Cork bus services branded ‘a joke’ as complaints rack up

Almost 250 complaints were made about Cork’s bus services during a 15-month period, with the majority highlighting reliability concerns.

Information obtained from the National Transport Authority (NTA) revealed that 196 complaints were made about bus services in Cork in 2023. A further 52 were made in the first three months of this year.

Around 70 of the complaints focused on reliability, highlighting concerns about late buses or no-show services.

A further 40 related to staff or driver behaviour concerns, while 51 highlighted issues or queries about bus shelters.

Ten complaints highlighted issues with the Transport for Ireland (TFI) Live App, which is designed to allow people access live, real-time departure and journey-planning information across the TFI network.

A further eight people complained about scheduling, and two highlighted accessibility issues. One person who complained about scheduling in Cork labelled the services a “joke”, while another said they were “s**te”.

One person who complained about staff behaviour said: “Just because I have free travel doesn’t mean I should be treated this way by a driver.”

September saw the highest number of complaints last year, with 37 out of the 196 lodged in that month. So far this year, 14 complaints were lodged in both January and March, with 24 lodged in February — almost one per day.

Horror story

Speaking to The Echo, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, Thomas Gould, said a week rarely goes by without someone telling him of their “horror story” experience on a Cork bus.

“These are shocking figures that lay bare the huge issues with buses in Cork from September to now,” he said.

“Complaints peaked in September at almost six times what they were in January.

“These have remained relatively high, with complaints in February 2024 almost triple those of the previous year. This is echoed in my office. I was elected in 2020, and while I would get some complaints about buses, they would not be regular.

“Now, a week rarely goes past that someone doesn’t contact me with a horror story — an elderly person left in the lashing rain waiting for a bus that didn’t turn up, a college student almost missing an exam because of a late bus or young people standing in the dark at night time on buses that disappear and reappear on the poorly functioning app.”

Getting worse

Mr Gould revealed he met with Bus Éireann officials before Christmas last year, and NTA officials in recent weeks.

“Both told me to just wait and the issues would be resolved,” he said. “But the issues are not resolved, and the reliability of buses is getting worse. I’m speaking to people who live in areas where a car shouldn’t be necessary but who are now looking into car ownership because of the failings of the bus service.

“I’ve spoken to bus drivers, who are very frustrated. They are at the frontline for people’s anger and frustration when buses are delayed or late. They are bearing the brunt of this, but the drivers are not to blame.

“Poor management of the bus service by the NTA has led to this. They have neglected the existing bus service and focused all of their attention on BusConnects — a plan that hasn’t even gone to An Bord Pleanála.”

Mr Gould said he has raised his concerns with Transport Minister Eamon Ryan, and outlined what his party would do: “Sinn Féin would immediately hire 30 additional bus drivers, review the fines system, reintroduce spare drivers and instruct the NTA not to privatise any bus routes in Cork City.”

The NTA and Bus Éireann were contacted for comment.