Dublin Bus needs reform, not easy option of cutbacks

OPINION: Sweeping changes to Dublin Bus’s routes and work practices are needed in order to attract more passengers and meet …

OPINION:Sweeping changes to Dublin Bus's routes and work practices are needed in order to attract more passengers and meet the needs of the capital, writes CIARÁN CUFFE.

DUBLIN BUS requires radical reform to meet the needs of bus users. The company made a profit of €4.7 million in 2007, but lost €10 million last year and will lose €31 million this year unless action is taken. Last week management chose the easier option of service cutbacks instead of the reforms required to modernise the company. Buses play a valuable transport role and help cut carbon emissions but until they are a more attractive option Dublin Bus will struggle. The brand must be built on reliability, efficiency and punctuality.

Reforming the bus network is the main area where changes must occur. Although most quality bus corridors are successful, many routes meander around the city. The number 17 takes an hour and 20 minutes to travel from Blackrock to the terminus in Rialto. En route it travels six miles to reach Dundrum, a journey of only three miles as the crow flies. More direct routes would attract more passengers.

The Dublin Transportation Office has computer modelling that show the origins and destinations of the journeys that Dubliners make. This information should be used to transform Dublin Bus routes into a network that better serves the city’s needs.

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More cross-city routes are required to allow passengers to benefit from faster journey times without having to transfer. The city centre would then benefit from fewer parked buses.

An over-supply of bus stops also complicates matters. Placing bus stop every 250 meters slows down buses. Fewer bus stops might add a minute or two to the walk to the stop, but would reduce bus journey times.

Consultants Deloitte are reporting to the Department of Transport on proposals for the CIÉ group and Dublin Bus. This has happened before. In the early 1990s a report called for real-time passenger information and integrated ticketing. Fifteen years later we are still waiting.

Timetables at bus stops state when the bus should leave the terminus. Instead, they should inform you when buses will depart from the bus stop. In other cities, buses pause for a moment along their route if required in order to stick to schedule. The increase in reliability would offset any increase in journey time and reduce the tendency of buses to travel in packs.

A free bus map would help. The printed map of the Dublin Bus network costs €3 and is hard to obtain. A map showing all public transport including Luas and rail would attract more users. The Dublin Bus website is searchable by bus number and destination, but it is left to a private site – www.justroutes.com – to permit you to choose your starting point and destination and find the bus you need.

Local authorities have to play their part in speeding up buses, and that requires political leadership. Taking cars out of College Green and a South Quays bus lane are required. Dublin Bus should relocate many depots that occupy valuable land close to the city centre. Depots should move close to the M50 allowing land at Grand Canal Dock and Mountjoy Square to be better used, and releasing equity for the company’s development.

Dublin Bus can and must embrace such changes. In the coming months the Government will publish legislation to modernise bus regulation that dates from the 1930s. However, the company must also undergo substantial reform to reflect the needs of the city in 2009.

  • Ciarán Cuffe is the Green Party's spokesman on transport and TD for Dún Laoghaire