Dublin bus Do we really want to know the truth?

dublin | miscellaneous | news report Sunday November 23, 2003 17:16 by jim travers jimtravers at eircom dot net 4571672

A view as to why Dubliners should support our current transport service.From my ongoing research into people's opinions of Dublin Bus, I have found that the vast majority of people do not realise the implications and changes that privatisation will bring.The introduction of the private sector into the public transport sector will not improve the commuters long term interests but will destroy a company that has developed into a profitable and publicly orientated transport service set in the interests of all the people.People say " bring on the private operators but they fail to realise that this ill thought opinion will bring with it, higher fare prices,less frequent service on non-profitable routes and the cancelling of routes that make no sense from a business aspect to maintain in use.

Dublin Bus.....Do we really want to know the truth



Jim Travers

Tel:4571672 - 087.2360076

[email protected]





So why all the fuss with Dublin Bus, sure we have heard the same old arguments and the vain attempts to change the face of public transport by successive ministers for as long as we can remember. The media for so long have whined, wailed and published critical articles about delays and overcrowding of buses as if Dublin Bus was deliberately trying to provoke the general public into a riot. This is most certainly not the case and successive ministers have in the past acknowledged this and praised Dublin Bus for its efforts under circumstances that was really beyond its control. The media for some strange reason appear to hover around the main questions to be asked in relation to the continued and re-occuring problems in the public service. Ask the question" why after decades of public money being pumped into the public service with administrators being appointed by governments to run public bodies has the public service declined to a state of collapse". The answer is interference in the processes of running a public body efficeintly. The Garda, at one time who were literally immune to any form of open criticism are now being told how to police.The Garda, Automobile Association and the RAC combined with a number of other interested parties can single out their own specific gripes, that when combined together produces the end product as the reasons to the inefficiencies in our public transports system. Successive governments over many years have allowed the CIE group including Dublin Bus and other state bodies to fall into such a state of decline that repair can sometimes look impossible. I would be ashamed to bring my children into Dail Eireann to see and listen to a bunch of twits that make the Bambi play school look like the Open University. The one and only thing that government ministers have for certain with private industry is that it is only because of what they are and not because of who they that they would not all be sacked from the private sector.

So what makes this occasion different from any other? The answer is Minister Shamus Brennan, a minister with a private political party vendetta to avenge the humiliation bestowed upon his fellow colleague Mary O 'Rourke by the bus and rail union the NBRU at its success in achieving an all round twenty percent rise in wages for bus workers. Oh how that must have put a very sour taste in the mouth of Mary and her Fianna Fail party at the public humiliation of capitulating to a mere trade union. It also posed a problem to all those in Fianna Fail who thought that with a low cost labour overhead, Dublin Bus would be easier and more attractive to their friends in private industry for any future takeover bid. The NBRU really pulled the reins on this horse and stopped it in its gallop. But Fianna Fail like the elephant never forgets and as in all past occasion’s big business will once again come to the parties aid in its efforts to avenge past deeds. But before we wave the banner in support of Minister Brennan and hail his policies of change in the public service, let us just stand back for a moment and ask ourselves what this is really all about and who exactly will gain from these new changes. As an outsider looking in, I can see a lot of credible argument and justification in Minister Brennan's actions, if these actions are in the interest of the public at large. Yes, the buses are slow and can very often be late, and yes lets get private business into the bus market and generate competition and low fares for the benefit of all those hard pressed members of the general public who put up with all this nonsense for so long. So let us start now and rid this sector of the scourge of inefficiencies that have stifled progress in our transport system for so long. Bring on the private guys and improve our lot, and never let us go back to the dark old days when Dublin Bus had a monopoly on accusing politicians of all political parties at their interference in the running of the company. The lame excuses given and our shouts about the terrible conditions of the roads through bad management and the unprofessional selection of companies that persistently dig up the same lengths of new roadways which in turn has left the city looking like the middle of Beirut despite the Celtic tiger days. Let us not forget the Garda, who in their efforts to prove crime is being tackled effectively spend more time on the outskirts of the city holding motorists to ransom with speeding tickets for going five miles over the limit while taxi drivers in the middle of the city break every rule in the Rules of the Road handbook and a lot more if we are just prepared to look. Let us place another page in the Rules of the Road handbook that says" taxi drivers are exempt from prosecution because they are members of the private industry sector". And let us all not forget that once Minister Brennan has done the deed, be it in the alleged interest of the general public or the private sector, we will never be able to go back to how it was and try to progress from our mistakes. There is one good thing we Irish are very good at and that is praising and elevating those who got out of this country and became successful while at the same time persistently placed obstacles in front of those who strive for success on their home soil. We look to other countries as a means of example for success or innovation and fail to independently secure an Irish solution to an Irish problem. We have done this since the days when we argued over a twenty-six counties state or a thirty-two county state only to accept what we were eventually given as a means of self-determination. And now when the money from the Celtic tiger days has run out Harney and associates want to borrow in order to patch up the cracks of incompitence. Fair play to the bus and other public service workers who have had to stomach the waffle of pin striped suit politicians with their Euro800 bottles of champaigne and fine Cuban cigars. They have managed the economy with such blatent disregard to its citizens and used the fruits of economic success to enhance the financial gains of the few that they have left the country full of eastern promise but with very little ability to attain the promises which was heaped on the people before the tiger started to run. The one and only thing the Irish public achieved from the Celtic tiger was their ability to borrow to pay for the little they got. They will now have to pay dearly for this privlidge.


So what exactly is wrong with Dublin Bus and why this stand by Minister Brennan

Well in reality nothing that could not be rectified by a strong board of directors with the ability to tackle reoccurring problems and set the company in a progressive and strong direction. At the same time and in no uncertain manner they should inform those in government who interfere in the affairs of Dublin Bus that if they cure the ailments in their running of the country then Dublin Bus will, most certainly look after itself. The company is there and complete with a track record of operating under poor economic circumstances. It has shown that with the proper assistance from government it can achieve both job security for its employees and an economic viable future. The external factors that bedevil Dublin Bus will also apply to any other bus company that decides to enter the market.

So lets look at the real problems with Dublin Bus and explore the reasons as to why we should or should not support Dublin Bus.

If Minister Brennan's reasons for bringing in the private sector was as clear cut as we are all expected to believe then there would have been greater opportunities in the past to accelerate the progress to privatization. But privatization is not what Minister Brennan wants; he wants a franchised system where Dublin Bus can bid for the twenty five percent of the routes with others from the private sector. But no, the minister is adamant that Dublin Bus is to be excluded from placing a bid for the twenty five percent because in reality if it was given the opportunity to place a bid then it would realistically be the only company that could deliver on its bid. So, in order for the private sector to be able to operate any form of a system they need not only the buses and the garages but also the most important part of the puzzle, the drivers. If the drivers refuse to co.-operate then the private sector will only be able to provide a limited service that will be of no significance in the overall picture of transporting people. If the managers, inspectors, controllers and clerical workers, including mechanics, cleaners and other operatives refuse to budge then the government as a whole must question Minister Brennans stand and support him through mass redundancies. This is probably where the minister will try to sweeten the blow to workers by first offering the guaranteed CIE group workers attractive severance payments in order to get them out of the way while at the same time offering other workers statuatory redundancy payments as the private operators flout around their own contracts of employment. The only way a private operator will have some marginal success in operating a bus service is if he reduces wage costs (guaranteed), uses out of commission buses, works selective routes and rises fares. This in turn will mean that people will not work under bad conditions and low wages with obligations to safety responsibilities. This is why Dublin Bus increased wages and conditions, which resulted in better recruitment of suitable personnell and the retaining of experienced drivers. This goes with the saying " if you pay peanuts you will get monkeys". Mr Brennan thinks that the workers because of financial commitment will not have the stomach for a prolonged industrial dispute. This is true but the private sector better look carefully and take heed that these workers may one day be working for them and the conditions of employment they so long fought for will not be pushed aside because of a changing administration. In turn the government of the day better take heed of impending industrial chaos that will take place in the future and realise that at one period in time they were in a position to contain it. Do not forget that the time for industrial unity has never been as important an issue as it is now. This just might be the time when Bertie falls and Harney with her party goes into extinction.

One thing is clear, the unions have said " this much and no more". If the private sector attempts to recruit from outside our market then the government will feel the wrath of the entire public sector and its trade unions. It is a simple problem to break down and analyze because as with the bus services in England, Mrs. Thatcher thought that a swift foul sweep of instant decapitation would resolve this problem. But Mrs. Thatcher was not trying to improve the bus service in England; instead she was trying to destroy the trade unions and the power they held within the public sector. It worked because the British people were sick to the teeth of union strikes and disruptions, which inadvertently gave the Tory government at that time a hammer to crack the nut. The final outcome of the conflict was that Mrs Thatcher won the battle with the unions but the general public ended up with a bus service that they readily admit is ten times worse than what they had.

Minister Brennan is playing the same game but with careful maneuvering, knowing fully that the country has a good industrial climate that does not need conflict to tarnish Ireland’s image for job creation. Also, he really needs the unions on board in order to gradually bring in his ideas of a free market to fruition. If the minister was really working in the interests of the public he would have said " let us open 25% of the Dublin Bus routes to the private sector that would compete with Dublin Bus and any other bus service for customers on these routes. " This would have allowed for full competition among services, which in turn would have meant choice and low fare costs to customers. If this was successful it then could be extended to all routes over a four- year period.This sounds very good. It satifies the unions, it allows the private sector into the market and it causes no disruption to the most important people –the general public.The unions do not appear to have a problem with this direction in introducing the private sector into the public transport market. If the playing field is flat then they do not have a problem. But Minister Brennan does not want competition among services, he wants a private sector bus service franchaised- privitized –no franchaised – no privitized (O’ please tell me what he wants?)whereby in the future as fares increase he can say " he cannot interfere in the internal affairs of a private company and therefore cannot dictate fares." The statement of course will follow this " if the general public feel they are being unfairly treated by a particular company then they should change the company they use." Fat chance of that when the big private companies set up a masked cartel in fare price fixing that will enable the government to lavish out more taxpayers money in subsidies, inquiries and tribunals that cost the state even more money with no comeback. And by the way my friends, he has not indicated that the private bus sector will stand on its own two feet like other private companies. Oh no, he will still provide subsidies for a service to companies who won’t tolerate workers in trade unions, will not provide proper working conditions and pay, will employ anybody willing to take a very dangerous machine onto our streets in the name of profit.



Dublin Bus is a complicated and entwined system with an effective structure of operation that enables it to operate under extreme conditions on a daily basis. It has operated during recessionary times and has attempted to turn what was a loss making business into a profitable one. Successive ministers have whined at it being a loss making company but when it tries to rectify this problem, it is constantly being interfered with by the same politicians. It is told it need to operate in the black like a private company but when it attempts to do this it is told it is a company providing a social service. Because the general public is not aware of the operational tasks in running a bus service they can be forgiven in believing that once you put your hand out there should be a bus or that delays in the service are only caused by Dublin Bus itself.

Minister Brennan is playing the game very carefully by inviting the unions to discuss his ideas and at the same time assuring the unions that privatization is not what he wants and that jobs will not be lost. The first part of his equation is wrong because barring the company that he has taken the twenty five percent from placing a bid means that, he is privatizing the twenty five percent to the private sector and private sector only. The second part whereby there will be no job losses is technically correct but would Minister Brennan work for half the pay with appalling conditions while doing the same job but for another administration. I do not think so.

Minister Brennan incites conflict by telling the union’s one thing and the following day tells the papers different, dtus provoking conflict. He has also played this card with the Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, saying one thing and meaning another. This position can be verified by the comments from those journalists who have interviewed Minister Brennan and published his statements. The unions are very aware of Minister Brennan's tactics and will not be drawn into Minister Brennan’s trap of aggravated strike action in order to justify his reasons for privatization. Minister Brennan will not be able to go to the general public and try to justify his actions of privatization because Minister Brennan and Minister Brennan alone will have set the stage for widespread industrial action. Let us also not forget, because the conditions of employment in some of these private bus companies are appalling, this will most certainly in the future lead to industrial action by workers who know full well that government and its ministers gave them the security of " in the public interest" when taking industrial action.

The most troubling part in the context of industrial relations is when a government minister on behalf of his or her government sets up forums and co-operative boards to produce blue, white or red papers for progress and then at the stroke of a pen writes it all away. This in itself brings into question the effectiveness of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and its negotiating stands and agreements with governments. Questions must also be asked of individual trade unions signing agreements in partnership. They know full well that clauses in these agreements are not full explained to their members and could have a detrimental effect on their members job security. The question must also be asked, " is some of these trade unions working in the interests of the government or their members who pay their wages". The argument that certain unions operate outside the congress does not hold water and can only be interpreted as a cop out by the congress when things get hot. Where is the old union belief ALL FOR ONE and ONE FOR ALL?

Dublin Bus is far different in comparison to Aer Lingus, Ryan Air or any other state, Semi State or private operation and therefore should not be compared with others and their success. External situations occur every day that has a direct impact on the efficient operation of a bus service. The continued desecration of our roads is an ongoing problem that has persisted for decades without being resolved to a satisfactory conclusion. Road contractors are quite readily prepared to construct a one million Euro road only to dig it up six months later for further work. Combine this with all the other so called professionally assessed project work that has to date produced a city with not one stretch of road longer that 20 yards, that has not been dug once but again and again and again. The money pumped into the Luas project so far would have sorted out the most important problem facing our communities and that is hospital waiting lists. It would also have allowed for proper road construction with dedicated bus lanes throughout the city combined with an improving bus fleet, passenger shelters and advanced electronic timetables at each shelter. It would also have allowed Dublin Bus to replace the ageing bus fleet that Dublin Bus has courageously maintained in service for the people of Dublin. Not forgetting it’s the same ageing fleet that Dualways want to purchase and put back into service. If millions was pumped into the CIE group without a reasonable return then politicians and politicians alone are responsible for the lack in professional management of state funds. After all it’s the government who appoints people at the top to run these state companies and it’s the government who must take the blame when things go wrong. There is one thing for certain in Irish politics and that is the words "heads will roll" does not apply to politicians and their friends. The introduction of private buses on our cities streets will only add to the on going traffic congestion problem and enhance a culture of first to the bus stop gets the takings. Drivers will be under increasing pressure from their employers to speed up their journey times while at the same time be under threat of dismissal if they do not take out buses that they feel are unroadworthy. This is not scare tactics, its for real and there is evidence to show that drivers of heavy goods vehicles were obliged to drive vehicles under threat of dismissal. Dublin Bus is a social service (despite it showing a profit) that caters for all sections of our society and that include those who cannot afford to fly by private jet, car or bicycle. It is a service that enables our senior citizens who gave their youth to this country, to be able to commute in peace throughout the country at no extra cost. They should not have to wait for whatever bus picks them up after the cream has been skimmed and a seat is left idle. It should be our way of saying thanks for your service to your country over the years. It is absolutely appalling to hear the sound of silence from the opposition parties in their condemnation in this course of action by the minister which, goes to prove that a government is only successful by the strength of its opposition. I would very much hope, that all the opposition parties can look the elderly and socially deprived members in our society straight in the eye on election day and justify their reasons for hanging dumb when they knew that privatization of our bus service led to increased fares, charges for elderly and social welfare passengers, infrequent services and cancellation of services on routes because they were deemed to be uneconomical to run. This can presently be seen with the Dualways service on their 613route or the Morton’s service at their bus stops for whenever its needed.

Dualways provide a service at peak times in the mornings and early evenings. As a user of public transport, do not go looking for Dualway’s buses in the late evening to head into town or from town to home because they are not there…it is uneconomical to operate, so therefore go back to the old reliable Dublin Bus. This is not a biased waffle, just go and look for Dualway's or any other privately operated bus after seven o' clock at night....its not there and if it is its very sparse.So what happens if your daughter or son needs to get a bus home at night and finds that the private operator took it out of service because your son or daughter were the only one's using the bus? Now look at Dublin Bus and their ridiculous bus services that appear to cater for one's and two's. But when it comes to my daughter or son, I want to know that in these days of increased attacks on the person that both my son and daughter can board a bus in order to get home safely. If you are fortunate or unfortunate to live in Ballymore Eustace or Ballyknockin and rely on a public bus service then you better get use to either no service or a massive fare increase to justify the service. If this is happening now just after the minister issued licenses to these operators , what will it be like when he goes for the full monthy.Does the allowing of children free passage on these private buses under circumstances where they have no money to get home?

Private operators in the past were given the opportunity to compete with Dublin Bus in an experiment whereby a private operator was given a number of route that were 50% good and 50% bad. The private operators readily grabbed the routes thinking they could operate them but had to come back with the cry that they were loosing money because of the poor routes. They wanted to rid themselves of the poor routes while trying to retain the good routes. The experiment failed because the agreement was to take the good with the bad and try to progress.

If we now believe the latest twist in the private bus saga of operations we are now told that the private sector is now trying to purchase old RH buses from Dublin Bus in order for them to be put into service.

These are the same buses that Dublin Bus is decommissioning from service due to their age and unreliability. One of these private companies has even gone as far as hiring drivers who were sacked from Dublin Bus because of their poor driving habits.

Dublin Bus provides a service to the community that the general public at the best of times, fail to see or acknowledge as a service. It provides a constant system of monitoring its drivers for driving skills and provides training courses for the drivers should they require retraining. It consistently sends it staff on training courses in customer service and it strives to provide the best possible service to customers under the circumstances of a changing city. It is the only public body that monitors its drivers for breaches in driving discipline, which could mean a driver being sacked. It has a social system with numerous activities that enable all sections of the CIE group to come together as a unit. Its involvement in the community and its close contacts with the Garda through radio reports of conflicts seen by drivers, inspectors and depot controllers cannot be overstated should the company fall into the hands of private industry. Lets not forget that Dublin Bus belongs to the people as does the CIE Group belong to the state as a whole and not just vested interests.

If governments wanted to improve our public transport system then they should have, over so many years placed the resources of the state at hand to improve the service. Instead, they pumped millions into a transport system called Luas and will, in time, have to pump further millions into improving our road infrastructure that the construction of Luas has destroyed. And what will Luas achieve, well based on our current fare charges for a full city journey Luas will have to charge double the fare in order to try and stay viable and that is without the thought of the state providing subsidies. It will not provide an all year round commuter service (especially winter) as passengers will not want to commute on a tram in bad weather to a set point and then have to wait for a bus to finalize their journey. It will also have the effect of causing further delays in motor traffic as it crosses roads and level crossings guarded or unguarded by gates. What happens if a tram breaks down on a journey? What about a major power failure? Will the private bus companies be ready to pickup on this situation? Let us not forget the delays and disruptions as passengers align the trams in the middle of a dual carriageway at the end of the day.

And what about the elderly and social welfare free pass users, will they be able to use the service free or will they be required to pay a nominal fee that as with everything else in this over priced state that will go up as time passes. Will parents be caught for increased school fares as the private operators declare that a 40cent fare is an unrealistic charge for a service? You see the minister will tell us that nothing will change and that all benefits will stay the same. That is until the CIE group has vanished beyond repair and there is no other alternative other than the private sector. It will then be like the weatherman telling you it is going to be sunny when you know in your own mind that you better bring along your umbrella. Or the government swearing by the Euro and Mary telling us to buy Eircom shares and also have a jump at the savings incentive scheme. Where are we now?

The government will once again be forced to subsidize the private sector in the alleged interest of the public good or will stand aside while the private sector put public transport costs beyond the means of the ordinary people. Are their examples? There are lots, East link, West Link, bin charges, parking charges, clamping, waste disposal, fines, taxes, car taxes, insurance, bus fares...ups the minister intervened and told Dublin Bus to reduce its price increase...this is definitely a public social service... But will Minister Brennan tell Dualways or Aircoach to reduce its fares as not being appropriate and in the public interest.... I think not.

Did any minister tell Ryanair to reduce its fares in the public interest, he or she did not, Ryanair took the initiative and created a market where there was alleged to be no market. Aer Lingus could not take initiatives because successive governments poked their noses in the internal affairs of the company and stifled success. Government ministers are like carpenters trying to tell surgeons how to conduct operations, and then they run for cover when something goes wrong and of course blame everybody else bar them selves for causing the problem. They are prone of course to getting 50Euro face makeovers and smile for the cameras in the background of others success. Dublin Bus is a victim of its own success through the good and the bad days.

If England introduces a flashing amber traffic light then Ireland introduces a flashing traffic light. If England brings out a penalty points system and a new type of road marking then Ireland will do the same.

And if England sets about wrecking its public transport system then you can rest assure that Ireland through its Irish nationalist or so called republican politicians will do the very same, but we will do it better and show them English Hun’s ye can’t mess with the Irish. So why the hell did we not stay with Britain and save ourselves the shame of having a joke shop as our centre of power.

So what will become of Dublin Bus or even the CIE Group? Well the public will smirk and smile and wish good riddance to a monopoly they thought went on for too long while at the same time preparing to accustom themselves to an ever-uncaring capitalistic monopoly. We may even see a time when we are giving expensive bus tickets as Christmas presents only to have the kids next door bloating that they got a seven day pass over your kids five day pass.

If we take, as an example the privatized bus service in the UK then we can say that privatization has not significantly developed or progressed bus services for the betterment of the general public. On the contrary bus service in the UK has gone into a state of decline with fewer routes being serviced in areas of low population and prime route initially being over supplied with choice, only to find a decline in services with infrequent and constantly altered bus schedules.

The biggest challenge to the success of both the CIE Group and Dublin Bus is the way in which the entire union leadership conducts its business and co-operation in the interest of the Group, its union membership and the public at large. This struggle is not about defeating Minister Brennan, but trying to convince the minister, a government and opposition alike that the CIE Group is a creation of the state and therefore needs to be protected, helped and encouraged to modernize and develop for the benefit of the state. The state is an employer with responsibilities to its employees and their families as citizens who deserve to be protected. The public have a right to have the best possible efficient public transport service that operates in the interest of the public and not for private financial interests. The only way this will be achieved is by the total co-operation between government the management of the CIE Group and the trade union movement.

So what does it mean to the user of public transport?

Well, at the end of the day the end user is going to have to pay for a change that really was not necessary. The digging up of our once moon like road surfaces to make way for our new and improved mars like surfaces, will in the long term have to be paid for by motorists and public transport users alike. The over budgeting of the Luas work will mean one of two things, either, users of the system will be asked to pay for the costings through higher fares or the government will have to pay a contribution to the running of the system through subsidisation. . So much for privatisation. The hard pressed social welfare recipients and the unemployed will have to stare in wonder at the new transport system while promising their children a ride on the new trams as a summer treat before going back to school. I have always wondered as to why a system that is built and fully functional is always costing more and more to operate especially when the only major inconvenience appears to be the lifting of six or seven barriers. This can be said for our new revolution in Irish transport called the tole bridge. Why can't the toll bridge operators adopt the slogan " moving you from A to B in and instant" and we then can come along and define the instant as "one mile at 30 mph equals 1mile in two minutes equals a cost of Euro1.30. Now should you wish to commute by Dublin Bus from lets say from Tallaght to city centre then Dublin Bus should be charging you Euro 15.60 that would include the driver service, seating, insurance against accident and a whole range of other services. The taxi's as we know charge you more pending if it is day or night, as the use of the headlights and the severe straining of the eyes in order to watch out for children crossing the road on their way to school means an extra charge. The people of Dublin really do not know what they are letting themselves in for by the privatisation of a public service. If it were a justifiable cause then this could also be said for breaking the teachers monopoly on teaching and allowing the parents the right to assess the quality of the school and its teaching standards in order to be able to pick a school for their children that meets a standard they want. Why not start by breaking the monopoly doctors or solicitors hold in dictating their fees by cosy cartels of price fixing and access to their professions. Why not impose a performance related pay structure for TD's in the Dail or should I say the funny farm, oh no that would not be appropriate to the norm of money for nothing. But Minister Brennan will want to hit the ordinary working people who rely on public transport and the most disadvantaged in our society the social welfare recipients and the old. And what about the workers in the CIE group who gave years of service to a system that was interfered and dictated to by politicians. Who within Dail Eireann is now shouting at Mr Brennan on behalf of these people....nobody. But you can rest assure that the Enda Kenny's and the Pat Rabbitt's will be making their voices know when the damage is done and complete, and there is no way of turning back. Their interest is in the destruction of a government for their own selfish needs. Where is the logic in selling off state assets if these assets are loss makers. Who in the business community wants to purchase an asset if it is a loss maker? We must then also ask the question" if the government is selling of state assets, is there other reasons as to why these assets are loss making? Is it because government is deliberately, through interference causing these assets to become loss makers in order to justify their reasons for selling?" In ten years time the people may be given the opportunity to know. There is one thing we know for certain and that is Eircom, despite reports is making the few very rich. AerLingus will become another Ryanair and we will all stand back and wonder why it could not have been done when it was under state control. This should also tell us that those in government are business incompetent, or those in business are like vultures just waiting to pounce.

A government or any of its ministers who fail to acknowledge the overwhelming facts presented to them or who are blind to these facts and ignore these facts due to personal political vendettas or political point scoring deserve to be removed or replaced individually or totally by the people.


Local Anger at Scrapping of Service in Wales
A local politician in Wales has said that bus companies could hold local authorities to ransom by cancelling services.Dai Lloyd Evans, the leader of Credigion council, was speaking after ARRIVA, one of the largest transport companies in the UK, said it was cancelling a service between Tregaron and Aberystwyth because too few people were using it.Locals have launched a petition ARRIVA'S plans while the council is examining the feasibility of subsidising the service. Councillor Evans said "There is definitely the potential for bus companies to hold the local council to ransom unless a detailed assessment of the route is made." The commercial manager for ARRIVA North and West Wales said the company had made the decision based on the fact that "very few people used the service and,like all transport providers,we need to ensure that our resources are allocated to where they will be of most benefit to most people." He added that should the council put the route out to tender any bus operator,including ARRIVA could choose to bid.

article courtesy Dublin Buzz magazine







jim travers