No plans for bus service on Outer Ring Road from Lucan to Tallaght
By Aura McMenamin
A UK company won the tender to run a number of Dublin Bus routes, including ones serving Tallaght, Clondalkin and Ballyfermot.
British Company Go-Ahead secured the tender for 10 per cent of Dublin Bus’s routes, including the 75 from The Square to Dun Laoghaire, the 76/a to Chapelizod/ Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, the 18 from Palmerstown to Sandymount and the 239 which goes from Liffey Valley Shopping Centre to Blanchardstown SC.
Dublin Bus stock image
Dublin Bus was the only other bidder for the tender and lost, but CEO Ray Coyne said the company would be working with the National Transport Authority in the coming months to ‘minimise any impact on customers’ experience’.
Fine Gael councillor for Lucan William Lavelle expressed disappointment that the issue of a bus from Lucan to Tallaght was not being addressed, which Lucan councillors have previously raised in council agenda meetings.
Writing on Facebook, cllr Lavelle said: “Disappointed that there are no plans for a bus service on the Outer Ring Road from Lucan to Tallaght, as councillors have repeatedly called for.”
Meanwhile, Fine Gael TD Colm Brophy welcomed the ‘choice’ that competition would bring. The TD for Dublin South West said the new tender was in line with ‘Fine Gael’s commitment to choice for bus passengers.
He said: “The introduction of competition into the Dublin Bus market is great news for commuters and is long overdue. Commuters in my own constituency are set to benefit with the 75, 76, 76A, 161 and the new route 175, included in this announcement.
“Fine Gael campaigned on a policy of increased choice and competition for bus passengers in the last election. We committed to this and we are now delivering on this commitment in government.”
However, passengers on these routes will not actually have a choice between service providers.
Minister Zappone welcomed the guarantees that free travel passes will be honoured by Go-Ahead and that fares cannot be increased without the permission of the National Transport Authority, in line with regulation.
She said: “I have been assured by Transport Minister Shane Ross and the National Transport Authority that passengers should not be out of pocket or see reduced services because of the move.
However, The Tallaght TD said that loyal Dublin Bus customers in the community, particularly older people and young families, needed to be assured that they will not be out of pocket following the ‘biggest shake-up since Dublin Bus was established’.
Minister Zappone said: “Passengers must be assured of these guarantees before Go-Ahead busses start to roll at the end of next year.”
