Boulevardier wrote: » Everyone is not a winner. Pay and working conditions get driven down for everyone.
Boulevardier wrote: » Workers need to "immunised" from a race to the bottom. The first step needs to be better union legal recognition protection.
Morpheus wrote: » I travel once weekly to waterford. BE and Dublin coach operate at roughly same times I got the expressway once from waterford to red cow, same price as dublin coach, the BE coach went down some mad back road route and took longer as it had to nip through a lot of empty villages to pick up a smattering of people. That was the last time, Dublin Coaches route is pretty direct, one stop at kilkenny and that's it. BE have no choice but to cover the routes in this manner as far as im aware... Private operators avoid these rural areas along the route. Bus Eireann 0700 service to Dublin red cow: Stops: Waterford (Bus Station) Mullinavat (Mulhearns) Ballyhale (Opp Day Today) Thomastown (O Keefes) Kilkenny (Ormonde House) Kilkenny (Rail Station) Gowran (Opposite Power’s) Royal Oak (Slip Road) Leighlinbridge Cross Carlow IT (Opp Main Entrance) Carlow (Barrack St) Newlands Cross (Northbound) Red Cow LUAS Dublin Coach, Waterford to Red cow: Stops: Waterford (Merchants Quay) Kilkenny (Ormonde Road) Kilkenny (McDonagh Junction) Red Cow LUAS How is this competition?
Boulevardier wrote: » Iarnrod Eireann has hugely improved their trains and onboard facilities with no competition at all from other rail operators.
devnull wrote: » Which basically will drive wages up and increase the end costs to public transport users, be that through the higher required PSO and higher fares. Essentially what your statement implys that you believe you believe the private interests of the staff are more important than the interests of the people who actually use the service.
devnull wrote: » The problem is though they are locked out on a lot of key markets now, because NTA only issue licenses for two operators on any corridor so on many of these routes it's too late because two other companies got there before they did which is the key failings which have led them to the current situation.
Graham wrote: » You're right, it's unfair competition. The private operators should be offered the same subsidies to operate the otherwise un-economic but arguably socially necessary stops.
draiochtanois wrote: » This post has been deleted.
ED E wrote: » Why? Because they love to gouge the public/taxpayer? Ehh no thanks.
ED E wrote: » If BE cant compete tender it all out. Lads driving for Aircoach were always perfectly competent despite the wage gap.
Graham wrote: » That's a rather roundabout way of saying BE can't compete because they pay their drivers over the market rate.
end of the road wrote: » BE pay their drivers the right wage for what is a very responsible job. i would have no issue with the terms of the others being brought up to the same standard all though i recognise that sadly that won't happen.
end of the road wrote: » which is a problem. the NTA shouldn't be able to lock other operators out of the market. if they want to regulate the market then they must give all operators who want to operate services on a corridor a chance to do so and regulate accordingly.
in some ways i also don't blame bus eireann for not getting in before hand and running these services and here is why. politics. lets say bus eireann did start up the services and it turned out they were right and they're was no demand
how do you think it would have ended for them? it certainly wouldn't have ended well. politicians whining left right and centre and god knows what the government might have done as a come back. bus eireann are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
He said that between 2012 and 2015, total bus passenger numbers on the Cork Dublin Corridor increased by 61 per cent, while on the Limerick Dublin Corridor, they increased by 50%.
Del.Monte wrote: » While I'm no CIE fanboy the uncontrolled proliferation of private operators, both passenger and freight, over the last forty years is not sustainable or desirable for a myriad of reasons including safety, environmental, wages and the end game where large parts of the country will be devoid of services.
oppenheimer1 wrote: What BE have let happen is that they have failed to innovate and let their cost base get out of control. It will be interesting to see how the government and the union's react to the inevitable layoffs, cuts to services and reorganisation of the company.
bk wrote: » Country devoid of service? No reason why the PSO subsidies BE receive can't be given to private operators to run non-profitable routes. In fact, given that private operators seem to be able to operate services for a lot less money then BE. Then logically the same amount of PSO money could actually go much further with private operators and we could actually end up with more routes and service in rural areas. Remember private operators run profitable services in some of the most rural areas of Donegal that even BE won't run. Proving that you definitely don't need a semi-state company to run rural routes.
end of the road wrote: » if that was the case then the uk would have the cheepist bus subsidies and fares in the world seeing as they rely totally on private operators.
Statement by National Transport Authority on bus services in rural communities 11th January 2017 Tim Gaston, Director of Public Transport Services said: “Suggestions that decisions made by the National Transport Authority (NTA) in granting commercial licences to bus operators have been to blame for the difficulties being experienced by Bus Éireann, simply do not stand up to scrutiny. “The notion that there is saturation on the inter-city corridors served by Expressway services, and that the NTA grants licences to operators at the drop of a hat, is well wide of the mark. “In fact since 2011, we have rejected almost as many applications for licences on these key routes, as we have granted. “In any case, over 80 per cent of Bus Éireann passengers travel on their subsidised services, which are under no threat whatsoever, with just 19 per cent using their commercial services such as Expressway. “Our primary responsibility in law is to the travelling public, and when we assess an application for a commercial licence, we do so with this in mind, while looking at a whole range of considerations including likely passenger demand, impact on existing services and impact on subsidised services. “It has consistently been the case that where new licences are issued in these markets, that overall passenger numbers have increased, in many cases, very significantly. For example, between 2012 and 2015, total bus passenger numbers on the Cork Dublin Corridor increased by 61 per cent, while on the Limerick Dublin Corridor, they increased by 50 per cent. “In other words, rather than saturating the market, what we have actually done is increase public transport capacity, and in so doing enabled many more journeys to be undertaken on the bus network. “Unfortunately, there has been some level of confusion in discourse around Bus Éireann in recent days and weeks, and it is crucial to reassure the company’s customers, particularly in rural areas by looking at the facts of the matter. “Bus Éireann commercial services like Expressway, account for only 19 per cent of all the company’s passengers. “81 per cent of Bus Éireann passengers are on routes subsidised under the Public Service Obligation (PSO) Contract that the company has entered with NTA. “This will not change, and these services are under no threat. In fact they have been a huge success story in recent years, with passenger numbers continuing to increase. Last week the NTA published figures for 2016, which indicated a 5.5 per cent increase in passengers on Bus Éireann subsidised services, jumping from 30.2m in 2015 to 32m last year. “Subvention for these services by the NTA to Bus Éireann increased from €34m in 2014, to €40m in 2016. And that figure is likely to go up again in 2017. The NTA successfully made a case for an increase from the state for PSO funding, and this year we will be allocating €262.6m in public transport subsidies to operators including Bus Éireann, up from €236.6 in 2016. “If it is the case that some Expressway services are discontinued at local level, NTA will, as our track record proves, step in and ensure that local demands for public transport are met. We will not leave any rural communities behind. “It is the duty of the NTA to ensure that as many people as possible, in all parts of this country, have access to a safe, reliable and value-for-money public transport service, and we will continue to discharge our responsibilities in that regard, without fear or favour.”
Statement by National Transport Authority on bus services in rural communities 11th January 2017 Tim Gaston, Director of Public Transport Services said: “Suggestions that decisions made by the National Transport Authority (NTA) in granting commercial licences to bus operators have been to blame for the difficulties being experienced by Bus Éireann, simply do not stand up to scrutiny.
Vic_08 wrote: » The Galway-Dublin Express route awarding is somewhat public following the court case over Citylink's illegal operation of express services and subsequent award of a licence over Bus Eireann despite Bus Eireann having applied for one several YEARS earlier.
devnull wrote: » I am aware of the Citylink situation and that indeed was a farce and they should have never been given a license for a donation to charity like they were. However you have to remember this was before the National Transport authority existed so it's unfair to blame an organisation who were not around at the time.
devnull wrote: » In reference to Bus Eireann having a license turned down I have never read this before outside unsubstantiated posts on a forum. Can you please provide a media or official source for your claim that they were discriminated against?
