Transport Minister urged to visit Navan and witness commuters ‘torturous’ experience

Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan has been challenged to come to Navan for just one week to experience first hand “the haphazard public transport services Meath commuters are forced to endure”.

Cllr Emer Tóibín has thrown down the gauntlet to the Minister saying; “Missing job interviews, hospital appointments, flights, trains and other important engagements is the daily lot for the hard-pressed commuters in Navan and the wider county of Meath who have what can only be described as a deplorable public transport service. The stress of worrying about getting to work on time on time takes its toll''

She said the situation is bad bit is steadily getting worse. "When buses actually do turn up, people can’t get a seat as there are more passengers than seats and in the rare event of a bus arriving on time, it can have several broken seats or can break down as happened last week . I would like to see Minister Ryan having to contend with the oft-torturous experience of standing on a packed bus for almost two hours every day for what should actually be a 55 minute journey each way”.

“Bus Éireann surpassed itself recently when it cancelled nine journeys in the one day, many at peak time, leaving hundreds of commuters absolutely stranded and seething.

“We know Meath's population is one of the fastest growing in the entire country but when it comes to planning and future-proofing demand and capacity, government action is at best reactionary. Again it points to a complete lack of planning by this Government”.

“Nothing beats a personal experience for effecting change , so my invitation to Minister Ryan stands, I’m very happy to stand in the bus queues in Navan with him to waiting for the ‘ghost services’ so he can see for himself what commuters have to endure," she said.