Commuter frustration over 111 bus route
A bus commuter using the 111 Athboy-Trim-Dublin route has got so fed up with constant issues with the service that she put together the many posts from frustrated commuters in the hope that somebody might take notice.
Dara Englishby from Athboy uses the 111 service to get to work in Dublin, a route that has been plagued with issues from services being cancelled without any notice to buses being full since mid-September.
Dara is a member of the 'Bus Eireann Route 111 Discussion Board' on facebook where many local members have been voicing their issues with the service.
"Over the last month every single day people have been posting about buses that didn't turn up or buses that were full leaving Bus Aras and didn't pick up at Blanchardstown. It is horrendous what is going on. When I scrolled back and saw all the comments I decided to put them together. Nobody is listening. Bus Eireann is not replying to emails. Everywhere we turn, we are hitting a wall. And you have to sympathtise with the drivers, they are taking the brunt of it," said Dara.
She explained that commuters are lodging their complaints to Bus Eireann and getting a standard response to acknowledge their email but are not being contacted after this.
"This is just a snapshot of what is happening. I am just one of many affected. I put it together on behalf of the passengers. I am lucky in that I am not as badly affected as others."
She said they know where are issues at the moment but it is all about communication with passengers. One day last week, Dara was queuing for a bus and it was only when she went to ask where it was that they were told it had been cancelled and she had to wait an hour for the next one. She said twitter and the website should also be used to let passengers know when services are cancelled.
Dara said they are all paying customers with many purchasing annual tickets and they are getting a very poor service. She added that it is also getting colder and darker to be left waiting for buses and it is not safe.
"I thought that if we show the bigger picture, somebody might sit up and take notice."
Trim councillor Noel French also been protesting over the issues with route 11 at Bus Aras and Transport Minister Shane Ross's office in recent weeks.
