Save the 48a Bus Route: Public Meeting in Dundrum

dublin | miscellaneous | event notice Tuesday September 20, 2005 16:04 by Terry

Public Meeting about cutbacks on 48a route at 8pm

Location: Dom Marmion House across the road the Gym along Main St, leading out up towards Sandyford and the new Dundrum Shopping Centre

Please come along and tell anyone else you know who would be interested too.

The 48a bus route which serves Ballinteer, Dundrum, Windy Arbor, Milltown and Ranelagh has been severely cut back.

Both Dublin Bus and the Government claim that the extension of the 14 and 14A bus from Ballinteer to the Luas station in Dundrum makes up for this.

In fact, it is just a way of shoveling people on to the Luas where they have to pay again. Not only that they have also cut back the frequency of bus times for the 14 and 14A as well. Despite this they claim it is an increase. How they did this is not clear. For instance they say at peak time there is a bus every 10 minutes.

This could mean at one point of the day, there is a gap of 10 mins, but it doesn't say what directions they are going.

Last February, Dublin Bus threatened to scrap the 48a route altogether, but after 200 people showed up at a public meeting, the government and Dublin Bus backed off for awhile. Tom Kitt then leafletted the area and claimed he had saved it.

It would seem since the government are having difficulty privatising Dublin Bus, they have decided to destroy the best routes and attack it from the inside with the help of management who no doubt will gain or think they will gain if and when it is privatised.

There was a picket held a few weeks ago at the new 14/14A terminus at the Luas station and the public showed a lot of support.

A number of people who lived quite far from Dundrum explained that they would suffer from these cutbacks, including some old people in lower end of Dundrum who physically find it very hard to walk all the way up to the Luas station. There are probably many more whom we didn't meet that day.

Elsewhere there are reports of cutbacks on other Dublin Bus routes in the city. I think the 77A was mentioned. If anyone has further information on these cutbacks, please add them here as comments.

Please click on the URL below to see a table listing the extent of the cutbacks on the 48A, 14 and 14A bus routes.