Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Luas cost us a lot of money initially.

There were massive overruns precisely because of private companies extorting the process. I agree the Luas is a success, so why should the benefits not come back directly to us? I do not see why we should outsource or privatise it. From my experience with the 46A in Dún Laoghaire I know a game is played whereby people state more people access a service because services have been rationalised. Elderly people and particular communities lost services provided by other small bus routes to expand the service in the more profitable areas where more customers could be found. It should not be either-or; it should not be that we increase numbers at the expense of losing small bus services to little rural areas, or particular estates or communities. It should be both and this will not happen where the model moves towards privatisation. It will all be about where we can get the biggest numbers and pack the buses the most and not providing a service where there may not be as many passengers but where it is vitally needed by those communities or transport users.

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