Go-Ahead criticised for ghost bus services in north Wicklow
Earlier this year as part of the latest phase of the Bus Connects network redesign, several new routes were introduced that serve residents in Newtownmountkennedy, Delgany, Bray, Greystones and Enniskerry.
Speaking in the Dail, Deputy Whitmore said there are still problems on many routes including the L2, L1, L3 and L15.
'A bus needs to show up every single time or else people will not use buses and will not be able to trust the service. Unfortunately, that is what is happening in Wicklow, with buses not showing up, buses being late and elderly people having to wait for two hours for an hourly bus that just did not appear.'
Following a competitive tender process, the National Transport Authority awarded Go-Ahead a contract to bus services in parts of Wicklow in October 2018 which ran for five years up to 2023, with the company choosing to extend it by two years up to 2025.
With the contract now due to expire at the end of the year, Deputy Whitmore asked the Transport Minister Darragh O' Brien whether it should be renewed.
Minister O'Brien said the company have made efforts to combat the rise in so called ghost busses across their network.
'Since January, eight new engineering staff have joined the company, and 129 drivers have started in the driving school. In addition, Go-Ahead Ireland has completed overseas recruitment, with ten engineers expected to start in September.'
According to Minister O'Brien there are two main reasons for buses not showing up.
'One, late notification by operators of cancelled and curtailed services, with that resulting in incorrect information being given to customers, and two, technical issues with the older bus automatic vehicle location equipment.'
'That equipment is being replaced with live data on each bus. This will improve the service greatly from 2026.' he added.
Deputy Whitmore acknowledged that improvements have been made, but believes the routes in Wicklow have been the worst hit since they were introduced in January.
'If we could see exactly how problematic this is, the difficulties it is causing and on what routes it is causing them, in a more real-time fashion, that would be very useful.' she added.
Figures from the National Transport Authority show operators were fined just short of €1.5 million in 2024 for not meeting their service level agreements.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
12 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Killarney to get new shuttle buses to ease traffic gridlock
Killarney is to get a new shuttle bus service in a bid to ease chronic gridlock in the popular tourist town. The shuttle service — three buses operating seven days a week — will become operational 'imminently", according to Kerry County Council director of roads services Frank Hartnett. The buses will start at 6am and continue to pick up and drop off passengers until 11pm, running to the most popular locations in the area. The service is part of a new transport programme for Killarney and is being funded by the National Transport Authority. A management structure, overseen by the Local Link Service, is already in place. 'They are finalising routes and travel plans. It is imminent,' Mr Hartnett said. A meeting of Kerry County Council's Killarney Municipal District heard that traffic in the town is worsening, particularly during peak commuter hours. Local councillor Marie Moloney appealed for the shuttle service to be made available to school students while her fellow councillor Brendan Cronin bemoaned the introduction of cycle lanes, which he said left little space for dedicated bus lanes. Mr Cronin said: Every bit of space we have is constantly going to cycle lanes. The opportunity is gone for dedicated bus lanes. Locations for park-and-ride services are being identified so people can leave cars on the outskirts of the town to ease congestion on the main arteries into Killarney. The shuttle bus routes will be 'flexible' and involve corner-to-corner drop offs, the council has said. 'Killarney's biggest challenge' The meeting heard that people are deliberately avoiding Killarney because of the chronic traffic congestion which is negatively impacting business. The local chamber of commerce said traffic chaos is now the biggest single issue for the town. The N22 Farranfore to Killarney Road Project is overdue by more than 20 years. Many people believe the project is the ultimate solution to relieve congestion. The 27km road project was unveiled in 2003 but shelved after the economic downturn because of lack of funding. Now estimated to cost in excess of €200m, the project is again going through planning and design procedures. Proposed inner relief roads for the town would bring up to 5,000 cars out of the centre of Killarney, the council meeting heard. :: This article was funded by the Local Democracy Scheme. Read More Kerry council to roll out pilot scheme to detect deer on roads in bid to prevent accidents
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Irish Independent
EV charging units proposed for Galway Retail Park
ESB Innovations have submitted plans that include three shared EV charging units and six EV charging bays including the improvement and realignment of parking areas surrounding the proposed location. Access to the charging stations will be within the parking area off Headford Road. ESB Innovations are responsible for over 1,600 charging points throughout the nation committed to 'achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040'. The proposal says that the development will 'contribute to the nation objective to transition to a competitive, low carbon economy by 2050' and will have a 'positive impact' on the enterprise environment in the area. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Irish Independent
One in three Wicklow farmers still waiting on ACRES payments
ACRES is Ireland's agri-environment climate scheme under Ireland's CAP Strategic Plan. This €1.5 billion flagship agri-environment scheme is a farmer-friendly scheme to help address biodiversity decline while delivering an income support for farm families in Ireland. Deputy Whitmore, the Social Democrats spokesperson on agriculture, said: 'According to the latest figures, 62 farmers in Wicklow have yet to receive their advance payment, and 191 are still waiting on any payments. That's nearly one in three participants left in limbo. 'These payments are vital for farmers who are actively working to improve biodiversity and environmental outcomes on their land. Many have already invested time and money into these measures, and the department's failure to deliver payments on time is completely unacceptable. 'Farmers need certainty. If the government wants to encourage participation in schemes like ACRES, it must ensure that payments are made promptly and fairly. Delays like this undermine trust and place unnecessary financial pressure on farming families. I am calling on the Minister for Agriculture to urgently address the backlog and ensure that all outstanding payments are processed without further delay.' At a meeting of the Select Committee on Agriculture and Food held last week, Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon acknowledged the significant payment delays experienced with ACRES. More than €500 million has been paid out to Irish farmers since 2023 through ACRES, but a 'dark cloud hangs over it because not every farmer was paid', the minister said, though he expected 'considerable progress' to take place over coming weeks to drive the number of outstanding payments down further.
