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File photo of a Dublin Bus on O'Connell Street. Alamy Stock Photo

'Too many cars' on our roads hampering public transport, Dublin Bus CEO to tell TDs

Billy Hann will also tell the Transport Committee about being “forced off the streets” by the riots in the city centre last week.

THERE ARE “TOO many cars” on our roads and Dublin needs to “go on a car diet”, the CEO of Dublin Bus will tell the Oireachtas Transport Committee on Wednesday.

Billy Hann will also discuss last Thursday’s riots in the city centre at the committee, stating that while the company has had to suspend services before, it has “never been forced off the streets” because of public order. 

“Our buses were burnt out. A driver was forcibly removed from his cab and intimidated.
We made the only decision we could make. Which was to protect the safety of
customers and employees,” Hann will tell the committee.

He will also thank An Garda Síochána and Dublin Fire Brigade for their assistance and work on the night. 

On the challenges being faced by Dublin Bus, Hann will say that congestion poses “a massive challenge” to all public transport operators.

  • Why do Dublin buses keep ghosting us? Help Noteworthy find out why buses keep disappearing here.

“Dublin is our capital city and Dublin simply will not work with buses stuck in traffic gridlock,” he will say, adding that there are “too many cars” in the city centre.

He will tell the committee that car ownership doubled between 1995 and 2015 in Ireland, with more than 2.2 million cars now on our roads.

“We need to move from a city of brakes lights to a city of buses, bikes and boulevards, just like some of our European peers such as Amsterdam and Paris,” he will say.

“We need to create more priority for public transport.”

He will state that there are not enough priority bus corridors in the city, and of the existing bus lanes, he will say that too many are not designated 24/7 and are often used by private vehicles.

“This is an easy fix and could be implemented very quickly. This would help simplify bus lane enforcement and improve journey times.”

He will say that he believes the plans set out in the Dublin City Council (DCC) and NTA Draft Transport Plan will “help make public transport a more attractive option for people”.

However, he will say that “we must be certain that some of the measures proposed do not have unintended consequences and ensure our public transport system can accommodate any displaced demand”.

“This will require careful planning and engagement between the NTA, DCC and all operators.”

Shortage of mechanics

The committee will also hear that Dublin Bus has recruited and trained 711 drivers since January 2022, but that the company’s recruitment campaign is now particularly focused on tackling “the extreme shortage of mechanics”, which is “an industry wide challenge facing all transport operators”.

Go-Ahead Ireland managing director Dervla McKay will tell the committee that the company remains in “a good position” in terms of recruiting new employees, with 578 drivers out on routes and 99 drivers in training in our driving school, an increase of 12% since July.

“We are confident that this trend will continue,” she will say. 

Anne Graham, the CEO of the National Transport Authority (NTA) will tell the committee that all public transport operators have taken steps to address the “critical shortage” of drivers in their companies. 

She will tell the committee that the NTA delayed the introduction of phases of the Bus Connects Network Redesign so that driver recruitment could recover.

“Thanks to the efforts of all operators, driver recruitment has increased and we have seen a much improved service delivery with the level of cancellations in Dublin city significantly reduced,” she will say.

She will also tell the committee of a “crisis” in the recruitment and retention of mechanics to service the bus fleet.

“Mechanic shortages has resulted in the cancellation of some services in Meath in recent weeks and is impacting other operators also,” the committee will hear.

Graham will say that the NTA is assured that “all operators are making every effort that they can to recruit and retain more mechanics in a tight and competitive employment market”. 

The committee will also hear that public transport across the country is carrying more passengers than ever this year, with Dublin’s bus services carrying 10% more passengers than in 2019, which was the previous record for passenger numbers.

Outside Dublin, passenger numbers have grown between 20% to 30% higher than 2019 pre-Covid figures, the committee will hear.

In September, Dublin City Council gave a presentation to councillors on proposed changes to overhaul road use in Dublin city centre.

Key parts of the proposals include diverting traffic away from parts of the quays and dedicating more space to bus and cycle lanes.

The draft plan devised by transport officials is aimed at reducing traffic congestion caused by through-traffic and improving access to public transport, as well as facilitating more walking and cycling in the city centre.

At the meeting, several councillors welcomed the proposals, while others expressed concerns about how the plan would impact businesses and whether it would simply push traffic congestion onto other streets rather than reducing it overall.

public consultation on the major redesign is open until 1 December for members of the public to offer input into the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan.

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26 Comments
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    Mute Peter Gavin
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    May 9th 2013, 11:13 AM

    #over_reaction

    43
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    Mute Fergal Barry
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    May 9th 2013, 11:36 AM

    @ Patrick, from what iv seen on this site, the majority of ppl on here do not have a problem with the British, myself included (English wife). They do have a problem with trolls and attention seeking fools, regardless of race, colour or creed.. So jog on!

    40
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    Mute Otis B Driftwood
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    May 9th 2013, 11:47 AM

    In other words lets clamp down, censor & spy on people using social media sites..
    Wonder when TheJournal is going to do a piece on the damning revelations at the Benghazi whistle-blower hearing held yesterday?

    29
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    Mute Slow Harry
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    May 9th 2013, 12:38 PM

    @ Otis don’ yon know you can’t criticise Obama or his administration in Ireland

    11
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    Mute Bramley Hawthorne
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    May 9th 2013, 12:56 PM

    To the Israeli government anyone speaking out for the Palestinians is a terrorist.
    To the Syrian government anyone speaking out for the rebels is a terrorist.
    To the Bahraini government anyone looking for a vote is a terrorist.
    To the Saudi government anyone who thinks women should drive is a terrorist.
    To the US government anyone opposing the Guantanamo torture camp is a terrorist.
    Ditto for Chechans, Kurds, Tamils and many, many more.
    And now this post will probably have me in some data-base as a terrorist.

    28
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    Mute Martin Morad
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    May 9th 2013, 4:28 PM

    More than twenty millions Kurds in Kurdistan Turkey are called Terrorist because they are fighting against Turkish Terrorist Regime!!?

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    Mute Damocles
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    May 9th 2013, 12:34 PM

    I wonder how many #hate comments are actually #sarcasm comments.

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    Mute Liam
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    May 9th 2013, 12:02 PM

    “The proliferation of terrorism tutorials, and the abuse of social media and online forums by extremists, portend that future ‘lone wolf’ attacks here and abroad are inevitable.” Are they really inevitable? To make such a claim is to back it up with proof, and The Simon Wiesenthal Centre has not done that. People will commit acts of violence and terrorism regardless of what they can and cannot do on the internet.

    And when it comes to “digital hate”, this is a childish reaction to the situation, yes there are people who are idiots on the internet (they are everywhere), but just because they post something that some people might find offensive is not a good enough reason to prevent them from expressing their opinion, because at the end of the day what is considered “offensive” is a matter of opinion.

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    Mute Carcu Sidub
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    May 9th 2013, 1:14 PM

    What happened at Easter 1916 in this country would be called a terrorist act today.

    So were the members of the 1916 Rising terrorists?

    20
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    Mute Tom Quinn
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    May 9th 2013, 1:26 PM

    Terrorists only become “freedom fighters” if they win and write the books…………….then they become politicians and terrorize the public from that office with their polices for generations…………

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    Mute Carcu Sidub
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    May 9th 2013, 2:19 PM

    Tom

    I agree Dev’s constitution & his hold on power in Ireland after 1922, was and still is a problem for this country.

    7
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    Mute Martin Morad
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    May 9th 2013, 4:23 PM

    Terrorist exist every where within every nation but in different way!

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    Mute Ciaran Behan
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    May 9th 2013, 11:53 AM

    #LOL

    11
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    Mute Leon Taylor
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    May 9th 2013, 11:57 AM

    My god this is no laughing matter this needs to be stamped out NOW.

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    Mute Eoin Byrne
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    May 9th 2013, 1:55 PM

    Anyone else find it ironic that Nazi hunters are engaging in censorship?

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    Mute Joseph Wearen
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    May 9th 2013, 2:13 PM

    Abolish email, social media, mobile phones etc. Re-introduce carrier pigeons and smoke signals. Problem sorted. Simples.

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    Mute Mike Clinton
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    May 9th 2013, 11:40 AM

    @ Hugo.
    Totally agree with you about the blatent trolls that post only to antagonise and insult.
    There are a few right keyboard warriors that would be rightly at home under a sewer pipe and one or two I would love to meet face to face.
    People just don’t post because of these morons but it seems that trolling and bullying behind false accounts is acceptable.

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    Mute FinglasAgainstTans©
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    May 9th 2013, 5:14 PM

    Has the Simon Wiesenthal Centre anything to do with the guy who got burned in the Falklands war

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    Mute candy
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    May 9th 2013, 4:00 PM

    No censorship!!!

    or you will become like communist and this is the biggest terrorist in the world.

    people have brain and can be responsible for what they read and how they act.

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    Mute Michael cole
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    May 9th 2013, 2:21 PM

    I’m only after setting up twitter who’s good to follow on it??

    2
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