Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 12 Nov 1997

Vol. 482 No. 6

Written Answers. - Dublin Bus.

Eamon Gilmore

Question:

30 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she will make further resources available to improve the Dublin Bus service in view of the rapidly worsening traffic problems in Dublin, the further delays in the Luas project and the urgent need to promote public transport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18921/97]

Minister for Public Enterprise (Mrs. O'Rourke)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 30 together.

Under the Transport Acts, the question of assessing and meeting demand for public transport services by bus in the Dublin area is a matter for Bus Átha Cliath. In responding to the requirements of the travelling public, the company must apply the overall resources available to it as cost effectively as possible, having regard to the wide range of demands made on its resources.

One of the resources available to the company is the annual Exchequer subvention in respect of the socially necessary services provided by the CIÉ group which cannot be operated on a fully commercial basis. The allocation of the subvention to the individual companies is entirely a matter for the CIÉ board, and I am advised that the following amounts were allocated to Bus Átha Cliath in the past five years:

	£ million
1993	8.0
1994	5.0
1995	3.8
1996	3.7
1997	7.0

These figures do not include Bus Átha Cliath's substantial receipts from the Department of Social Welfare during that period in respect of the operation of the free travel scheme.

In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis within Bus Átha Cliath, and within CIÉ generally, on the need for a more commercial and customer-focused approach to the business of meeting public transport needs. Further development of this approach is the appropriate strategy for companies that wish to secure their position in the increasingly competitive environment which is emerging for the delivery of public transport services. The system of public service contracts which I intend to introduce to replace the existing CIÉ Exchequer subvention will further facilitate the evolution of an operating culture more closely focused on performance and the achievement of quality service standards.

There is no evidence available to me which suggests that fares are too high or that a reduction in fares, by itself, would significantly increase use of public transport services. If additional subvention were available, which it is not, my first priority would not be fares reductions but new and improved public transport services.

Public transport in Dublin is developing within the overall framework provided by the strategy recommended in the final report of the Dublin Transportation Initiative (DTI), which includes a series of quality bus corridors aimed at achieving improved standards of frequency, reliability and speed in areas of high demand. Bus Átha Cliath is pursuing the implementation of the quality bus corridor programme in conjunction with the relevant local authorities and the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO).