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The National Transport Authority (NTA) gave official notice over the weekend of its intention the directly award to Bus Éireann a contract for operating public transport services by bus.
This contract will start next year from 1 December and last for five years, following on from the expiry of the current contract on 30 November next year.
As well as the usual five-year routes, the NTA also announced that it will award Bus Éireann the contract to run certain other routes for no more than two years.
It is planned that these routes will be put out to competitive tender, allowing other companies and operators to take up the contract.
The NTA first announced its intentions to put up to 10% of the routes that form part of the Bus Éireann contract up for competitive tender in October. That has now been reduced to 5%.
“These proposals are carefully balanced to continue to introduce competition into the bus market in a structured manner that safeguards the delivery of services for the customer and maintains the ongoing improvement of the public’s bus services,” NTA CEO Anne Graham said at the time.
“Private bus operators will be able to compete for some routes while the public will always have a decent and reliable Public Service Obligation service, provided by a combination of incumbent operators and operators that are new to the market.
We believe that competition improves services which can only be good for the customer.
Currently, the three routes in to be put out to tender are 101, 101X and 133, all Dublin and east coast commuter routes.
The advance year notice was given by the NTA over the weekend as required under law.
Criticism
The National Bus and Rail Union – who represent Bus Éireann workers – has strongly criticised the planned move by the NTA to put the contract out to tender, calling it “a direct challenge to those of us that represent the best interests of both the taxpayer and the workers that work in this company”.
General Secretary of the NBRU Dermot O’Leary said the move to open up the routes to tender will have a negative effect on transport workers and the State.
He said that NBRU had written to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in October raising concerns that the move potentially breached a 2015 agreement reached between the unions and the NTA.
O’Leary said that politicians and political parties who “say they oppose privatisation, to challenge this attack on ordinary decent workers”.
“The NBRU will now seek assistance from the WRC and request that it will intervene in order to prevent the inevitably of industrial action across our public transport system in 2019,” he said.
TheJournal.ie has contacted the NTA for comment.
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I see the new “Go-Ahead” branded busses all around Dublin now, shaking up the public transport industry can only be a good thing, competition will sharpen up the services companies provide.
@Dotty Dunleary: and the prices !!!
@Dotty Dunleary: and the prices
@Dotty Dunleary: It will certainly have an effect on prices , UP…. working conditions will be affected. Privatisation is now the byword , and that only enhances the few.
@Donal Desmond: The NTA set the fares not the private companies.
@Donal Desmond: The NTA sets the prices and nets all the fairs not the operator, just like how it is with the Luas. They operator is paid a set amount to operate the services for the duration of the contract.
You could say that if the operator gets paid a set amount lower than the amount taken in from fares that service will degrade because the operator will look to make a profit but there’s more evidence with similar ‘half-private’ operations in other countries that on-time performance and service actually improves because the operator is more motivated to run a lean / non-overspending operation and to perform well to keep their contract after renewal.
@Dotty Dunleary: What a load of nonsense from a fake account.
@Dotty Dunleary: Shaking it up alright…. Have a look at their Twitter account to see how well they’re doing. If ever there was an example of how to fcuk up a plan, Go-Ahead Ireland are it!!!
@Dotty Dunleary: Yeah because Privatisation of Public Transport has been such a roaring success in the UK. Typical Ireland doing everything arse ways.
@Gary Nolan: Was just about to pay you the exact same compliment!
@Dotty Dunleary: Wrong as Go Ahead are paid before a bus leaves the depot. The make profits and cost more than it did and the money then leaves the country and we can see by the waster disposal disaster some services need to stay under public ownership. The only thing it has done is lower wages for staff.
@Shane Corry: IE pay the staff less and in poor working conditions. Sounds great for the passenger
@Paul Linehan: No that Go Ahead and the NTA all in the mess together which they were warned about and simply ignored the warnings and they still think they are right.
Maybe the 133 will actually go to all of its stops instead of skipping entire towns
The privatisation of all public services is the goal of FG. Everything must be commodified for profit. We see how well that’s working out in the housing and rent sector.
@Dave Doyle: Add waste and water and the profits then leave the country
It’s privatisation that’s the way they this government want to do things
@Paul Maguire:
Good to hear
@Patrick Nolan: How has that gone in the UK, a disaster in all of the public services. Their transport sector is a mess
And what a mess the NTA has made of the 33A. When the 33A Might turn up its late anything up to half an hour and as the saying goes that is if it runs at all as per its time table.
All of you on here knocking the public bus service will be the same ones on here in a year or two wondering why you or your ma doesn’t have a bus route in your small town or village. watch this space if you think private operators are going to run buses to rural areas for a few pensioners with free travel pass think again.
@Loretta stiletto:
TOTAL AND COMPLETE BS.
If the operater is paid a fixed price regardless of how many people are on the bus why would he want to close it.
A route with little or no passengers would be the private company’s most profitable one as he would use less diesel ( less weight)
@Patrick Nolan: Sorry Patrick you are talking complete BS and you know it . Reality is private companies are there to make a profit and they will do anything to make a profit at the expensive of the commuter.
@JesusMoreBullshit:
So what if they make a profit? The private company will does not set the fares does not set the timetable and does not set the route. Please explain exactly how that will be at the expense of commuter?
@Patrick Nolan: are u being deliberately dense. I am not talking about the amount of people on a bus I am talking about rural routes. they will not tender for those routes. Watch this space Patrick
@Loretta stiletto:
And you made absolutely no attempt to counter the point I made.
If the operator was going to be paid a fixed price weather the route was busy or a rural route or not what difference would it make to him? As I pointed out, because of the weight difference ( could be as much as 3 tonne) the quiet route should be the more profitable one.
@Patrick Nolan: the busy routes like the 101 etc are profitable, then these are the routes that are being taken from bus Eireann. The loss making small village services are left with bus Eireann. Then there’s a big cry that bus Eireann are losing money. It’s ridiculous, it’s either a service provider to the whole community or run for profit. You can’t expect bus Eireann to turn a profit while taking the cream from it and leaving it to do the dead beat runs
@John Johnson:
Simple cure for that put the entire network out to tender on let’s say 10 contracts with a mix of routes and allow BE to tender for it on the basis of a fixed price weather they get profitable route or a loss making one will not matter to them.
No company allowed to have more than 60% of the network at the one time.
@Patrick Nolan: why don’t you ask your private operator buddies at go ahead how they’re doing with their less than 10% of routes they supposed to be operating. Not very well if the truth be known. And I’m sure the NTA will make no comment as the have to save face with their cock up of services given to go ahead
@Patrick Nolan: why pretend you actually know how bus companies work. Full of sh ite
@Patrick Nolan: No that is privatisising the service which has proven in the UK for example to be a total disaster. They take the prime routes and dith the rest. Same with any public service some profitable parts some not. The hint comes in the name, it is A PUBLIC SERVICE not a for profit company
I can’t help but think this will be sold as being in the interest of those who use national bus routes, all sorts of investment etc. however these companies are there to make a profit. It’s in their interest to have minimum overheads and maximum profits, what that will mean is that low profit routes or buses that are less than full will quickly be at risk. They won’t be subsidised. All routes will have to be profitable or face being cut.
@Arch Angel: The NTA sets the fares, routes and timetable. They also collect all the revenue from fares. The operator gets paid a set amount to operate the contract. It’s more ‘semi-private’ than private, the same system used for the Luas.
Interestingly, when compared with fully-private & public operating companies in other countries, operators under this system tend to maintain operating standards, increase on-time performance while lowering cost (they have more motivation to do so in order to turn a profit).
FG. the ‘putting public money into privare pockets party.
@Sean Conway:
SF, Lab, PBP etc the putting public money into unions pockets party’s
@Patrick Nolan: FF bringing the country to the point of bankruptcy.
@Vincent:
Correct, your point being?
@Patrick Nolan: Unions are funded by its members. unlike the FG/FF lobby fodder TD’s.
@Sean Conway:
480,000 people in Ireland are members of a union (CSO)
540,000 people in Ireland voted FG in the last election and another 500,000 voted FF.
Who do you think represents more people in Ireland?
@Patrick Nolan: Not FFG, their combined percentage of the total vote in GEs has dropped consistently for the last number of years.
The NTA and Shane Ross are totally out to privatize the bus and rail . The gombeens don’t realize how stupid this move is and we will learn nothing from the UK disaster.
We need to move to a public transport where it is owned and managed at semi state and costs 0 to the public ( no fares) . Overnight this will change the face of public transport forever in a positive manner . We can pay for this through our household tax .
In regards to cars and trucks we need to put insurance , motor tax on the fuel the more you drive the more you pay .
@JesusMoreBullshit: Being done in a few countries now. Lichtenstein just did it
Saw this happen in Scotland years ago, went from bus services that operated quality buses and went to rural parts of the country. Then it was privatised and suddenly it was lots of mini bus types and cherry picking of busy routes.
The company with the lowest overheads will win the trender. Lowest wages and oldest buses will win the tender. Broken down buses and inexperienced drivers will result. But the unions will lose their power over the bus industry as private operations will not be unionised and drivers will need to be user-friendly to keep their jobs.
@Nomis Andrews:
You do know that all public service vehicles have to pass a test every year?
More profits off to Britain. When will this government stop handing our countries assets to overseas companies and vulture funds
Considering the state of the routes given to go ahead I wouldn’t expect too much especially given the history of the CEO of the NTA.
No to any privatization!
Down with filthy capitalism
Ask the people of London if privatisation works on their buses. It’s yet another way of shafting the working man. O this city is heading the way of the dinosaurs. Trust me I have lived in the middle of it for 50 years. The last 25 started the rot. Now it’s taken hold.
I wonder will 3 arrive at the same time only 6 stops from their departure point as is the case with Dublin Bus?
@Bewarethebeardz: that’s called high frequency route. The article refers to bus Eireann which operates rural routes. So many clowns comment on anything they know jack sh it about
@Bewarethebeardz: Yes they will. Go ahead has been a disater. Waiting an hour for the 17a, which is meant to be every 20mins. Then 3 arrive at the same time and then the bus driver gets lost. And that’s just one route.
@Bewarethebeardz: That can happen anybody as I have missed a bus, waited 10 minutes and caught the one I missed before I got home, traffic and bottlenecks cause it
@Anthony Whelan: The fiasco that shows Go Ahead and NTA are unable to get things right show that they should not be given anymore routes on any of the service until the get the ones they have right now.
Bus Èireann and Dublin Bus will all be put out for tender within the next few years.!!
@Derek Moean:
I’m delighted to hear it!
It’s absolutely terrible! They always say “buy local” then the NTA bring foreign bus operators in! It’s not right we should be out protesting instead of being TOLD what to do
The IMF will have everything privatised here including An Post and IW…
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