A eagarthóir,
I am writing to complain about the dismal public transport service we are forced to tolerate here in Ireland.
I am a commuter. I live in Castlebar and travel to Westport to work, a short distance of 17km. As I believe in reducing my carbon footprint, I make every effort to use public transport for this journey. I have also tried cycling this route but realised it is far too dangerous.
Each day I take the 9am bus from Westport to Castlebar. The single ticket costs €4.10. It is more economical to buy a return ticket but as the bus only returns from Westport to Castlebar at 4pm or 10.30pm it doesn’t suit any normal working hours. My journey home involves ringing around to see if anyone is travelling that way at a suitable time, or calling a family member to drive to Westport from Castlebar to pick me up, which defeats the purpose of catching the bus in the first place.
Iarnróid Éireann also offer a “commuter” service but as the first train arrives into Westport at 11.58am and leaves again at 6.05pm it is not compatible with most forms of employment.
A solution for the commuter could be to travel by bus in the morning (€4.10 ) and return by train (€6.40 ). However, under the current fare structure this costs a total of €52.50 for a five-day working week, compared to less than €15 to travel by car. It seems that those who can’t afford to buy a car and those who choose not to buy a car are once again the sufferers in today’s Ireland. It is ironic that on the one hand the government is happy to flaunt its “green” credentials, yet on the other side offers so little support to the development of proper public transport infrastructure in Ireland. At the very least there should be a shuttle bus running between Westport and Castlebar at peak times. Also, bus and train tickets should be interchangeable, so that a return ticket allows the traveller to chose the mode of transport most suited to her or his needs. Furthermore, the introduction of season tickets might help to get the fare down to an affordable level.
I have written to the public transport bodies but haven’t received as much as a letter of acknowledgement. Do any of these people ever use buses I wonder?
I received an email from the Change.ie today, a government-sponsored body which endeavours to encourage the people of Ireland to take action on climate change. Perhaps the government would do better to seek reform of Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann instead, so that when the citizens of Ireland want to leave their car at home, there is an alternative mode of transport already in place.
Le meas,
A frustrated commuter in the west of Ireland.
