Éamon Ó Cuív criticises NTA inaction on public transport
Éamon Ó Cuív criticised years of inaction by the Department of Transport and the NTA on simple public transport measures and called for immediate changes. He demanded scientific analysis of the relationship between service frequency and passenger numbers, arguing that higher frequency produces dramatic increases in ridership.
Demand for scientific evidence on frequency and ridership
He said he has repeatedly asked Ministers and the NTA whether any scientific research exists on how frequency affects passenger numbers, and described the silence as "deafening." He argued that academic evidence would show infrequent services cannot be expected to attract riders.
Examples of frequency driving passenger increases
He cited local examples where increases in frequency led to sharp rises in passengers - naming routes such as Cork to Cove, Athenry to Galway and Galway to Carrow as illustrative of the effect of more frequent services.
Delay on introducing local bus services
He criticised slow decision-making by the NTA on routine service changes, recounting a year-and-a-half wait to secure three buses from Galway to Anshatara Rua on a heavily populated route that he said should have taken 24 hours to approve.
Concerns over subsidy rules and private operators
He highlighted an anomaly in which a 20% rule did not apply to the only non-subsidised companies in the country, mentioning Expressway and other private companies that provide services, many of which operate in rural areas.
Salmon Weir bridge and wider infrastructure constraints
He reiterated his long-standing wish to see the Salmon Weir bridge in Galway reserved for public transport and active travel only, but warned that without building an extra bridge or bypass, the remaining narrow crossing would be inadequate for "the 80,000 people west and the 3 million people east" to get across, describing the current arrangement as insufficient.
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Unfortunately this debate is way too short and I have only got two minutes. So I will try to be brief. The first thing I would say is I have been a strong advocate of public transport and I have to say that the inaction over years by the Department of Transport and the NTA on simple issues that could be done immediately is absolutely staggering. There was a consultation in connecting Ireland but we do not have any buses. I have been asking Ministers, including the present Minister, I have been asking the NTA, have they any analysis done, scientific analysis, research done on the relationship between the frequency of service and the increase in frequencies and the number of passengers? The answer is a deafening silence. It is a fundamental question. What we do know of course is that when the frequency from Cork to Cove, from Athenry to Galway, bus services, they were train services, bus services from Galway to Carrow were increased, we got a dramatic increase in the number of passengers. But what we need to do is get the academic, scientific evidence because I think it will absolutely stand up that if you have an infrequent service you cannot expect people to take it. I have to say it was absolutely amazing when we are campaigning to get three buses leaving Galway, and then coming back of course, to go to Anshatara Rua, along the most populated route out of Galway. It took a year and a half for the NTA to make a decision that should have been made in 24 hours. And we hear about all this active travel, but lack of action. You know, they want the great and the fantastic things and they will never seem to do now the simple things that would change people's lives dramatically. I have to say the point made about the Narnarbor affairs is absolutely valid, and then that the 20% did not apply to the only non-subsidised companies in the country, Expressway and the private companies that provide. It is amazing, and they are all in rural Ireland, which is absolutely amazing. And finally, the Minister mentioned the Salmon Weir bridge in Galway, and I have wanted for years to see that as public transport and active travel only. However, there is one snag. When you do that, if you do not build an extra bridge, i.e. the bypass, you are left with two bridges, one very narrow, across the corrupt. It is just not adequate for the 80,000 people west and the 3 million people east to get across.
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