'Patton Flyer' operator plans more unlicensed bus routes

TREVOR PATTON, the operator of the "Patton Flyer" - the unlicensed Dalkey to Dublin airport bus service - has said he has plans to open another four routes in Dublin.

Mr Patton told The Irish Times he has no wish to challenge the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, who has referred the Patton Flyer to the Garda. But he maintained he was operating in line with the policies of the Government, the Dublin Transportation Office and even environmental guidelines in offering a public transport alternative to motorists.

He said his routes would operate in areas of the city that suffered from chronic traffic congestion and where - like the Dalkey route - there was no alternative bus or rail provider to the airport.

Under the current 1932 Transport Act, which consolidated and regulated bus services, the Patton Flyer can be fined an initial €65, with an ongoing fine of €6.50 for each additional day of operation. Following this, it is up to the Department of Transport to apply to the High Court for an order shutting the business down.

Mr Patton said he does not want matters to come to that or even the fines stage. Nor does he want to continue to be in breach of the 75-year-old regulatory framework. But he points to the fact that since he applied for a licence in June 2006, the department has not been able to come up with a decision on licensing the route.

In the meantime, he cites growing traffic congestion, problems with the M50 and the few buses that, like his, use the Dublin Port Tunnel.

Referring to the Dalkey route, Mr Patton said: "If there was a good reason why there should not be public transport on that route, then the Department of Transport should have been able to determine that reason in almost two years since the licence application was made."

Although Mr Dempsey has conceded the Patton Flyer is, by "all reports", a quality service, his firm view is that non-adherence to the 1932 Act "is an offence and it must be dealt with accordingly".

Mr Dempsey recently announced a review of the Dublin Bus fleet.

This review follows a review of routes in the capital undertaken by his predecessor at the department, Martin Cullen.

Mr Cullen's review followed a decision by his predecessor, Séamus Brennan, to privatise a quarter of all bus routes in Dublin. That proposal, however, ran into opposition from unions at CIÉ.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times