that it is running and we can do several levels of fixes.

The first one was a relatively quick piece that Dublin Bus is currently implementing to put in longer running times, but there is a much longer piece that needs to be done in conjunction with Dublin City Council to see what can be done on the ground as well to improve the pinch points. Early in the new year we will probably have a more comprehensive awareness of exactly what is happening on that route; where there are issues, not just on that route but all of the routes – the three routes on the G spine and the other 60; and a revised scheduling time to be agreed. By that stage, we believe Dublin Bus will have the drivers and we hope to have the vehicles to put in the additional capacity. It is clear that the running times are too short and we need more drivers and more vehicles. That is the process we are working through currently. That is the process we worked through with the other spines and we know that it will deliver the sort of gradual improvement so that we will get to the point where-----