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File photo. Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Union fears privatisation as Bus Éireann routes 101, 101x and 133 to be put out to tender

The NTA first announced its intentions to put routes up for competitive tender in October.
THE NATIONAL BUS and Rail Union has criticised Ireland’s transport authority for plans to put a number of Bus Éireann routes out to tender.

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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    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mumpsimus
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:09 AM

    Something tells me Google will be milking this for the publicity it generates.

    120
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    Mute Gerry Campbell
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:49 AM

    You would have some job trying to milk that ” cow”.

    46
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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:55 AM

    Cows got guns.

    19
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    Mute Chris
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    Sep 16th 2016, 11:23 AM

    That cow is on a witness protection program . Very responsible of google to conceal the cows identity.

    39
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    Mute Gavin
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    Sep 16th 2016, 12:52 PM

    What a coward!

    6
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    Mute BevinArmageddon
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    Sep 16th 2016, 2:12 PM

    If you squint you can still make out who it is.

    16
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    Mute Motherofdivinejebus
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    Sep 16th 2016, 11:15 AM

    That`s not a cow, It`s a horse in witness protection ever since the burger scandal.

    49
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    Mute Brinster
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:07 AM

    Haha!

    This is so hilarious I’ve almost forgotten that Facebook sells its user’s data for profit!

    But they blurred a cow’s face! Ha!

    39
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    Mute Phil Blanc
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    Sep 16th 2016, 11:20 AM

    @Brinster: HA HA this is about Google, Facebook. They are two different companies.

    23
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    Mute Greg Blake
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    Sep 16th 2016, 12:50 PM

    Udderly appalling.

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    Mute Richard Cronin
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    Sep 16th 2016, 1:18 PM

    Bad joke & you had to go milk it

    4
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    Mute Neal not Neil
    Favourite Neal not Neil
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    Sep 16th 2016, 2:14 PM

    Sorry to hear they blurred your mom’s face.

    6
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    Mute Philip Cavanagh
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:14 AM

    #CowGate

    29
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    Mute Neal not Neil
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:06 AM

    My cat Mudd6 appears just outside the catflap looking very blurry on the latest update. Previously she appeared on a green in another part of the estate and it took me ages to find her.

    25
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    Mute Neal not Neil
    Favourite Neal not Neil
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:06 AM

    *Muddy

    4
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    Mute Gerry Fallon
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:41 AM

    I herd this one before!

    20
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    Mute guilberto
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:21 AM

    Cowspiracy

    15
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    Mute Mumpsimus
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:27 AM

    Pull the udder one will ye

    15
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    Mute mcgoo
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:58 AM

    It mightn’t be any harm to prevent ear tag fraud in one sense….

    14
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    Mute Gerry Fallon
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:40 AM

    I have no beef with that!

    12
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    Mute Trisha Tully
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    Sep 16th 2016, 12:17 PM

    I recognize that cow. It’s Joan Burton.

    8
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    Mute Jimmy Murphy
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:34 AM

    So when I buy a steak next year, it’ll say what, traceable back to animal’s origin? The cow on Google?

    8
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    Mute Gerry Fallon
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:40 AM

    Google have a steak in Ireland!

    8
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    Mute Celticwarrior
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:41 AM

    Now that’s how you beef up your security..

    8
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    Mute Liam John Bradshaw
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:50 AM

    Sure the poor beast has been well & truly Staked out since!

    8
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    Mute Rory J Leonard
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:21 AM

    Maybe this measure is why Wall St is more bullish on Google stock.

    6
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    Mute niall
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    Sep 16th 2016, 11:46 AM

    I think Google were right to blur it. As these cow tags have specific numbers relating to the Farmer. “But these can be seen on any farm”. Yes, but I’d say Google is covering it’s own backside by not providing this information, hence why it’s blurred.

    3
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    Mute Abe Brennan
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    Sep 16th 2016, 1:30 PM

    Ok guys, less of the jokes, lets mooooooove on from this and take stock.

    3
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    Mute Ken Loughman
    Favourite Ken Loughman
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    Sep 16th 2016, 2:16 PM

    What a load of bull!

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    Mute Gus Sheridan
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    Sep 16th 2016, 1:29 PM

    Maybe they thought the cow was Joan Burton looking to fall in again!

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    Mute Donal O'Brien
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    Sep 16th 2016, 3:50 PM

    Not a cow, looks like a heifer.

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    Mute Ita O Rahilly
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    Sep 16th 2016, 12:02 PM

    That’s so amooooooooozing

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    Mute William O' Connor
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:48 AM
    1
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    Mute Gerry Fallon
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    Sep 16th 2016, 10:39 AM

    Yeah right,pull the udder one!

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    Mute Sam Palmer
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    Sep 20th 2016, 8:55 PM

    1
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    Mute Sam Palmer
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    Sep 20th 2016, 8:53 PM

    ………..

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    Mute Ossi Fritsche
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    Sep 16th 2016, 2:23 PM

    Stack and chips please

    1
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