The Athlone fleet of buses is to be reduced by three when the cutbacks announced by Bus Éireann come into effect in the coming weeks.
Andrew McLindon, Bus Eireann’s media and PR manager, confirmed to the Advertiser that of the 150 buses to be taken off the road across the country, three of them are to come from the Athlone fleet.
However it is not yet known how Athlone and the rest of Westmeath will be affected by the company’s proposed redundancies, with a total of 320 Bus Eireann staff to lose their jobs across the country.
According to Mr McLindon, the company cannot yet comment on which services or routes are to be curtailed, or where staff are to be cut.
“It would not yet be appropriate to comment, as if I said that services were to be curtailed on a particular route, then drivers on this route would know their jobs were at risk,” Mr McLindon told the Advertiser.
However, local employees will not have long to wait to hear whether their jobs are affected, as Bus Eireann management is to meet with individual staff groupings and trade unions in the coming weeks.
“We have to finalise the plan by the end of February. Demand for our services fell by 4 per cent in 2008, and it is expected it will fall by a further 5 to 6 per cent in 2009. We are in a loss-making situation, so the sooner we implement the changes the better.”
Mr McLindon also moved to reassure Bus Eireann customers that where changes are to be made to services, they will be given plenty of notice. “It is not a question that routes will disappear overnight. If there are to be changes they will be phased in over a period of months. Any changes will be publicised well in advance to customers.”
He also confirmed that the redundancies will be at all levels of the organisation. “The job losses will be throughout the organisation. Two thirds of our staff are drivers, but there will also be losses across clerical, managerial, engineering, and other staff.”
Bus Eireann confirmed on Tuesday that approximately 230 of its drivers are to be made redundant, with 31 clerical staff and 61 other staff also to lose their jobs.
Of the 150 buses to be taken off the road, 30 will come from its Cork fleet, 25 from Dublin, and 24 from Limerick. In addition to Athlone, depots in Ballina, Dundalk, Galway, Sligo, Stranorlar, Tralee and Waterford are also set to lose buses.
“Unfortunately, due to the effect of the global recession on the country’s economy in 2008, there has been a significant drop in demand for public transport, which has impacted negatively on Bus Eireann’s revenues.
“Bus Éireann has informed its 2,700 employees of the company’s cost effectiveness plan that outlines the measures necessary to ensure its success in a very challenging economic environment,” read a statement from the company.
The company envisages that the savings from the plan should restore the company to a strong financial position by the end of 2010.
