Mr. Tim Gaston:

There is a lead-time of approximately six months between when we finish planning something like the G spine, the previous C spine or the other spines and when we can implement. Like the Senator, and working with Dublin Bus, we predicted in February to April of this year the running times on the G spine that we needed for the schedules that were going to be put in place. All of the work that had to be done by Dublin Bus and our own systems to deliver in October was planned in March or April. At that stage, we did not anticipate the speed at which the economy would recover and that congestion would become an issue again. We are holding our hands up and saying that the running times were too tight.

We had the opposite problem on the C spine, where running times were too generous and buses had to slow down and wait to achieve the timelines. We adjusted those on the C spine within a couple of weeks initially, after which there were further phases of adjustment. We are in the process of doing the same on the G spine. Adjustments are happening this week and over the next couple of weeks to take account of the longer running times that are needed.

The Senator mentioned Mount Brown. At Winetavern Street and one or two other places, we are aware of pinch points. We are working with Dublin City Council on those to see how we can get buses through them more quickly – through signalling or other traffic measures – and running approximately to schedule.

All of this has happened at a time when congestion has, unfortunately, become a major issue again. It is not identical to the congestion we had previously. Dublin Bus, Go-Ahead and we are aware of where congestion used to build up, but there is a different pattern to it now. We are seeing more congestion in the suburbs and less in the city centre itself. We believe this reflects fewer white-collar workers coming in to work and more people working from home.