Missing the bus on good service
Wednesday April 15 2009
I have been following the lay-offs issue within Dublin Bus for some time now.
Thinking about my former life as a bus commuter, it dawned on me that I would not be driving today if I had an alternative means of transport.
Sadly, things haven't changed much.
In 2000, I was working on the outskirts of Dublin. Every evening, I would wait for the bus . . . and wait . . . . and wait.
I recall at the time that a bus strike was announced, and the night before, the lads did a practice run by not picking up any passengers. I waited two hours and 40 minutes that bitterly cold evening.
After that, I was car-bound.
I recall also from that time talking to a woman at a bus stop who was almost in tears. Her boss did not believe her continual stories about the buses not turning up. She was on thin ice.
More recently, in April 2008, I had to leave my car at a south Dublin garage for a service. As it was going to take hours, I decided to hop on a bus and go to town.
I waited over two hours, while four empty buses drove past.
When I finally got to my destination, I discovered that at the end of the route there was a nice cafe, and seven abandoned buses.
No wonder Dublin Bus have seen profits fall!
I rang up to complain with registration numbers of buses that had passed me, and got the reluctant response: "We could have a word with the drivers, I suppose".
If Dublin Bus had to take buses off routes to correct this, I could well understand it.
It appears to me that the unions have a stranglehold on Dublin Bus. I actually think that bus drivers are underpaid. Statistically, bus drivers are taking on a lot more responsibility than pilots, and I think I would rather be in the sky than in Dublin at 5pm on a Friday.
Still, there should be no room for anyone who happily drives past customers, and everyone should abandon them -- including the unions.
Anthony Halpin
Bray, Co Wicklow
