Buses 'less reliable than ever before' following timetable changes say Cork commuters 

Following the introduction of the revised timetables in Cork, Bus Éireann has shared a positive service delivery update, but commuters tell The Echo the buses have not improved at all.

A spokesperson for the company said that in the first week of operation over 99% of scheduled Cork city services operated fully, up from approximately 95% the previous week.

In the first seven days they saw a reduction in lost service kms, due to fleet/staffing issues, of 79%, they said, adding “while service punctuality has also improved, traffic congestion still remains an operational challenge” and that the jazz festival also “added to congestion issues in the city last weekend”.

Regarding recruitment they said “intensive efforts are continuing and have yielded positive results”.

“The current headcount shortage of drivers is 11 (down from 20 two weeks ago), with 18 people in training school.

“This represents a driver delivery shortage of 29 today.”

Jack Keane, an MTU student who gets the 220 - which reduced from every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes - to university, said there has been no improvement to the bus services last week. He said he believes the revised timetables mark a “huge step back for transport in the city”.

Since the changes have come in, Mr Keane said the service has been “exactly the same as before: Buses are often full when they get to the stops.

“If the first bus is full, you have to wait half an hour. Overall, you’re pushing your schedule out by an hour."

Mr Keane expressed concern that no timeline has been given for the revised schedule. 

“We’re told it’s a temporary cut, but there’s no deadline or fixed date: It feels like a huge step back for transport in the city,” he said.

One woman who gets the 202 — which changed from every 20 minutes to every half an hour — said that the buses have gotten even worse.

“I check the app every morning to make sure I make the 8am or 8:10am bus and, on a few occasions, these buses are cancelled in advance, making students heading to school or us heading to work late, which isn’t fair at all, “ she said.

“I find it worse at night, especially since they announced the schedules would be reduced.”

“I get to the bus stop at 5:35pm every day and, sometimes, I’ll be waiting 40 to 60 minutes for the next bus.

“There’s been days last week where three or four empty 213 buses pass in the space of 30 minutes, but not one 202 or 202A shows up.”

Following the jazz weekend, Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould said, “All weekend, I was being contacted by people who were left standing at bus stops for buses that never turned up.

“This was the first weekend of the reduced timetable that was supposed to fix these issues and the buses are less reliable than ever before.

“I am absolutely furious that people were left waiting at bus stops late at night; people told me they were left feeling unsafe and upset because of this.

“The only solution now is for the NTA [National Transport Authority] to fix the timetables and to listen to the people,” he said, claiming that they have ignored “every single proposal” he has presented to them.

Labour councillor and general election candidate Laura Harmon said, “Commuters left in the rain facing even longer waits this weekend flies in the face of what we as elected reps were told this timetable reduction would do.”