Bus cutbacks the ‘soft option’

DUBLIN Bus and Bus Éireann have been accused of taking the “soft option” in cutting staff numbers and axing services in response to falling passenger numbers.

The chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport Frank Fahey yesterday expressed disappointment at the reaction of both companies to the economic crisis.

Mr Fahey criticised both Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann for their failure to encourage more commuters to abandon their cars in favour of public transport, especially at a time when bus travel represented good value.

He warned that the public would demand that private bus firms be allowed to operate some routes unless management and trade unions at both companies “get their act together”.

Dublin Bus recently announced that 290 staff are to lose their jobs, while 120 buses will also be removed from service.

Bus Éireann stated that it is also seeking 320 redundancies and removing 150 vehicles from its fleet.

The state companies have also been criticised by Transport Minister Noel Dempsey, who claimed a recent consultant’s report had shown alternatives to the job cuts and service cutbacks being planned.

However, both Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus insisted yesterday that they had no alternative but to reduce the frequency of many bus services, while also axing routes for which there was little public demand. Details of which routes are to go are expected to be announced later this month after the companies have notified staff of the proposed changes.

Meanwhile, the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) told the committee that the planned cutbacks ran contrary to the committee’s own recent report for public transport in Dublin.

NBRU official Michael Faherty said it was “a socially retrograde step” that would affect the elderly, young people and the unemployed.

SIPTU representative Andrew McCarthy said bus drivers had noticed increased passenger numbers in recent weeks, which they believed was owing to many families being forced to get rid of a second car.