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THE NATIONAL TRANSPORT Authority (NTA) has fined Dublin Bus more than €165,000 for failing to meet contractual punctuality targets during the first half of the year.
Figures released by the NTA earlier this week reveal that just two in five of the company’s ‘Low Frequency’ services met the company’s punctuality targets between January and 16 June.
A punctuality target of 64% was in place between January and 19 May, before a 67% target was introduced on 20 May.
Just 26 of the company’s 92 ‘Low Frequency’ services – those which operate less than four times per hour on a weekday outside peak periods – met the new 67% target over four weeks between May and June.
In contrast, 80% of the company’s ‘High Frequency’ routes, which operate every 15 minutes or more often on a weekday outside peak periods, met their target during the first six months of the year.
These 16 routes have a separate target, measured in so-called Excess Wait Time, as passengers who use them are deemed more likely to turn up at the bus stop and wait for the next bus to arrive, rather than plan their journeys using a schedule.
An NTA spokesman confirmed that the authority fined Dublin Bus €165,096.69 for failing to meet its punctuality targets during the first six months of the year.
As part of its contract, Dublin Bus is required to meet targets in relation to the punctuality, reliability and the quality of its service.
The NTA measures the punctuality of the company’s routes at all stops over 13 four-week periods throughout the year.
Punctuality is counted as the percentage of times that buses are at a stop within a minute before they are scheduled to arrive, or are up to six minutes afterwards.
It is measured by gauging the scheduled departure time for a bus at each stop against its actual departure time using Automatic Vehicle Location equipment on board each bus.
The company was also fined an additional €103,000 by the authority for failing to operate scheduled services and for not meeting its service quality targets between January and June.
It previously incurred €2.7 million in fines from the authority between June 2016 and the end of last year for failing to meet targets and to operate scheduled services.
A spokesman for the authority explained to TheJournal.ie that penalties are not imposed if punctuality targets are not met for reasons outside of the control of operators.
These reasons include events such as severe weather, road closures, or traffic congestion.
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So we ship peat in from Lithuania instead.. Brilliant government decisions once again
@Geoff Bateman: Why would anyone buy peat from abroad? There are loads of alternatives
@Mickety Dee: I believe this is being done for the horticulture industry.
The bogs are largely gone at this stage. It was over 30 years ago that campaigns were underway by David Bellamy and Dutch groups who were buying up bogs to stop them being destroyed. Bord na Mona have plundered a nations heritage, destroyed in 50 years what nature took 10000 years to produce and as this ecological asset was destroyed all the sequestered carbon was released into the atmosphere to contribute to the greenhouse effect and climate change. They have woken up very very late to their environmental responsibilities.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-26-mn-283-story.html
Absolutely destroyed the bog lands of Ireland with their large scale intensive cutting and yet it’s the small farmer who gets punished.
If a tonne of concrete emits a tonne of carbon how much carbon is emitted by Bord na Mona building wind farms on the bogs considering each pylon can take up to five hundred tonnes to stabilise them. Why are they not forced to go solar. Thanks
@Tony Brady: it’s not really about carbon… it’s about money! And right now wind is the most profitable energy source
@Piggy: Indeed – at the expense of the rest of us via an ever growing list of levies on bills
@Tony Brady: I would assume they’re probably using GGBS rather than Portland cement-based concrete in the builds , it’s becoming industry standard at about 4% of the carbon content with better long term compressive strength. The industry isn’t sleepwalking on that issue
@Brian Carroll: What does GGBS mean to ordinary people not involved in the industry?
We need to allow a certain amount of cutting if we are not offsetting correctly. Specifically in relation to imports from further afield. Bord Na Mona has started to become more environmentally responsible but it needs to up it’s game. Hopefully the China, India, Russia & US can get there acts together and stop pollution of the earth as they are far and away the worst. Ireland does have these wonderful bog lands which are technically lungs for the earth as they are natural carbon sinks. Hopefully as cutting decreases and bogs are allowed to return to more sustainable places we can do our little bit. But if the big polluters like CIRUS continue to act like a virus then we are all fecked.
Has anyone seen this bog rehabilitation in work? I have and it looks like a big waste of time and money to me. In the article BnM mention walkways, amenities etc. being built. Has anyone heard anything about these because I don’t remember hearing anything. I know its early days but would be nice to hear what plans they have in store.
@DK: When you get €108m from government to “restore” bogs, it’s easy do it, or shaping like you’re doing it. How much will government give to private developers who have also been stopped? Those bogs are far less depleted and far better subjects for restoration than the BNM ones. Once again, Irish government policy is on the big fake when it comes to looking good to Brussels.
Government took over a bog near Shinrone around twenty years ago and have allowed it dry out completely, to where restoration now, would be almost impossible.
The BNM “valuation” is as credible as its restoration work. As one esteemed great leader might have said, smokes and mirrors.
@DK: Some lovely walkways and trails, Loch Boora is a prime example
https://www.loughboora.com
@Francis Devenney: Lough Boora is there about 20 years, it has nothing to do with this ‘Just Transition’. Any examples of recent or upcoming walkways or trails?
@DK: The Gap trail in Donegal and Mountlucas are the only other two I’ve done. All three worth doing if you’re into walking.There’s also some really nice bog walks on the Leitrim way, not sure if they’re BnM lands or not,
@DK: why do you think it’s a waste of time?
@DK: It a big con job to say a bog is “rehabilitated” when you plonk an industrial wind farm on it.
If a tonne of concrete emits a tonne of carbon and each turbine takes up to five hundred tonnes of concrete to stabilise it how many tonnes of carbon is being emitted by Bord na Mona and others building wind farms. Why is solar and anaerobic digesters not used by them or is wind more profitable to their investors
@Tony Brady: Wind is the best harvester, not of energy, but of subsidies.
The Boglands if Ireland are also home to many wild birds some of which are endangeed species . Yet the wind turbines cut them to pieces as the birds cannot see the rotating blades .In the US there are reports of pikes if dead birds at the foot of these giant structures which are a terrible eyesore. Also , the carbon footprint of having to manufacture these wind turbines is not always included in the supposed benefits of wind power . Ditto fot the disposal of them after thier useful working life has expired , usually 20 years . Also the ” preparation” of sites on which these wind turbines have been located have caused ” bog quakes” with thousands of tons of turf sliding into rivers and resulting in major fish kills and destroying the spawning areas for salmon and trout for decades . This supposed “Green Technology” is not as green as they would have you believe .
@Tony Duffy: Very valid points you’ve highlighted there. I was quite shocked to hear that a wind turbine has only got an expected average lifespan of 20 years. There really needs to be much more awareness-raising of facts such as these.
Loose monetary policy and wild speculation
Great to read all the positive comments.
If a tonne of concrete emits a tonne of carbon and each turbine takes up to five hundred tonnes of concrete to stabilise it how many tonnes of carbon is being emitted by b na Mona and others building wind farms. Why is solar and anaerobic digesters not used by them or is wind more profitable to their investors
It would be nice to see BnM re-employ people displaced by this transition into new roles in an expanded BnM and more turnover and more jobs in the communities most affected by the stopping of turf cutting and processing.
On another note , an article like this on Coillte could be interesting too.
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