THE owner of a private bus company has called on the National Transport Authority to give his firm licences for several key routes in West Cork, following a litany of complaints about Bus Éireann services.
Damien Long, the owner of West Cork Connect, believes he could save the State millions of euro and improve bus services if he was awarded the contracts.
His call came following complaints that Bus Éireann had left commuters stranded in recent weeks. Complaints first appeared online last Thursday morning when Sheila Deasy asked why the Skibbereen to Cork service, scheduled for 6.45am, hadn’t turned up that morning, or the day before.
Ann-Marie Logan joined the online debate saying she had to make six complaints about the Bus Éireann 236 route from Bantry to Cork not turning up on several occasions.
Helena Kelly said complaints have to be made to Parnell Place in Cork City, but the non-provision of a service can be reimbursed if other travel arrangements have to be made for things like medical appointments.
One city dweller, Veroníca Nicguidhír, who had similar complaints about the services in Cork, said: ‘I feel your pain. Whatever about a city service not showing up, it’s shocking that a rural service failed as you can’t take a taxi to the city.’ She claimed Bus Éireann ‘have been using the driver shortage excuse since 2017’.
DeAnna LeTray complained she missed her bus because of a ‘no-show’ and had to ‘wait for hours, with no information on what happened.’
Kieran Gary complained that the bus route 236 – which takes in Cork, Dunmanway, Bantry, Glengarriff and Castletownbere – is ‘an absolute disgrace. Several times in the last six weeks it drove straight past me and others at the Wilton stop,’ he said.
‘Because it was the last bus of the evening, it meant having to arrange someone to drive up from West Cork at that hour of the evening.’
Mr Gary suggested: ‘They should try standing in the rain for over two hours waiting to be collected.’
Kathleen O’Donovan said: ‘It’s not too bad if the bus was running a few minutes late, but a no-show is a disgrace for anyone with medical appointments or work, college etc.’
However one man, Frank O’Driscoll, suggested The Southern Star might like to come for a trip in a bus and ‘see first-hand the state of the roads and the conditions’ before ‘slagging off Bus Éireann.’ A woman Marian Cadogan said she often travels on the Bus Éireann 237 on the Clonakilty to Cork route and ‘never experienced discourtesy, or had a situation where a driver didn’t show up’.
But further complaints appeared during the week with one customer saying that the 270 – 6am Skibbereen to Killarney bus – ‘didn’t show again.’
The person said: ‘People are trying to get to work’ and Bus Éireann is ‘a let-down once again. We clearly can’t rely on Bus Éireann.’
West Cork Connect owner Damien Long said his company hadn’t missed one service since it started in 2020, so the roads are not an excuse.
He said that if the National Transport Authority gave his company the licence es for the 237, the 236, and the 270 routes it would be a ‘win win.’
He said it would save the State millions, the people of West Cork would get a better bus service, and the reallocation of buses and drivers would improve services in the city.
A spokesperson for Bus Éireann was asked to address these complaints.
The spokesperson said: ‘The route 237 (Skibbereen-Cork) 6.45am service departed approximately one hour behind schedule on 27th and 28th August.
‘This was due to unforeseeable operational difficulties and the inconvenience caused to customers is very much regretted, and we apologise for this,’ the spokesperson added.
‘It is very unfortunate, but also very unusual, to encounter such difficulties with a route on two days, however every available measure was taken to ensure that the matter was rectified and that the service operated as early as possible.’
