Seanad debates
Thursday, 12 December 2019
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Bus Services
10:30 am
Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for taking this matter on behalf of the Minister. The Minister must to make a statement on the need for funding for the installation of wheelchair-accessible bus stops in west Cork. West Cork is a huge geographical area. The frightening statistic is that there are only two wheelchair-accessible bus stops in the entire west Cork region, one in Kinsale, which was opened last year, and one in Skibbereen. Both of these bus stops were put in place on the back of local initiatives. One was relocated by a local engineer in Kinsale into the car park. He built it appropriately so that it became wheelchair accessible. The other, in Skibbereen, was made by transition year students coming together to raise funds to alter the bus stop because one of their classmates needed access to a bus and could not get it. That is the history of the two wheelchair accessible bus stops in the entire west Cork region.
There is substantial awareness of the need for wheelchair-accessible bus stops. Health and safety measures mean that we cannot have access to these buses until proper stops are put in place. If one looks at the geography of the area, from Kinsale to Allihies, it is a frightening distance, with over 82,000 people living there. There are only two bus stops in the region and it is shameful. I have been calling for a funding stream to be made available and working with the west Cork Wheelchair Association to ensure that we get a line of funding. We noticed this year that the National Transport Authority granted funding to east Cork for the upgrade of 15 bus stops in the east Cork region. This morning, we are looking for that funding stream to continue. The west Cork region will hopefully be considered next year. A programme of works could be put in place. In our assessment, between 18 and 20 bus stops are required to ensure that the west Cork region is sufficiently served. We have people who cannot go to work or school, or even to doctors' appointments because of the lack of wheelchair accessible bus stops.
Wheelchair-accessible bus stops give people the opportunity to use public transport, which reduces carbon. Pressure is put on families, communities and support groups, which are really picking up the slack because of the lack of basic core infrastructure. The other issue is cost. Some people are paying €160 for a round trip to go to Cork University Hospital from west Cork for doctors' appointments because there is no access to bus stops. Considering all those issues, a holistic approach is required. Local organisations have done great work.I mentioned the west Cork wheelchair association. Physical infrastructure, such as bus stops, and resources need to be put in place. Patrons want to be active and independent - "independent" is a very important word - and they need to be able to be independent. We need to ensure a funding stream is put in place for next year, as well as ensuring that the west Cork geographic area is considered as a priority and receives the investment required for bus stops.
Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Lombard for raising this issue. I know his interest in the area of disabilities and he regularly raises the matter, and quite rightly so. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, who has responsibility for policy and overall funding for public transport. Under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008, the National Transport Authority, NTA, has strategy responsibility for promoting the development of an integrated and accessible public transport network. Approximately 86% of the Bus Éireann regional intercity coach fleet is wheelchair accessible, and this figure will increase as the coach fleet is replaced.
I am advised that the operation of a wheelchair accessible bus service requires the provision of wheelchair accessible buses and wheelchair accessible bus stops. The wheelchair accessible coaches in the Bus Éireann regional intercity fleet are fitted with either an external hydraulic lift or a ramp. While all bus stops in regional cities are wheelchair accessible, that is not the case in regional and rural areas.
In urban areas, the use of low-floor buses with wheelchair ramps means that almost all bus stops are accessible for wheelchair users without the need for modifications to footpaths. These low-floor buses are not generally suitable for use in non-urban areas. At the current time, most services in non-urban areas are delivered by high-floor coaches, which use wheelchair lifts rather than ramps. I am advised that a large flat area of adjacent footpath is required to operate the wheelchair lift, typically 3 m wide and 3.5 m in depth. However, most bus stops in rural areas do not, as Senator Lombard knows, meet those requirements.
To address these infrastructural legacy issues, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport funds a programme of accessibility improvement grants, managed by the NTA, to upgrade existing and older infrastructure and facilities, including the installation of accessible bus stops in rural and regional areas of Ireland. The Minister, Deputy Ross, has secured €28 million in funding for the retrofit programme for the period 2018 to 2021.
I am advised that in 2018, the NTA engaged engineering designers to undertake accessibility audits of towns with a population of more than 5,000 that have bus stops serviced by high-floor coaches. It identified 43 towns that required accessibility enhancement to accommodate two stops, that is, one in each direction, for coaches, giving a total of 86 new accessible bus stops. I understand that, subject to local authority agreement and input, the NTA plans to have accessible stops in all 43 towns on public service obligation routes by the end of 2021.
Senator Lombard raised the issue of accessible bus stops in Cork. The NTA has advised that it is engaging with Cork County Council on the provision of wheelchair lift accessible stops. I am advised that Cork County Council awarded the contract to complete works at Carrigtwohill, Midleton, Castlemartyr and Youghal. Works have commenced in Youghal and all works are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2020. The NTA hopes to expand this programme to additional locations during 2020 in co-operation with Cork County Council. Furthermore, it is planned to supply 38 low-entry coach-style vehicles to Bus Éireann in the first quarter of 2020. The allocation of those buses to routes in County Cork is an operational matter for Bus Éireann.
The NTA also has national responsibility for integrated local and rural transport, including the management of Local Link services, which are managed by 15 Local Link offices, including Local Link in Cork, on behalf of the NTA. One of the key objectives of Local Link is the integration of its services with other public transport services, including Bus Éireann services. Approximately 80% of the fleet in use on Local Link services is already wheelchair accessible, and the target is to have at least 95% fully accessible trips by the end of next year. Such services generally operate without the need for accessible bus stops.
Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State. He mentioned the programme being rolled out in Carrigtwohill, Midleton, Castlemartyr and Youghal. It should be extended to other regions, such as west Cork, and it is to be hoped there will be a budget for that. I am trying to push for the programme in east Cork, which is delivering 15 bus stops, to have funding for 2020 so that it can be expanded to west Cork and deliver for the six major towns in the area.
Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I agree with Senator Lombard that the programme is very positive. It commenced, in conjunction with Cork County Council, in east Cork and the Senator is 100% correct that it is only appropriate that it is extended. Bus Éireann, the NTA and Cork County Council will probably do that in the very near future. It all depends on funding, but it is a positive start. As I said in my reply, the NTA hopes to expand the programme to additional locations in 2020, in co-operation with Cork County Council.
Given that Senator Lombard is in such close contact with councillors in Cork, perhaps he could ask them to table a motion at local level to supplement what he is doing at national level. He is doing very good work to ensure he highlights this issue in the Seanad. It would be useful.
I will bring back his genuine concerns to the Minister, Deputy Ross, and the NTA to ensure they can complete the programme and install wheelchair accessible bus stops in west Cork locations. It is a good area for industry and tourism and many people in the area use public transport. I support him in this. He should continue to work with his colleagues at local level to ensure there is a co-ordinated approach and that they work in collaboration to ensure bus stops are installed in west Cork in the next round of the programme.