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Anger and frustration over axing of Dublin 19 bus printable version

18 Aug 2011: posted by the editor - Ireland

By Mark Lawler
There is a significantdepth ofanger and frustrationamong communities north and south of the city at the decision of the National Transport Authority to approve Dublin Bus's proposal to scrap the 19 Bus.

Pensioners are extremely annoyed at this decision as they feel it affects them more than most.

"I am appalled at the decision," says Leo Kickham, resident of Kickham Road in Inchicore and a regular user of the 19 Bus.

"Its a real kick in the teeth for the senior citizens of our community," said Prof Mark Lawler, one of the organisers of the Save the 19 Bus Campaign. "We will not accept this decision and will continue to fight for the commuters, young and old alike, who use this bus every day to get to work, school , medical appointments etc", he added.

A protest, which will be start of an escalating series of demonstrations against Dublin Bus, will take place tomorrow Friday 19th August at 1pm at Dublin Bus Headquarters in O Connell St.

"Commuters are fed up with the attitude of Dublin Bus to its customers, its yet another example of ordinary people being let down by the State," said Geraldine Gough, leader of the north side section of the campaign.

Despite over 11,500 signatories to a petition to Save the 19 Bus and the active support of 37 local representatives (13 TDs and 24 councillors), Dublin Bus will now press ahead with this unpopular decision which will have significant ramifications for local residents of the route, both northside and southside as it crosses the city.

"If Dublin Bus think this is the end, then they will be in for a big surprise - you'll hear it in then chants tomorrow on O Connell Street - We're here to stay, we're not going away," added Prof Lawler.

Background
Despite the strenuous effort of the Save the 19 Bus Campaign, the signatures of over 11,500 commuters and residents from the numerous areas of the city that the 19 Bus serves, the active support of 13 local TDs and 24 local councillors representing these citizens of Dublin, the National Transport Authority today upheld the proposal of Dublin Bus to scrap the historic 19 Bus route.

As part of the ongoing protest, the Save the 19 Bus Campaign submitted a detailed proposal to the NTA (attached), outlining the many reasons why the NTA should not sanction the axing of the 19 Bus. In their statement, the NTA have said that "the key issues raised allowed the Authority and Dublin Bus to re-assess the original proposals to the extent that the Authority, in arriving at its decision, has ensured that the revised network of services and times being implemented ...represents a significant improvement on those originally proposed".

While the Save the 19 Bus Campaign has achieved significant concessions, particularly in relation to rush hour services still leaving directly from or arriving atBulfin Rdthrough the inclusion of a 68A route, this in no way compensates the children whouse the 19 busto go toschool every day, the people who travel to work every day on the 19 busor most particularly, the older people who will be particularly badly hit as their timeframe for how they conduct their daily lives does not conform with a bus route that simply observes "rush hour" schedules.Isn't ita comment on our uncaring systemthat the very people who have contributedso much to the development of this country are now considered disposable and not deserving of an efficient local bus service.

It is a sad day for the citizens of Dublin and represents one more step in eroding the confidence of commuters in what should be a public Bus service. The Save the 19 Bus Campaign wishes to thank all the people from all walks of life who supported this campaign.As one of our chants, which echoed accross O Connell St last weekend as we protested outside Dublin Bus headquarterssays "We're here to stay, we're not going away". We will continue to fight for the rights of thecommuters in our areas, north and southside, for proper access to public transport.

Tags: Dublin Bus

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