Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)

The roll-out started in January, and there were major problems when it started. It has got better. Unfortunately, there are still problems on many routes, including the L2, L1, L3 and L15. The reality is that people who go to get a bus need to know that it will show up. They need more than to think that it might show up or that it will show up most of the time. A bus needs to show up every single time or else people will not use buses and will not be able to trust the service. Unfortunately, that is what is happening in Wicklow, with buses not showing up, buses being late and elderly people having to wait for two hours for an hourly bus that just did not appear. I have had two instances this month of the last bus of the night being cancelled. It is completely unacceptable for that to happen. I raised the matter with the NTA, which stated that this is not to be allowed at all. We have had multiple instances of it, so there are still major problems.

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