Commuters haunted by ‘phantom’ buses

tHeRe are “countless phantom buses, late buses and nonarrivals,” across Fingal, the Dáil has been told.

sinn Féin tD Louise o’Reilly said there has been an issue with the “level of service” with all bus providers in the area, including Dublin Bus, go ahead and Bus Éireann.

Deputy o’Reilly said: “The government is funding a bus service that isn’t working in a constituency that is heavily reliant on public transport.”

“We have had a litany of buses cancelled at the last minute, disappearing off the real-time information, arriving late and that’s only some of the problems.” she said bus services in the area need to “dramatically improve”, particularly the 101, 102, 33a and the H2 bus routes.

“The essential service is being undermined when the buses don’t show up or they arrive late,” she said. “The people of Fingal have a right to get to work, they have a right to get to school on time and to go about their daily business safely in the knowledge their bus isn’t going to be cancelled or disappear.”

Deputy o’Reilly said she had been contacted by a woman who frequently uses the 101 route, and waited one hour for her bus to show up.

“That is a very regular occurrence for this lady, it’s not acceptable,” said Deputy o’Reilly. she added the 33a bus route, provided by go ahead, is “one of the worst i have seen”.

“There are countless phantom buses, late buses and nonarrivals. it has happened to myself on many occasions.

“The 102, from Dublin airport to sutton, is used by a lot of school students. Parents and students have told me it is often late or sometimes does not show up,” she said, adding that it results in children being