Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In spite of current criticisms of Dublin Bus, for example, people getting on in the outer suburbs and there being not enough room on the buses by the time they come to the inner suburbs, I think Dublin Bus has been providing a very good service. Its staff have been very courteous and helpful. Obviously, there is a need for some changes. I would highlight the cross-city routes that have been introduced, which have been of great benefit. The one I know best is the 151, which covers the north side, docklands and St. James's Hospital, the Coombe and Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin.

We know Dublin is growing and that this growth means that changes are needed. I understand the need to tackle the duplication of routes and the need for more orbital routes so some change was needed. However, it is the way in which change and proposals for change are handled that is the issue. Commuters do not want to lose what they have become used to, particularly something that has served them well over the years, so any mention of change must be handled in a very sensitive way. It must be handled carefully with the commuter in mind.

Many of venues for this consultation have been hotels and shopping centres. There could have been a better use of community centres and places within communities that would be more accessible to the people. From talking to people who went into some of the hotels, at times there were more staff there than there were members of the public coming in to find out. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection said earlier that the end game may be different but the consternation, dismay and protests could have been prevented if all of this had been handled properly because, no doubt, it is being seen as a fait accompli. Surely the first exercise should have been with the commuters and staff about what is and is not working and how to improve things so that the proposal becomes a collaborative effort. One will not get 100% agreement but people can work through consensus building.

These proposals are presenting real difficulties. For example, those people who get on one bus and stay on it for a 45 or 50 minute journey must now get on a bus, get off it, get on a bus and get off it. How is that supposed to be age-friendly, not to mention people with a disability? The blurb from BusConnects talks about employers, employees, visitors, tourists and cyclists. This is all very well; they need transport but what about those who are older or who have disabilities? They do not need multiple journeys.

There are positives that people have acknowledged such as low-emission vehicles, a 5 minute service along the spinal route and a 7.5 minute service along the orbital route. Like so many other Deputies, the two buses in my area will be replaced with one and it does not appear as if the service will be much better. We saw the debacle with MetroLink. I thought the NTA would have learned from that to do a bit more thinking outside the box beforehand and to do the thinking away from the office and away from just paper plans by getting out and talking to people. One good thing is that the Government's amendment recognises the need for more to be done on this. We need real consultation, not just presenting it the way it has been presented, namely, as a fait accompli.

Deputy Joan Collins:This is one of the most radical plans ever put to the people of this city. While it has been said that there is ongoing consultation, one must really drill down into these proposals because when one looks at the map, the first thing one will see is that the east side of the city is fairly well served but as one goes west into the working-class communities, the buses are being taken out of those estates.

Those bus routes grew from the needs of the people living in those estates, including older people and people with disabilities, in seeking access to shopping centres and so on. That is why I have called for this proposal to be scrapped. As the word "disability" is not mentioned once in the 58-page document on BusConnects, it was not disability proofed. Jarrett Walker has admitted that he is not qualified to talk about these bus routes and that he fell into the consultancy game, which is an important point. What should have happened is that bus drivers and many more passengers should have been consulted. Those involved should have gone into communities to talk to people about what they needed. The bus drivers know exactly what is going on and the way routes work.

More resources are needed for orbital routes. Those resources should be provided straightaway to provide more bus services on orbital routes. This option could be tested for a year and we could then come back to the drawing board.

The National Transport Authority has been set up, but it is a law unto itself. Like the HSE, it is not accountable. It has a huge amount of money to be put into bus services and done some good work in the provision of real-time information. However, the fact is it is operating by stating, "We are putting this to you and you either accept it or you do not. We will listen to you, but we do not know how much we are going to take from it." Jarrett Walker has said that if 15% of the plan was changed, it would have to be scrapped. I think of all of the areas in which I am involved and all jof the meetings I have attended, from Bluebell to Inchicore. Services on the 68, 69 and 13 bus routes are to be diverted down the Crumlin Road, which means that the 68 and 69 bus routes will be removed for local people who will be able to use the 63 bus service every hour. Most older people are able to get around, but if they have an issue with a knee, a hip, their heart, a lung or their vision or a disability, that is when they will have problems.

The plan should be scrapped and there should be proper and real consultation with communities. The plan could be used as a basis for discussing what we might do, given that there are some ideas in it. It has to be done in that way. This is a big issue and people in communities will rise up and come out onto the streets. I encourage them to come out to have the plan scrapped.

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