Labour Youth are demanding that Dublin Bus be kept in public ownership, after a statement from Young Fine Gael demanded the service be privatised.

Labour Youth National Chairperson, Aideen Carberry said “The call by YFG to privatise Dublin Bus is senseless and not in the best interests of our city. The service, while not perfect, offers commuters in Dublin a wide variety of routes at a reasonably inexpensive rate.”

“There is no evidence to suggest that privatising the service will increase efficiency, either. We must look at the example from our nearest neighbours, the United Kingdom. The UK began deregulating certain bus routes and opening them to competition in the mid 1980s. Frequent route and timetable changes undermined commuter confidence in the pursuit of profits; and passenger numbers steadily declined.”

“A well funded and dependable transport system offers a city far more than simply a means to get around. It offers communities mobility and opens up access to parts of our city that were previously isolated. This is certainly often the case in less affluent areas.”

“We recognise that Dublin Bus may have to undergo certain changes to ensure efficiency for its users. However, it is more important that we have an open public transport system which is accessible to all our citizens. The aim of Dublin Bus must be to create mobility for our communities and not for the generation of profits.”