I sometimes wonder at what type of process is going on within the Brennan Cranium.
It appears to be a sort of fermentation process which bubbles along for a period then suddenly erupts and srews out a magma like substance through the mouth.
In recent times it has occured to me that the Minister may well be correct in his claim that Franchising or Competitive operation of Dublins Bus service can solve most if not all of the City`s Public Transport problems.
In fact Minister Brennan can point to Cities all over the world where his Lightly Regulated and Free-Market system does indeed work.
These places vary from some Mexican cities to several Peruvian and Ecquadorian Metropolitan areas and then on to the African continent where the Public Transport landscape is full of Brennan Inspired operations.
The common thread in all of these operations is the total ABSENCE of any semblance of Social Leglislation,Health and Safety Leglislation or Labour Leglislation of the type strongly enforced by the EU.
There is an arguement to be made for removing,for example all the nonsense about Drivers Hours Regulations and allowing "The Market" to dictate the hours which the Owner Driver may work.
Ditto with Minimum Wage or Health and Safety of Passengers.
Its not to difficult to extrapolate the eventual outcome.
Every year during summer peak we read of Coach Crashes on European Motorways the causes of which are eventually laid at the door of unscrupoulous operators working their Drivers far beyond the safe human endurance limit.
This appears to be the type of Operator which Mr Brennan favours as it has the "Right Stuff" to compete with fuddy duddy Dublin Bus.
Oh yes it is a very ointeresting scenario indeed...Hasta Luego....
BUSRAGE Discussions » Deregulation
Ministers Head.
(3 posts)-
Posted 4 years ago #
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Well put Alek. There certainly some food for thought in what you say and I reckon you are correct.
Competition is fine and should be introduced. All public transport operators should be obliged to abide by the same rules and regulations and treat staff equitably. No corners should be cut, either in equipment safety or treatment of staff and staff safety issues.
Privatising a route does not necessarily introduce competition. If a route is privatised to one operator he will only have to compete with himself, on that route. He won’t need to see how that route affects any other route but just operate to get people from A to B. Sometimes people have to go to C but forget about them. If A or B isn’t on the route what is the poor punter (me) to do then? Wait for another privateer to come along when he sees fit on another route.
Sorry Séamus. I don’t buy it and I don’t believe it. You must, as you have taken responsibility for minor route changes, provide for an integrated (that means FULLY, COMPREHENSIVELY, COMPLETELY, and TOTALLY integrated) public transport system within the city and surrounding areas of Dublin. That is your responsibility and you must provide for it. That means that there must be an overall plan and control in place that will allow that to happen.
Cherrypicking a quarter of the Dublin Bus bus routes and giving them to privateers is NOT the solution to absence of that plan and control. What bus routes are you thinking of? Is it a quarter of the distances? The ones with the most passengers? The ones with the least passengers? Cross city routes? New routes? Routes to new housing developments? Routes that are essential to the overall system? Routes that link with trains, trams, metros (ooops I seem to be getting carried away there) and OTHER bus routes? Are there going to be orbital routes, satellite routes and hubs? What about Park and Ride facilities and not just for people who can drive into Whitehall or some other area near the city centre? What? What exactly are you doing, apart from making a lot of public statements and not allowing Dublin Bus to put on a decent 39A service in the evenings, so that I can get home without having to spend most of my spare time in a needless daily grand tour of the Greater Blanchardstown Area, without having to ask your permission first?
What are you doing, as Minister for TRANSPORT, to get the motorist out of the car NOW for the daily commuter trips and onto the public transport facility that’s there at the moment? Until you address that problem all you are doing is providing a smokescreen.Posted 4 years ago # -
Here's something to ponder!
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We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up in teams, we would be reorganised. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress whilst producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralisation.
Gaius Petronius Arbiter ………….AD 66"Posted 4 years ago #
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