Sir, – Further to your article (“Ghost buses simply not acceptable, Minister for Transport says,” November 25th), I find it difficult to reconcile our stated commitment to better public transport with the fact that we can’t seem to get it right in this country.
While on holidays in Italy earlier in the year, I was struck by how, if a tram broke down, a replacement bus turned up without fuss. Buses also ran according to the timetable and always showed up.
Here, when a bus disappears from the street screens or Transport for Ireland app, it stays gone without explanation. Last week alone my two teenagers encountered five ghost buses, including two in a row on a cold, wet evening, while a newly employed friend has been driven (quite literally) to buy a car after being let down on multiple occasions by these phantom services.
Lest the Minister believe this is a Dublin-only haunting, it isn’t. Perhaps the National Transport Authority might consider a specialist unit. “Ghost Busters” seems an obvious title. – Yours, etc,
RM Block
MICHAEL O’MEARA,
Fenor,
Co Waterford.
