Date: 14 April 2020
Green Party TD, Steven Matthews has written to the area manager for Dublin Bus to request an urgent review of routes in North Wicklow, particularly the 84 route, following a series of teething problems and capacity issues after the school Easter holidays which saw students unable to get on buses both to and from school. Discussing the issue, Deputy Matthews said:
“I was extremely frustrated to hear about the capacity issues on Dublin Bus. I absolutely accept that the existing 25% capacity limit under Level 5 restrictions adds huge complications to the logistics of organising bus routes but with most people still working from home, the focus needs to be on peak school times and making the return to school as easy as possible for students and parents.
“The extent of the problem wasn’t made clear till that evening after I received a huge number of emails from worried parents whose children had been waiting for over an hour or more after school in the rain. Many of the students impacted have not been in school since Christmas and are understandably anxious about being back and this added issue is not fair on them.
“I was written to separately by a number of concerned school principals who informed me that students, through no fault of their own, were made late on the first 3 days of being back to school due to up to 4 buses passing them due to being at capacity.
“As a Green Party TD, I actively encourage the use of public transport but the full return of schools has been earmarked for several weeks so these teething problems simply should not have happened and should have been foreseen.
“I welcomed the clarification that following the initial issues, extra buses were added including:
• an additional departure at 07:50 from Newcastle towards Blackrock and;
• departure at 15:50 from Bray station towards Newcastle (on Wednesdays this bus will leave at 13:15 from Bray Station to allow for half day in local schools).
“The return to school was a daunting prospect for many students and families and to have this issue be another hurdle is understandably frustrating. In multiple correspondences to Dublin Bus, I have emphasised the need to constantly monitor the situation. If the problem persists, more buses should be allocated to ensure that students can get to and from school quickly and safely. I will continue to engage with both our school communities and Dublin Bus until this matter can be resolved, concluded Deputy Matthews.
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