A chara, – I found it quite sad to read Ed Power’s piece on the unreliability of public transport in Ireland (Life&Style, September 6th). Growing up in Dublin I had to depend on the public bus service to get to school. Such was the haphazard pattern of buses at the time, early 1970s, that I was surprised to learn years later that there was such a thing as a bus timetable.
But it is the attitude that permeates the transport services that is the most depressing aspect.
Now living in Kilkenny, a few years ago I was trying to make a lunchtime event in Dublin, close to Heuston Station. I decided that the train was the best option. The train was delayed by a number of hours due to snow, not the fault of Iarnród Éireann, of course. I had to abort my plans and so rang the train service to see about getting a refund of the fare. Such a palaver.
They could refund part of the fare but not the booking fee, if I made a case by email. I made the case and three months later I received my partial refund. I have never taken the train since.
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‘My daughter is anxious about going to sleep on her own’
Scourge of slow play likely to rear its ugly head again at Masters
It would be fantastic if we had efficient and reliable public transport, with an appropriate attitude towards customer service. We might be able to start to trust it then. – Mise le meas,
GER MULVEY,
Kilkenny.
