Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming here. I believe that all problems are relative so a bus arriving late in Dublin would be manna from heaven to someone in the west of Ireland where there might only be a morning and late-evening bus service with no service in between. I respect that all members represent their communities. It is frustrating for everyone in an urban or rural environment to wait for a bus service only for it not to arrive or to show up late. I am sure that members representing Dublin constituencies will speak about their experiences of bus services. Some of what I will say in the latter part of my time slot will relate more to NTA issues that happen outside of Dublin.

I have listened to all of the witnesses speak about real-time tracking systems, but nobody has mentioned Google Maps. I have largely given up using RTPI and other applications to track when the next bus is coming, as I have found that Google Maps is nearly always reliable. It guides one to the nearest bus stop, shows where one can board a bus and get off, and states how many steps it will take to reach the next stop. It is pretty accurate. Why is there a focus on indigenously developed apps when we could apply the Google widget and put it onto these apps rather than relying on technology that does not work well? Perhaps Mr. Hann can answer my question.