Last month, members from LAG met with bus provider, Go Ahead (which delivers the 33 and 33a bus services) to discuss the various issues that the members of the community have raised regarding these services.
Among some of the main points from the meeting include the following:
• Go Ahead services:
o Bus Timetable: Last July an additional 4am service from Skerries was added to the timetable. Go Ahead are now seeking to determine whether an additional 3am service would be feasible. A request was also made to reinstate the 8.10am service to Balbriggan. All decisions regarding the addition of buses are made by the National Transport Authority.
o Service Levels: Only 1.29% of services were cancelled last year. Punctuality is quite poor (at 67%) and there is a department dedicated to improving this. Next Generation AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) will be rolled out from the end of this year which will give much more accuracy in terms of reliability, which should drive service improvements.
• Complaints: There is one centralised complaints system for bus services on all routes through the Transport for Ireland help centre. Tel. 0818 294015 or use online contact form available on https://www.transportforireland.ie/support. Please continue to raise any issues through either of these contact points as TFI relies on data to update services.
• Bus Connects: The controversial overhaul of existing bus services is due to be rolled out from September this year. It is estimated that the changes for this area will be introduced in September 2027. From then onwards, Dublin Bus will cease to serve this area; instead, Go Ahead will take over the full service. Also, buses serving this area will go as far as Swords and passengers will then have to disembark and get a further bus to the city centre. The existing 33x service will remain apart from a name change. LAG, like many other members of the community have serious concerns about these plans and we will be exploring ways to lobby the NTA to make changes over the coming weeks.