Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I represent the constituency of Dublin North-West which has the distinction of being the only constituency in the Dublin area which is entirely dependent on bus services. We have no other transport options. I am a very big fan of Dublin Bus which provides, in the main, excellent services in the constituency. There is very good frequency and we have service choices on the main routes. Many bus routes also extend right into housing estates and serve a predominantly older profile of constituent very well. Our big problem in recent times has been a lack of capacity, with more people at work and a larger population in the area. As such, there is a need for better capacity. While we have good orbital services, there is a need for more of them also.

Many of the problems associated with Dublin Bus are the result of underinvestment by the Government. We all travel abroad and marvel at the public transport systems in other European capitals, but the reality is that, in the main, those services are highly subsidised. There is a recognition in these countries that if one wants capital cities to work, one has to subsidise public transport and ensure one gets commuter car traffic out of cities. Unfortunately, the Government does not recognise the need to do this and Dublin Bus remains well starved of funding relative to services in other European capitals.

On the surface, the BusConnects proposals appear positive. They refer to greater frequency, greater clarity, priority for bus services and safer cycling infrastructure in conjunction with the proposed new bus infrastructure. The difficulty is that the proposed infrastructure changes are separate from the network changes. The consultations on both elements have been separated completely, with the result that there has been no consultation as yet on infrastructure and the discussion has been focused on network changes. The problem with the network changes is that it has been extraordinarily difficult for people to find out what is being proposed. The quality of the maps and the consultation has been extremely poor. Most of us spent the summer trying to figure out exactly what BusConnects proposed.

When one looks at the detail and how it affects my constituency, one notes that several local services which currently extebd into housing estates are proposed to be removed entirely. That will result in a lot of people having to walk much further to access bus services. I asked about this at the launch of BusConnects, but I did not receive a satisfactory answer. There was very little, if any, consideration given to the needs of older people and people with disabilities. There is and was no emphasis on their needs whatsoever in the report or at the launch. That is borne out by the fact that so many of the local services which currently extend into housing estates are proposed to be removed completely.

It will be said that while one may lose out in some regards, there are benefits in other ways. One then looks at those other ways and the spines. The theory on the spines sounds fine. We have very good bus services running along all of the main thoroughfares in Dublin North-West. The implication of BusConnects for the eastern side of the constituency, however, is the withdrawal of what is currently a great service which takes people to Dorset Street, Parnell Street, O'Connell Street and the main shopping area for people on the northside and a number of entertainment locations. This main road service which takes people right to the centre of town is being withdrawn entirely. That will have huge implications. There are winners and losers, but when one looks at the detail, there are more losers than winners. For that reason, we need to go back to the drawing board.

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