Bus Full..and a hour to wait for the next one

Do you really think that if Mortons weren't there, Dublin Bus would be rushing in to run more buses to Celbridge late at night?

Mortons applied to run a half hourly frequency late at night, with a last bus running later than Dublin Bus. Those buses would have never paid for themselves for months, having to be subsidised by the profitable peak hour services. Any operator who makes the commitment to late night services, knows that.

The problem was, that Dublin Bus ran extra buses over and beyond their licensed allocation during the peak hours, specifically to run buses directly in front of the private operator's bus, and take it's business. Inspectors sat in cars, timing the Mortons buses, and radioing extra buses in at specific times to flood the competing service. Mortons complained, and the Department stopped Dublin Bus from doing this. The Department restricts Dublin Bus from putting on extra buses, specifically because Dublin Bus abused the privilege. While the Lucan Road was flooded with empty buses at one time, Ballyfermot was bereft of buses, with nothing like the number of buses needed in that area. Where were the buses? State funded buses, used to run half empty or empty in competition with a small private operator. The Department of Transport can be reasonable enough. It is Dublin Bus who are spinning the line that west Dublin is without proper services. The private operators are perfectly willing to operate alongside Dublin Bus. They even offered to integrate the services. But Dublin Bus do not want them there, because they force change on an institution that does not wish to change.

There were no express services at all into the city centre, until Mortons began running them over twenty years ago. As soon as that happened, Dublin Bus introduced City Speed services in competition.

There were no proper bus services into the city centre from Dublin Airport until Aircoach began operating. Suddenly Dublin Bus were able to increase the number of services there almost fourfold.

There were no express services from Swords to the city until Swords Express began operating. Suddenly Dublin Bus were screaming about buses not being allowed into the tunnel.

In every case, Dublin Bus do not provide the service, and when somebody else does, Dublin Bus runs wailing to the Department.

Dublin Bus drivers at one stage used the dirtiest of tactics on the road, parking every single spare bus they had in lines along the city bus stops, to prevent waiting passengers from seeing the approach of a private bus. Individual bus drivers would drive their buses like battering rams at private buses, to intimidate the other drivers and try to force them into accident situations. Dublin Bus drivers drove on footpaths, stopped their buses at forty five degree angles at bus stops, parked buses in front and behind private buses to block them in, and raced private buses on open roads, with passengers on board.

We read that these were the type of things that happened in Dublin in the 1920s among independent operators, and that this would befall us again if privatisation were allowed. Well lo and behold, it is happening, and it is employees of the state funded operator that are practicing it.

Mortons pulled the entire late night service, because the company would have collapsed overnight had it not done so. The revenue from the peak hour services were so badly affected by Dublin Bus activities, that there was no money to pay to build up off peak business. Dublin Bus knew that the private operator would face difficulties, and their practice is to drive them into the ground financially.

Total privatisation running unchecked is the last thing Dublin needs. But equally, leaving the future of Dublin's transport in the hands of a state monolith is no answer either. What is needed are the best elements of both worlds, and that can only be had under the eye of an independent regulator. Dublin Bus are entirely in favour of a regulator, as long as they can BE the regulator. This of course is a joke, as much as simply handing state assets over to private enterprise would be.

The answer, as usual, lies somewhere in the middle. Unfortunately, this government's track record at appointing regulatory agencies is pretty rueful. Anyone for a hospital bed? Anyone for a taxi?

MYOB wrote: »

I distinctly remember there being 41X services - the most express Dublin Bus have ever and will ever operate - before the Swords Express. And I don't remember Mortons being around more than 20 years ago and I've lived in or around North Kildare for most of that time period!

And the fallout situation still exists - Mortons appear to have interest in providing services to the town their buses are based in, which can't get any improvement in services due to their actions. Thankfully Irish Rail rejigged stuff a bit so we no longer have the 'dead zone' of about 50 minutes mid-morning where you couldn't get out of Maynooth without a car.

My apologies, of course there were 41Xs. How many were there, though? The 141 route is the controversial one, of course, being routed through the port tunnel. And it's funny how Dublin Bus started wailing that they had a new route and couldn't operate it, AFTER the private buses started running?

For the record, the residents of Celbridge twenty years ago lobbied and pleaded with CIE for more buses to Celbridge and were ignored. They then approached Paul Morton, who readily agreed to provide the service CIE wouldn't. It was initially operated by luxury coaches, far more comfortable and direct than the old 67 bus service. Immediately after, the first City Speed services were instigated, the 66X and 67X, in response to the competition. It took a kick in the pants from a private operator for that logical progression.

Mortons applied for an all day clock face half hourly frequency between Celbridge and the city. Had that gone ahead as normal, the logical progression would have been increased frequencies, and links to Leixlip and Maynooth, on a step by step basis. Not to replace Dublin Bus, but to complement the service, and try to do it better. It would have to be better to win over the business.

What happened is that Dublin Bus threw every spanner and torch and jack handle at Mortons, both officially and unofficially, either to get them refused, and if not, to grind them financially out of business. I've already stated some of what went on. Dublin Bus turned their back on the private sector at meetings about ticketing integration. But even on an individual basis, there was dirty business - whether it was officially sanctioned or not, will not be clear. A bus inspector sat in his car outside the Mortons depot one morning, watching and logging the buses going in and out. On other occasions, drivers reported officials at every single stop along the route, counting how many passengers got on private buses. On other occasions, inspectors got ON Mortons bus, cap in hand, with Dublin Bus logo pointed at the driver, paid their fare, and travelled on Mortons bus. Inspectors at busy stops in the city actually shouted at passengers to get off the buses. They were doing nothing illegal, but on taxpayers money, it sure stinks.

Not to mention the kind of appalling and criminal behaviour of a small number of individual drivers, totally unsanctioned, I'm sure, where drivers would almost cause accidents on the road, to make some kind of point. Like the Dublin Bus driver who overtook a Morton bus at speed on College Green one afternoon, right at the narrow bit. He drove right up against the Mortons bus, put his nearside mirror in front of the Mortons offside mirror, and when the mirrors were almost locked together, he jammed his brakes hard, in order to cause the Mortons bus to break his mirror off, and be the cause of a fuss. The Mortons driver was sharp and avoided the incident. Another Dublin Bus squeezed up the inside of a Mortons Bus on Westmoreland Street, and when the lights went green, he raced forward, mounted the footpath which was absolutely crowded with pedestrians, and when he got inside the Mortons bus, jammed on his brakes, in the hopes that the Mortons bus would crash into HIM. Again the Mortons driver avoided the incident. Another Mortons bus was pulling out of a bus stop. He was indicating and started moving as a Dublin Bus behind indicated left to pull in. The Dublin Bus accelerated, overtook, and then jammed on outside him, blocking the road, well past his stop at this stage, and immediately opened the doors letting people out onto the road in front of the Mortons bus who had to jam on to avoid hitting someone. The list goes on.

All of this kind of trouble faced the private company on a daily basis, which resulted in takings going down, and plans having to be shelved. The company is now in the unenviable position of having applied for a licence it now cannot expediently operate due to the aggressive state operator, while the state operator itself is hamstrung by legislation enforced strictly because of it's own underhanded actions. While the people of Celbridge especially, but other districts too, do not know who to blame for the rotten bus service. Everyone has a hand in the mess, but it would be nice for people to be a little bit better informed before making judgement.