Go-Ahead Dublin City Routes - Updates and Discussion

Stevek101 wrote: »

Its gas this whole yellow craic was dismissed by the board of the NTA months ago. I wonder why there was a change of heart?

External pressures I would be almost certain about. But it weakens the NTA, no doubt about it.

The problem is that when you have a transport regulator who has held firm for so long on something like this and then performs a U-Turn at the last minute, like a U-Turn in politics, it shows a weakness of leadership and decision making and it also sends a message out to the unions, operators, and other interests, that if you pressure the NTA for long enough and are persistent, you can get them to back down.

The NBRU will be looking at this thinking that if they keep up the pressure about BusConnects for example and keep at it, they can force the NTA to retreat. Dublin Bus, who are probably less than keen to integrate with Go-Ahead, may now be thinking that if there are any things they are not keen to do, particularly if it was them that forced the addition of the yellow, if they hold out long enough on those things, the NTA may concede some ground.

Of course the whole thing could be a staging post for getting something closer to the Dublin Bus livery when people draw the conclusion that the proposed hybrid livery is completely dreadful.

Whatever we think of the livery however, I think one thing that we all agree on that spending such money on changing something that has been locked down ages ago is going to be an expensive lesson and we should not be at such a late stage before Go-Ahead starting where these things are not settled, at this stage serious questions are beginning to come up about the NTA's ability to deliver this project and the required level of integration and late U-Turns are not a good sign. This should have all been sorted long ago and it remains to be seen if the NTA are able to properly answer the various other questions about intergration matters and without some kind of last minute fudge.

AlekSmart wrote: »

By far and away the most relevant and somewhat disturbing point being made is how Bus Atha Cliath,since it's inception has had a very clear and comprehensive policy of consultation with virtually every Disability representative body in the State.

This consultation has been regular,and covers more than simply the design of the vehicle.

What has surprised and disappointed these representative bodies is how the NTA,having taken over the responsibility for Public Transport Provision,rather spectacularly failed to retain the close relationship with these representative groups.

It will,no doubt,take several FoI requests to learn the eventual cost of attempting to put this error of judgement to rights,but even the process of recoating the interior poles and grabrails will cost a significant additional sum.

Whether or not the NTA sees it's remit as the evisceration of Bus Atha Cliath,it might be better served by taking note of the elements of long-standing BAC policies which have quietly,but effectively worked,for the more "0ff-grid" groups in our society.

Would this be the same Dublin Bus that has painted vehicles for it's Airlink service in a colour on the front of the bus that is much darker than the blue being used on the NTA livery and has held that livery for approx 3,500 days or 10 years, however you want to put it, without thinking about how that effects the disabled in our society?

Dublin Bus may well do a lot of good work with such groups and I don't doubt that at all, I've seen it first hand and they should be commended for that. However it's a bit rich if they come out and say non bright, darker colours are bad on the front of the bus, when they've painted vehicles in such colour themselves and saw no problem with it for the last 10 years themselves.

As I said before, Dublin Bus did not want this livery and whilst the impact on disabled people certainly is a factor, I do not believe that it is the only one at play here. It's also about image and brand protection as well. If not, I look forward to seeing the new bright fronted Airlink livery in the next few months. I won't hold my breath.

It'll be interesting to see what Bus Eireann does, since surely it should now be very very easy to get them to change from a front of virtually of majority white on the front, since being a sister company of Dublin Bus I'm sure that they would have view in relation to the front end needing to be bright for the kind of groups that we have talked about. They wouldn't say they have to keep the white would they? I mean, it isn't about brands is it? :rolleyes: