Irish Examiner view: Reliable bus service is key to sustainable travel progress

More than 2,700 complaints were made about Cork City’s bus service in 12 months. Picture: Larry Cummins

The high level of complaints about public transport in Cork City is bad news for a number of reasons. The most immediate concern is for the bus users who missed appointments, were late for work or school, or were otherwise inconvenienced by the late or non-arrival of buses. As our story at the weekend reported, more than 2,700 complaints were made about the city’s bus service in 12 months. The most complained-about route, which serves University College Cork, Munster Technological University, and Cork University Hospital, was the subject of some 317 complaints alone.

At a broader level, the dissatisfaction with the service does not bode well for government efforts to wrest us from behind the wheels of our car and onto public transport.