asked the Minister for Transport and Power if the management of CIE will inquire into the possibility of using any surplus revenue accruing from the bus services in the Dublin city area to be used to subsidise the bus fares in the city.
27.
Ceisteann—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dublin Bus Services.
25.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power (a) the profits earned by CIE on Dublin city bus service in each of the past three years and (b) the projected profit in the current year.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 25 and 27 together.
The operating profits on the Dublin city bus services for the years ended 31st March, 1966, 1967, and 1968, were £295,000, £200,000 and £264,000 respectively, and the estimated operating profit for year ending 31st March, 1969, is £110,000. These figures do not, however, include an allocation for financial charges and when an appropriate allocation for such charges is made, the results for each of the three years ended 31st March, 1966, 1967, and 1968, is a net profit of £128,000, £14,000 and £54,000 respectively. After allowing for the additional revenue from the proposed increases in fares and rates, the estimated result for year ending 31st March, 1969, is a net loss of £120,000. The estimated result for the year ending 31st March, 1970, is a net loss of £130,000. There is, therefore, no surplus revenue from the Dublin city bus services.
26.
asked the Minister for Transport and Power if, in view of the failure of CIE to provide satisfactory bus services in Dublin city, he will introduce legislation to hand over these services to private enterprise.
CIE take all possible measures to ensure that the Dublin city bus services will satisfactorily meet the needs of the travelling public. However, under conditions of traffic congestion, certain difficulties are bound to arise. I do not propose to introduce legislation to hand over these services to private enterprise.
When will the difficulties referred to by the Minister be resolved?
The Deputy may have read some of the reports issued by CIE and gone into in great detail by me on the occasion of my last Estimate, of the efforts made by CIE to provide the best possible service. There was the origin and destination survey in which some 250,000 people were interviewed in order to ascertain whether the bus services were scheduled in the best possible way. An effort has been made to achieve greater productivity of the bus services from the standpoint of those who pay for tickets and from the standpoint of efficiency, and by providing larger buses by economies in maintenance and production and assembly of buses and by such matters as having a greater number of standby buses, mobile inspectors, radio control to centre, closed circuit television apparatus. As the Deputy may know, at the moment there is a problem of bunching of buses at peak hours in the afternoons and in subpeak periods. I understand that measures are to be taken by Dublin Corporation next year in addition to the provision of clearways and oneway streets which may relieve this position.
To illustrate the difficulties, in January, 1967, there were 600 lost journeys, that is 600 buses during the period of one month were unable to complete their journeys because it was not thought worthwhile as they had been so much delayed. In September, 1968, 2,000 bus journeys were lost. This is a modern technical method of assessing the degree of bunching and it is serious. All these things add to the cost of running the CIE bus service in Dublin, and certainly add to the inconvenience caused to the public. I hope that next year when the new measures outlined by the Corporation are put into operation that position will be relieved. I can assure the Deputy that there is the most scientific management of bus operation and that every conceivable device is used for the re-scheduling of bus services to meet the needs of the public for a bus service at a particular hour and a particular place relative to origin and destination services. Queueing and bunching of buses are a familiar phenomenon in every capital city in Europe of which I am aware.
On a point of order, would the Ceann Comhairle have a word with the Minister to say that these economic courses which he is running here frequently should be terminated?
The question has to be answered.
The Minister has tried with great courtesy to deal fully with the questions addressed to him. He has given a comprehensive answer but I should like to know does he think it represents intelligent planning to meet the problems with which he and CIE are now grappling to have torn down the Harcourt Street-Bray railroad which would have very substantially relieved the type of congestion with which we are now confronted?
CIE have undertaken two surveys to ensure that the railway service brings the largest number of passengers in and out of the city.
The Harcourt Street-Bray line was torn down.
I am not aware that the retention of that line would have benefited the present situation. It has been closed for a long time.
Can the Minister say if he is quite happy that relations between the Dublin Corporation Traffic Department, the Garda and CIE are what they should be? To an outside observer it appears that CIE and the Corporation are completely at loggerheads. Perhaps it is time for the Minister and the Minister for Justice, who is responsible for the Garda, to lock heads together in respect of this matter.
This was due, perhaps, to some relatively intemperate remarks made by some representatives of CIE in regard to the progress being made. I can assure the Deputy that there is a co-ordination committee in which the Garda, the Department of Local Government, Dublin Corporation and CIE participate. As the Deputy probably knows—this has been published in the newspapers—there is an intention to establish parking meters in the centre of Dublin. Wardens have been appointed to try to enforce the parking laws and this should help in the mobility of transport and particularly in the movement of CIE buses.
Is the Minister aware of the serious problems which arise for passengers from the outlying areas such as Dún Laoghaire and Dalkey, which are heavily built-up, but which are at the end of the CIE journeys for most bus services? Has any consideration been given to the difficulty experienced by travellers both morning and evening to and from these centres?
In reply to the Deputy, as the House knows we have a complaint service in our Department and we refer complaints to the State companies themselves. Frequently we discuss with the manager of a particular State company a number of repetitive complaints. These complaints for areas in relation to the services referred to by the Deputy are due to bunching in the city at peak times. There was an inevitable obstruction on the main road due to repairs which by itself cut in half the road and caused an appalling disruption of traffic. It lasted some days and was inevitably part of the problem.
Surely some consideration should be given to alternative routes when that arises? People waiting who expect a bus at the normal time find there is no bus. If alternative routes were announced in advance that could ease the problem.
That could cause difficulties by diverting traffic to other areas.