Cllrs to meet with Bus Eireann bosses next week over service crisis
Local representatives are to meet with Bus Eireann and the NTA next week to try to find a solution to the service crisis that is seeing commuters stranded as a result of late and no show buses.
All 40 county councillors will meet with transport bosses on Monday ahead of the full Meath County Council meeting.
An array of areas in the county are facing challenges due to an unreliable service but none more so than the 103 that services the Ashbourne and Ratoath route to and from Dublin City Centre.
Earlier this week three scheduled early morning 103 services were cancelled causing chaos for those trying to get to work.
The meeting is not before time according to Sinn Fein Cllr Helen Meyer who said:
"They need some kind of action plan, they can't think it's ok to have no buses during rush hour for over an hour," said Meyer.
"It blows my mind that in any way, shape or form that is acceptable for people," she added.
"It appears to me they have no capacity, if they run into a problem they don't have another bus for back up and it messes up the time line for the entire day after that.
"They put on private coaches last year to increase capacity and then they took them off, I don't know what prompted them to decide they no longer needed them given that their fleet of buses are breaking down constantly and leaving people stranded."
As hundreds of new homes are on the way for the area, the Sinn Fein Cllr says a plan of action to address the problems is needed urgently.
"570 housing units are being built in the Coach Estate, Ashbourne," said Meyer. "There is planning permission for hundreds more housing units in Ashbourne and an additional large-scale development is planned for Ratoath. What plans are in place to increase the number of buses on these routes to cater to the substantial population increase?"
Cllr Meyer describes an experience she had recently with service.
"I got the 103 bus last Friday and there was a broken down bus at the bus stop at Aldi in Ashbourne when I was going by at 4.35 pm. A friend coming home that night at 1.30 am saw it finally getting towed.
"The bus I was on at 4.35 pm felt like it was on its last legs, it chugged along and we all thought it was not going to make it and it cut out regularly on the way to town.
"It finished the journey, but I would not be surprised to hear that it was taken out of service later that day. I’m told that buses regularly break down on the 103 route so one of the questions I have for Bus Eireann is why are the buses on this route so old and untrustworthy?
"We were canvassing yesterday and a woman pointed out a parked car and said 'that is my son's car, he did not want to get a car but he has been late so many times for work that we have had to get a car for him,' that is the reality of what people are facing, it's a disgrace,"concluded Meyer.