Transport Minister Shane Ross criticises BusConnects policies
IN a submission to the National Transport Authority, Minister for Transport and Tourism Shane Ross said that the BusConnects proposal threatens to cut off his Dublin Rathdown constituents from schools, hospitals and the city centre.
The Enniskerry resident said also that the people of the County Wicklow village fear that they will lose an existing route to Dundrum, the city centre and Dublin City university that will negatively impact on local businesses and residents.
The public consultation phase came to an end at the end of September. A local campaign ‘Keep Enniskerry Connected’ had sought the continuation of the 185 and 44 routes as they are. Their concerns included the need for a service up Kilgarron Hill, as well as a direct service to Dublin.
The National Transport Authority had indicated that they were aware of issues with proposed changes to the village bus routes, and there is scope to correct them. There was also significant public opposition to the proposed withdrawal of the 185 service from Palermo in Bray.
Meanwhile, the 185 is now being operated by the company Go Ahead Ireland from October 21 and timetables have been published.
‘Enniskerry Golf Club’ is the new name for the ‘Shop River’ stop. The route is not changing at the moment and all stops remain in use.
In his submission to the National Transport Authority, Minister Ross said that the proposals threaten to cut off his constituents from schools, hospitals and the city centre.
‘I would greatly appreciate if you could examine the concerns outlined above as part of your review of the current draft plan,’ wrote Mr Ross.
The NTA received 20,000 submissions and expect to publish a revised plan next year.