PROTESTS AGAINST bus service cuts continued in Dublin yesterday, with local residents in Ballymun temporarily slowing traffic on the main road into the city centre.
A small but vocal group, many of whom were local older women, protested at the side of Ballymun Road and then marched along the city-bound side of the dual carriageway, waving placards and chanting. Buses and motorists crawled behind them until gardaí insisted the protesters return to the footpath.
The event was part of a series of protests organised by residents and People Before Profit against bus service changes as part of Dublin Bus’s Network Direct plan.
In Ballymun, Dublin Bus wants to amalgamate four routes – 13, 13a, 51b and 51c – into one service, the no 13. This will travel from Ikea’s store and Harristown across the city to Clondalkin. The service will run every 12 minutes at peak times and 15 minutes off-peak.
The local estates of Shangan, Sillogue and Coultry, currently served, will be bypassed. Dina Neeson, 42 years living in Ballymun, said local residents had protested in the past to save their bus services.
“We did it in 1996 and there was chaos in Ballymun. Now we are having to do the same for our grandchildren. These big fellas in Dublin Bus are looking at little maps and saying cut that, but the little map is a 20-minute walk or an hour’s walk from school.”
Kathleen Leonard and Queenie Barnes said they were worried about children, many of whom attend schools outside the area. They would have to walk in the wet and dark winter nights from the bus stop on the main road to Poppintree and to the back of the Coultry estate.
“They are only cutting these things to feed the bankers back, aren’t they,” Ms Leonard said.
John Lyons of People Before Profit, also a local resident, said three-quarters of the population in the working-class area of Ballymun were dependent on buses.
“A lot of older people feel they are going to lose their independence. They are going to be isolated in their homes if their bus is taken away.”
A spokeswoman for Dublin Bus said research showed customers wanted faster, more direct services with high frequencies and less complexity. There had been extensive public consultation on the proposed changes, including a roadshow at Ballymun Civic Centre.
She said it was recognised after the consultation that an additional local service was needed to connect Coultry and Sillogue to Ballymun town centre. This would be provided by the continued operation of route 220, which runs every 90 minutes between 7am and 6.30pm, and the addition of a new service, as yet unnumbered, running every 30 minutes from 10am to 4pm.
“These revised proposals have been sent to the National Transport Authority for approval,” the spokeswoman said. It was not yet known when the changes would be implemented.
“The overwhelming majority of customers in these areas will benefit greatly as a result of the proposed changes under Network Direct,” she said.
