asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he is aware of the increasing numbers of citizens who are delayed for long periods in Dublin, in bus and tram queues, while proceeding to and from their places of business; and if he will state what are the prospects of Córas Iompair Éireann providing substantially improved services in Dublin in the near future.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Transport Services in Dublin.
I am informed that 31 new double-decker buses have already been placed on the Dublin City and suburban services. The speed with which the city services can be improved is limited by the shortage of equipment and by the necessity to assign a proportion of new vehicles to the provinces, where many areas have been deprived of all means of public passenger transport since train services were curtailed.
Would the Minister recommend the monopoly now in charge of our transport to do something to speed up the provision of an adequate number of buses for the conveyance of people who are now delayed long periods? In many cases, they are late for their work on account of the delays and will he ask the company to provide the service which they promised the public?
The reply I have already given covers the supplementary.
Are conditions to continue as they are, with queues 75 yards long in all kinds of weather? Sometimes people have to wait for 20 minutes or half an hour.
Does the Minister notice that, in recent months, it would appear to the casual observer that the queues waiting for public transport in the centre of the city are growing longer than they were? There seems to be more congestion than there was. Has the Minister noticed that there seems to be even more congestion than there was?
I have no official information on that. As everyone knows, the company is meeting with difficulties in replacing its equipment, but has already made a very substantial expansion of the services in Dublin. I am sure that, under its very competent management, it will continue to do everything possible.
Has the Minister not had representations made to him that, fully sympathising with the difficulty under which the company is labouring, it is obvious that the more effort the company makes the longer the queues appear to grow? Is there some other circumstance operating which may tend to complicate the problem?
The obvious conclusion is that there are more people travelling.
One would wonder why.
Would the Minister consider extending the tramway services?
I can assure Deputy Anthony that it would be just as difficult to get equipment to build tramcars as to build omnibuses.