Sir, – This week, Bus Éireann introduced a new 131 bus route linking Wicklow Town with Bray Dart Station, and a revised timetable on the 133 route linking Wicklow Town with Dublin city centre. Both services have been welcomed by commuters from Wicklow Town, but sadly commuters from Gorey and Arklow who relied on the 133 early morning and evening express services on the original timetable are now left without the bus that got them into Dublin before 9am and back home again in the evening rush hour. Bus Éireann has also withdrawn the 133L service between Wicklow and Arklow which serviced Glenealy, Rathdrum, and Avoca during the day. This service provided a means for people in these areas to access supermarkets in Wicklow and Arklow, and to attend day care centres in the hospital at Rathdrum.
Our local politicians have been highlighting the need for a Dart extension to Wicklow Town and have had photo-shoots at recent Irish Rail launches of the new Dart-plus hybrid trains; sadly, Irish Rail don’t seem to share their enthusiasm as there is no mention of an extension of the Dart to Wicklow on the new Dart-plus website or indeed on any of the promotional material from the National Transport Authority. In reality, Wicklow Town has now a better bus timetable on the 133 route, and a new shuttle bus linking the town to the Dart at Bray , but Arklow and Gorey have lost their commuter bus, and there are no extra alternatives on the already overcrowded trains on the rail line to compensate the early morning commuter. In the meantime, all this is doing is adding more cars and traffic jams on the N11 every day. – Yours, etc,
ROBIN HEATHER,
Wicklow Town.