Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of bus services in Limerick which have been an ongoing problem for quite a while. The main issue is with the very busy 304 and 304A bus routes which start in Raheen-Dooradoyle on one side of the city and extend through it as far as the University of Limerick. For the past six months or more buses have been running between ten and 25 minutes late each morning. I have spoken to people who use services on the routes and two weeks ago took the option to travel on a bus with one of them. It was quite an experience. The bus arrived 27 minutes late. It was a single-decker, although normally it is a double-decker, and not suitable, given the number of passengers who use it. At one of the stops in the city there were around 70 people waiting to get on but only half of them were able to do so. One woman said she would be 20 minutes late for work. The bus does not travel as far out as Mungret which is on the outskirts of the city and expanding. When we eventually reached the University of Limerick, the final stop on the route, the journey had taken one hour. A number of the passengers were late for college or work. There are several high technology companies in the area and many people who live on one side of the city and work on the other are constantly late for work. I spoke to two students at the bus stop who were afraid that they would not be allowed on the bus. When people complain, they are given a form to fill in, but I do not know where the forms go as no solutions seem to emerge. People have complained and demanded that something be done but to no avail. I am calling on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to roll something out similar to the BusConnects scheme in Dublin. Limerick is the third largest city in the country but bus services cannot arrive on time. A private bus service which I will not name can bring people from Ennis and Bunratty to the University of Limerick faster than the bus service can bring people from Raheen and Dooradoyle to the university. That is not acceptable. It is frustrating for the commuters who use the service and get no replies to their complaints. I call on the council, Bus Éireann and the National Transport Authority to work together to resolve the issue. Smaller buses and better routes have been mentioned, but that will not happen for a couple of years. I am concerned with what is happening now. People's examinations are coming up.

In addition to the problems I have outlined, the real time app does not always give the correct arrival times of bus services. At the bus stop where I got on, on Barrington Street, there was not even a sign. Tourists do not know it is where the bus stops because there is only a mark on the road to indicate it.I would love the Minister to intervene to resolve this ongoing issue. A couple of hundred people use the service daily. The other morning about 30 people were left behind at one of the stops. Two buses were working the route but one stopped, presumably to allow the driver to take his or her break as he or she is entitled to do. Unfortunately, however, the second bus could not facilitate the number of people waiting at the bus stop. I have given an overview of some of the issues.