Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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5. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he agrees with bus services being withdrawn from communities as part of the BusConnects strategy (details supplied). [9464/23]

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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My question asks whether the Minister agrees with the withdrawal of services from communities as part of the BusConnects strategy. In particular, I raise the issues around the 68, 69 and 13 bus routes, which run through Bluebell, Inchicore, Kilmainham, the South Circular Road and Thomas Street. Those services are going to be withdrawn at the end of the second half of this year and replaced with one bus every hour in those communities. Does the Minister agree with that?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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BusConnects programmes will be substantially delivered in all five of Ireland’s cities by the end of the decade. BusConnects Dublin is the most advanced of the five programmes. The programme preliminary business case and the detailed project brief for next generation ticketing were approved by Government in March 2022. This approval gave decision gate 1 approval to the programme in principle under the public spending code, decision gate 1 approval to the core bus corridors project to facilitate the submission of planning applications by the National Transport Authority, NTA, and decision gate 2 approval to next generation ticketing, facilitating the commencement of competitive dialogue. The process is starting.

To date, the NTA has submitted planning applications to An Bord Pleanála in respect of six of the core bus corridor schemes and expects to submit applications for all remaining schemes by the end of the second quarter of 2023.

In terms of the bus routes, including for the Bluebell and Inchicore areas, the BusConnects network redesign for the entire Dublin network is being rolled out over 11 phases. Roll-out of these services began in 2021 and currently the NTA expects it to be completed by early 2025. The network redesign was the subject of three public consultation processes between 2017 and 2019. The final version of the network redesign was published in September 2020, with a view to providing a coherent bus service for the Dublin region.

With regard to the specific area of Bluebell, it is currently served by the Luas red line, by the high-frequency 13 bus route and by hourly bus services 68 and 69. As the Deputy said, bus route 13 will be replaced by the D-spine service to and from Grangecastle and Clondalkin, which will go close to but not through Bluebell. Bluebell will retain excellent accessibility on the Luas red line. Low-frequency buses, the 68 and 69 via Bluebell, will be replaced with hourly bus 58 between Dublin Port, the city centre and Rathcoole. Inchicore is served by G-spine routes G1 and G2, providing a combined frequency of eight buses per hour in each direction.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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I thank the Minister. I do not know if he knows the area in question. Bluebell, the Kylemore Road, Inchicore village, Grattan Crescent and Bulfin Estate are all served by the 68, 69 and 13 bus routes. The 13 bus brings people to Thomas Street. The 69 bus brings people down by the Gaelscoil in Islandbridge. The 68 bus brings people to Clanbrassil Street, Camden Street and the eye and ear hospital. It provides great connectivity. Those services are going to be replaced.

On consultation, our community engaged with the NTA. More than 200 submissions were made requesting that those services would be retained, or if not, a proposal was made for an alternative route which the NTA did not take on board. It fired ahead with its intention to withdraw these services. I wrote to the NTA and sought a meeting with Deputies, other public representatives and residents. The NTA refused. Its representatives said they might meet us before the implementation of these changes. That is disconnecting, as opposed to connecting, people.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I know the area and I recall the public consultation on the various different routes. There was a lot of controversy and many different views.

The new route arrangements we have introduced, including the H-spine and the C-spine, are working. We have seen a big increase in the number of people using the bus. It has worked. There have been difficulties in other areas. As the Deputy knows, there have been many concerns about the G-spine. That is more a case that the buses get stuck in traffic rather than the route redesign being the core of the problem. If there is a problem when routes are introduced, particularly if the problem is the result of traffic or other measures, we will have to review the situation and ensure we get what we want, which is an increase in the volume of passengers.

In certain areas, the changes may be an inconvenience on one street or another. We cannot ensure that every new route will be optimal for everyone. However, what is working so far is that the redesign is leading to a real increase in passenger numbers on buses. We should not stop that.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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The Minister mentioned the Luas connection. I do not use the Luas in the morning despite the fact I live in Inchicore. I do not use it at peak times because the carriages are too packed and it is impossible to get into them. People are squashed into them. I rely on the connectivity provided by the bus service. Those three buses services are going to be withdrawn and replaced with one bus per hour. If that bus does not turn up, passengers could be left waiting for two hours. If there is a problem on the Luas line, the tram always stops at the Blackhorse stop. People pour out of the Luas and onto the buses. That happened on Monday and when it happens, the people on the Luas have to walk down to the village to catch the G1 or the G2. We are talking about hundreds of people. The old route is not in place yet to provide the so-called connectivity that the NTA is talking about.

I also raised the fact that the NTA is not approachable. Its representatives are not prepared to meet public representatives on this issue. The withdrawal of those bus services will leave a gaping hole in the connectivity of our community. Will the Minister tell the NTA that it must meet representatives of the public and the community in the area?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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In my experience, the NTA has always been good at meeting public representatives. Can I say-----

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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The NTA refused to meet me and other public representatives.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I will ask the NTA to meet public representatives because it is important that Members of the Dáil, in particular, have access and are able to represent their communities. I will mention one other factor. We are already seeing a big increase in bus use as a result of the network redesign. A twin part of the approach is that we will put in 16 corridors, which will make that network design work. It is about the reallocation of road space to ensure the buses on the new bus routes get through traffic quickly. We need to ensure that bus routes get premium service, priority and development.

We have a difficulty because our planning system is currently very slow. It has gone through a lot of difficulties. Eight of the corridors are already in planning and all 16 will be by the end of this year. The most important thing we need to do as public representatives is to maintain public support for priority for bus passengers and cyclists in our city so that, having that priority, the new routes will really work. If the planning system continues to be delayed, I will seek to accelerate some of those measures so that bus passengers can get into and out of town more quickly.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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A lot of people in communities are relying on a service that comes every hour.