Meath West TD, Peadar Toibín has hit out at the lack of buses allocated to one of the busiest routes in the country, the Navan – Dublin journey after a large number of commuters were left behind this morning, (Wednesday), due to buses being full.
He told Meath Live, “The Navan NX Bus service is in crisis again. Individual services are being dropped and dozens of commuters are being left behind by full buses. I have contacted by numerous constituents,who have informed of a bus service that is becoming increasingly irregular. Buses are passing bus stops along the route. Some buses are late. Others some that come on time are then overcrowded with people sitting on the steps and in the aisle of the bus”.
“The strain being put on people simply trying to get to work on time is horrendous. Being late for work over and over again buts jobs at risk. This is especially acute during the cost of living crisis. It is not good enough.
“I raised this issue some time ago with Shane Ross, the previous Minister for Transport in 2019. It was mentioned by the Minister that he would raise the issue with the National Transport Authority (NTA) in conjunction with Bus Éireann, yet 3 years later nothing has changed. It’s not tolerable especially given that people in Meath do not have proper transport options. I have raised it again with the current Minister for Transport.
“There is a lack of capacity to cater for all commuters from Meath, so much so that safety of the passengers is being breached with overcrowding. Today, we were told that three separate NX Navan to Dublin buses all were full before Johnstown this morning. This left dozens at bus stops this morning. This needs urgent action now by Bus Éireann. The answer is obvious, put on more buses, and hire more drivers .”
