Finglas bus users protest as new F-Spine leaves them 'cold, isolated, and waiting'
Finglas bus users are uniting against the new F-Spine service that has left passengers “stranded in the cold, isolated, and waiting”.
After a public meeting organised by People Before Profit Councillor Conor Reddy at the Shamrock Lodge last night, a delegation of residents are set to hand in a petition protesting the new service at the National Transport Authority offices in Smithfield today. Frustrating by daily cancellations, hundreds of locals have reported major issues with the service since it began on October 19.
Locals point to major frequency cuts on the 23, 24, and F3 routes as well as the loss of vital connections as a major point of concern. Following the removal of all bus services from Beneavin Road, Cllr Reddy said hundreds of residents have been badly affected by the lack of transport access to three nursing homes. This lack of service only further isolates the local areas' most elderly and vulnerable members, with the Beneavin Residents Group also speaking passionately about these issues at the public meeting. The Beneavin Residents Group will also be delivering their own petition alongside Cllr Reddy.
Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Reddy stated the importance of sending a message “that cannot be ignored” and highlighted a room “packed to the rafters” as evidence the new routes are “failing people every single day.” “They are failing workers, families, older people and even the drivers who are trying to keep the system going,” he said.
“People are missing hospital appointments, school children and students are stranded to and from their way to school and college, and older people and people with disabilities are either isolated or left waiting in the cold at bus stops. We need local links as well as connections to the parts of town that people want to get to, right now many people in Finglas have neither. People deserve a bus service that connects communities, not cuts them off.”
Information from bus drivers working on the affected routes was relayed to the meeting, which Cllr Reddy stated include “driver shortages, routes that are too long to operate reliably, and operational systems that encourage cancellations rather than late running.” Cllr Reddy passed a motion calling for a full review of the F-Spine routes at the most recent North West Area Committee meeting.
This motion was unanimously backed by Ballymun-Finglas councillors and a joined letter will now be issued to the NTA on behalf of the area’s local representatives. "I am delighted to have brought councillors in the area together to speak with one voice," Reddy said. "If we want to win changes for Finglas we need unity and we have that now."
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