LUAS planners let us down, now all Northsiders are suffering – Rock

Fine Gael TD for Dublin North West, Noel Rock, has slammed the NTA and Dublin City Council following revelations that bus journeys have more than doubled in duration since the introduction of LUAS Cross City.

Deputy Rock said: “When it comes to any suggestion that buses should be run off the road in order to prioritise the LUAS, all public representatives need to be clear: absolutely not.

“Had this been proposed as the plan during the formative stages of LUAS Cross City, it would never have gotten beyond the planning stage.

“The Northside bus network serves more than ten times as many commuters as the LUAS ever will.

“The routes have been established over the course of decades based on demand. Any alternative routes would, given how much of the city arteries the LUAS now runs along, require buses to be stopping nowhere near where people actually want to be.

“It would be nothing short of a planning disaster, and would be favouring the few over the many”.

“The NTA, Dublin City Council and Dublin Bus need to sit down and devise a better way of making this work.

“Dublin Bus have already done their part by redirecting certain routes. But the idea that North-South routes would be completely banned from College Green is a complete non-runner. I’d back Dublin Bus to the hilt on that front.”

Deputy Rock continued: “Suspending the LUAS from College Green during peak traffic times is about as realistic as banning buses.

“Buses are the workhorse of our city – they serve many more areas, many more communities and many more commuters.

“There is no way they should be treated as secondary to the LUAS, when the whole premise of the LUAS Cross City was that it would supplement and complement the bus network.

“I’m fed up of city managers not recognising the vital role that the humble Dublin Bus plays in getting our city moving, in favour of new, shiny projects.

“In the North West of the city – across Dublin 9 and 11 – we are entirely dependent on the bus network.

“Every other constituency in Dublin has an alternative mode of public transport. Dublin North West does not.

“In any such ban, we would face the greatest disruption – and I will be opposing it tooth and nail.”

ENDS