As I am sure the Minister is aware, the Dublin Bus Company are losing money at the rate of about £2 million a year and their problems are being compounded by a loss of passengers. Dublin Bus have argued that they can no longer guarantee an efficient service due to our traffic choked streets. The only real way to reverse this trend is to allow public transport, and in particular the Dublin Bus Company to provide a passenger service which meets the requirements of commuters. This will require making decisions which discriminate against car driving commuters, particularly at peak times, in favour of the users of public transport. Public transport must be made attractive enough to entice back those people who have abandoned it in favour of their cars.
Dublin Bus are facing a crisis not because of a lack of competition from other bus companies but because of neglect by this and previous Governments. Despite some improvements and the positive efforts made to make buses a more attractive form of transport the alarm bells are ringing in regard to the viability of Dublin Bus. I call on the Government to take these warnings seriously. I ask the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications and the Minister for the Environment to co-ordinate their policies to the benefit of Dublin Bus and their commuters.
I was astounded to hear the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications say at Question Time today that he believed competition for Dublin Bus would improve transport for the people of Dublin. This is a farcical statement as Dublin Bus are already in competition with an ever growing number of private motorists. It does not make sense to those who use buses that the Minister seems to want to add to the congestion on our roads by encouraging the use of private buses. People will not opt to use private buses if they have to travel at the same speed as Dublin Bus and join the same traffic jams. The slower the bus services, the more attractive it will be for people to use their cars. This gives rise to the vicious cycle where Dublin Bus lose passengers, demand a greater subvention and increase their bus fares, thus giving rise to a loss of even more passengers.
What is the use of competition if commuters are stuck in traffic jams? Unless we allow buses to move more quickly through our streets and attempt to make the service more punctual, clean and efficient, the number of car registrations, which topped the one million mark last year will continue to increase with the resultant pollution from car fumes. At peak hours traffic in city streets comes to a standstill. We in The Workers' Party have called again and again for the reestablishment of the Dublin Transport Authority, to co-ordinate and plan traffic management needs for the capital. Illegal parking and the disregard for parking regulations are causing havoc. We need to introduce a rigorous programme, as demanded by Dublin Bus, of wheel clamping of illegally parked cars, and increased fines. The anti-social behaviour of private motorists on a daily basis must end.
In the past few years Dublin Bus started to get their act together to meet the demands of the Dublin commuter. In the past Dublin Bus and management largely contributed to the poor image and poor service the company provided. Both unions and management are agreed that Dublin Bus must move towards the position where they can move the maximum number of commuters comfortably, rapidly, reliably and as cheaply as possible.
