Latest news with #BusConnects
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
People on public transport deserve to feel safe & that's Govt priority with bold new plans, says Darragh O'Brien
IRELAND has been beset by anti-social behaviour on public transport for a number of years. The 2 A dedicated Transport Security Force is being established Credit: Getty Images - Getty 2 Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien Credit: � 2024 PA Media, All Rights Reserved The rise in incidents ranging from verbal abuse and intimidation to physical assaults has endangered passengers and staff, and also damaged trust in the In the run up to the general election, This force will operate under the National Transport Authority. Writing in the Irish Sun on Sunday today, Minister for Transport READ MORE IN OPINION MY priority for the next five years of this government is to drive forward a transformative programme of investment in sustainable and modern transport infrastructure to boost I want to continue to invest in reliable, accessible, and efficient transport links between our towns, cities, and rural areas. This includes expanding our bus and rail fleets, building new rail stations, and accelerating the electrification of public transport. We are progressing several major projects nationwide that will significantly improve Ireland's transport system. BusConnects is a transformative programme of investment in the bus system, providing better bus services across our cities. Most read in The Irish Sun In These aim to provide over 200km of enhanced bus and WORK PROGRESSING I am pleased to say that An Bord Pleanála has approved all 12 Core Bus Corridor applications in Dublin. My department aims to have the first of the Core Bus Corridors in construction this year. We have also received planning approval for DART+ West and full approval for DART+ South West and the new DART+ Fleet, currently undergoing testing, which will start rolling out on the Northern line from Dublin to/from In April 2025, I was pleased to open a new 'through' platform at Kent Station in Works are also continuing on the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme Phase 1 works and I look forward to these being complete in 2026. Luas Cork, the new light rail project for the city is also progressing. For public transport to function effectively and accommodate a growing number of A reliable and secure system not only protects passengers and staff but also builds public confidence, encouraging greater use of sustainable transport. One of my key priorities is addressing safety on public transport. While significant progress has been made in recent years through increased investment in safety measures, antisocial behaviour — or even the perception of it — remains a serious challenge. SAFE AND SECURE NETWORK Those who rely on or work within our public transport system must feel secure. That is why I have initiated work to establish a dedicated Transport Security Force, which was a key commitment in the Programme for Just this week, I met with the While the past few years have seen significant progress on investment in safety measures, antisocial behaviour remains a serious issue, and it is those who regularly use and work within our public transport network who are most directly impacted by any safety or security incidents. Work in the Department for Transport is advancing around identifying the necessary legislative proposals to progress the Transport Security Force commitment, in conjunction with the NTA. The decisions over the appropriate model for the Transport Security Force are in the preliminary stages of the deliberative process. The introduction of such a force will require the development of legislation too which can have a significant lead time, but I will keep the public updated as we progress through the various stages. Underpinning this commitment to delivering a safe and secure public transport network, the ongoing interim work on public transport safety will continue, as will the support and funding for operator measures, such as the recent extension of the Dublin Bus Security Pilot Scheme. EMERGENCY ALARMS All public transport operators are continuing to expend significant resources introducing measures to counter the impact of antisocial behaviour. For example, all services are now fully fitted with CCTV cameras, various text alert systems and control centres have been introduced. Across the operating companies, security screens and safety cabins are provided where possible for driver safety. There are emergency alarms onboard all vehicles which can be activated by drivers to contact their central control centres. As Minister for Transport I am continuing to work closely with industry stakeholders to identify measures to improve passenger safety. We have established a public transport safety working group, with representatives from the public transport operators, the commercial bus sector, the NTA, unions, I will continue to engage with operators and unions and will continue to work with all stakeholders to provide safe, sustainable public transport.
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
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
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Price of upcoming College Green Plaza soars from estimated €10m to €80m as councillors urge restraint
In an update provided to a Dublin City Council (DCC) Mobility and Public Realm Strategic Policy Committee, project head Marie Galvin said the anticipated cost had now risen to €80m, which includes a 40pc contingency. The project has doubled in scope from its initial design, revealed nine years ago, and inflation and labour costs have also significantly contributed to the increase since then. Pedestrianisation is now proposed to extend from Trinity College all the way down Dame Street as far as the junction with George's Street. Local Sinn Féin councillor Kourtney Kenny said that Government should be stepping in to provide funding for the project, as it was one that would benefit the whole country. "Everyone in Ireland at some stage is going to come to Dublin, so there needs to be more pressure on Government to be paying some of those costs,' she said. Ms Kourtney said even though she supports public realm improvements, allowing costs to soar in such a dramatic fashion was 'heinous'. 'We need to put more attention on how we can get the best bang for our buck and not just be burning money and allowing the costs to balloon like this,' she added. Independent councillor Mannix Flynn said the plaza was a waste of public money, and the funds should be spent instead on more pressing issues. "We don't have a pedestrian or a plaza crisis. We have a homeless crisis, we have a housing crisis, we have a medical crisis, we have a crisis of anti-social behaviour in these very areas,' he said. "And they think by doing this, they're going to solve problems. It's nonsense.' ADVERTISEMENT Mr Flynn said he could foresee costs continuing to 'escalate' with the project. "The €80m figure is just bullshit, this is an architectural conservation area (ACA). Anybody who even looks at this will want treble the money because it's an ACA,' he said. "They don't know what they're going to find when they dig into the ground. You've got the Luas, you've got all those different things there, and this will absolutely escalate in costs.' Green Party councillor Feljin Jose said costs had risen so much because the project had taken so long to proceed, but cautioned that the €80m figure was an estimate at this stage, not a costed figure. 'We've seen three different visions of this over the last ten years, and the longer we leave this, the higher the total cost of inflation, labour costs, and the scope of the project has increased so much as well.' 'We have nobody to blame but ourselves [for the increased cost]. You know, we've been talking about this project for so long.' He said the project had been further delayed by the National Transport Authority's slow rollout of BusConnects, but that the council should still proceed with the plaza. 'The city needs this, we desperately need this, and we should absolutely go ahead with it. And if we wait it's not going to get any cheaper.' Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Irish Times
24-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on College Green redevelopment: the price is rising
It is hard to get past the magnitude of the new €80 million budget for the College Green Plaza. As with almost every other public infrastructure project undertaken in the State, if it had gone ahead when originally planned, it would have cost a fraction of the price. When Dublin City Council submitted an application for the traffic-free civic space to An Bord Pleanála in 2017 it expected it to cost €10 million. The board in 2018 rejected the council's plans, citing the potential 'significantly negative impacts' on bus services. The National Transport Authority (NTA) in September 2020 published its final plans for a redesigned bus network for the city. Under BusConnects, services would be routed away from College Green and east Dame Street. Two months later the council published new plans to double the size of the traffic free plaza. Eliminating the conflict with bus services meant traffic could be banned from the area west of the Luas lines in front of Trinity College, as far as the junction with Dame Street and South Great George's Street. READ MORE It took another two years for the council to announce that it was required under procurement rules to seek a new design team for the project due to increases in the scope of the scheme. The council now says it hopes to have preliminary designs, based on the 2020 enlarged plaza area, prepared by the end of this summer. The council and the NTA expect the bus services will finally have been rerouted from the area by the end of next year. Work, the council hopes, will start on site by the end of the following year, and will be completed by the end of the decade, all within a much pricier new budget of €80 million. That budget does include a surprisingly large 40 per cent contingency, but even if the council didn't eat into that contingency sum at all, the cost of the scheme would still be close to touching €50 million. Given the transformative effect this project could have, finally creating a civic space in the heart of Dublin city, perhaps that budget is justifiable, and in building such a large contingency into the budget, maybe the council is just being responsible and realistic. It is, after all, a larger area than planned eight years ago. All the same, the most significant benefits of the project would be realised anyway, even if the council was to spend little additional cash. Cars have already been banned from College Green, with buses to go by the end of next year. The area will, without the need for any other intervention, by default become the domain of pedestrians and cyclists. Some new paving and greenery, seating and toilets, would certainly improve it, but the heavy lifting of relocating the space from vehicles to people will have been achieved with minimal outlay. The detailed plans need to make a strong case if there is to be a further major expenditure.
Irish Examiner
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
New Lord Mayor of Cork vows to make city centre safer with 'decisive action'
The new Lord Mayor of Cork has vowed to work to make the city centre safer and to make historic City Hall more accessible to citizens. Fianna Fáil councillor Fergal Dennehy, who represents the city's south west local electoral area, made the pledge after his election at the annual general meeting of Cork City Council on Friday night, which was attended by his party leader and Taoiseach, Micheál Martin. 'Cork's heart must be a place where everyone feels welcome and secure,' Togher-based Mr Dennehy said. 'By working closely with An Garda Síochána, businesses, and community groups, we will maintain confidence and vibrancy to our city centre. 'I welcome the recent appointment of a council director with specific responsibility for the city centre and also the collaboration with the Cork Business Association to provide city centre wardens. 'I will work closely with all of the stakeholders to achieve our goals here to make our city even safer.' Mr Dennehy, a father of two, was first elected to council in 2004 but lost his seat in 2009. He won it back in 2014 and has retained it since. He was nominated for the position, and faced a vote against Solidarity Cllr Brian McCarthy and Sinn Féin Cllr Michelle Gould. He secured 23 votes, against five for Ms Gould and two for Mr McCarthy, and took the chain of office some 42 years after his father, former Fianna Fáil TD, John Dennehy, was elected lord mayor, leading the city through the Cork 800 celebrations. 'Your leadership and collaboration with businesses and communities laid the foundation for a year of pride and achievement that still resonates in Cork,' Mr Dennehy said. Thank you for your continued service and dedication to our city and of course thank you for everything that you have done for me as my father in both my political and personal life. They are the third father and son duo to hold the mayoral office in recent years — following on from John and Brian Bermingham, and Danny and Damian Wallace. There were cross-party tributes to outgoing Lord Mayor Dan Boyle, and deputy Lord Mayor, Honore Kamegni, for their work over the last 12 months. In his speech, Mr Dennehy said the city stands at a crossroads, facing challenges in housing and transport that demand 'bold vision and decisive action'. 'With a huge projected population growth in the coming years, we must ensure every citizen has access to quality social and affordable housing,' he said. He said transport projects such as the Luas light rail and BusConnects must serve all residents equitably and protect our environment for generations to come, and he cited the potential of Cork docklands, but said growth must be inclusive, lifting all citizens, and all communities. 'For me, Cork has always been about its people and communities,' he said. 'Everything we do as a city council must be guided by their needs and aspirations. 'I will continue to work closely with community groups, sporting organizations, our elected representatives and the voluntary sector to strengthen the bonds that have already made this city so special.'
