Tom Brabazon (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)

Over the recent bank holiday weekend, DART services were suspended due to maintenance work. While I accept this maintenance work has to be done, does it really have to be done over a bank holiday weekend, particularly when the Dublin city marathon, with more than 20,000 participants, was taking place? Many of my constituents found themselves unable to use public transport because the DART was not running and buses were full as a result of increased demand. More broadly, there is an issue with the punctuality of buses and no-show buses. For example, the No. 15 bus, which runs through my constituency, is regularly a no-show or late. A number of constituents have contacted me to advise that they were at their stop waiting for the bus and it arrived significantly late or did not show up. The programme for Government commits to improving public transport services and encouraging people to get out of cars and onto public transport. These events do not encourage that. Will the Department of Transport engage with public transport operators to ensure our public transport is reliable and functional all year round?

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