FG adopts Britain’s failed bus policy

THE Fine Gael policy document on opening the Dublin bus market to new operators (privatisation by the back door) is the same policy that has failed in Britain.

Don’t these people ever learn? Contary to what they say, passenger numbers across Britain have declined substantially since franchising (privatisation) of the bus service there. The reason is that the bus service has disimproved markedly and in many cases has come close to collapse because a private operator, naturally, will only operate those routes and times that are profitable.

So all over Britain you have the scenario of five or six different bus operators all trying to rush into the same bus stop at peak times. This has resulted in accidents. Then, during off-peak hours and at weekends, there are very few or no buses at all.