BUS PASSENGERS in Fermanagh face higher fares and fewer bus services after Translink announced another price hike – the latest in a long line of cost-cutting measures by the company.
All bus fares are set to rise by around five per cent – more than three times the rate of inflation.
A Translink spokesman stated that the slashed funding of £15m has prompted the price hike, which will take effect from February 16.
It will leave passengers in Enniskillen paying an extra 13 pence per journey.
Local MLA Sean Lynch expressed his concerns about the imminent cuts to rural and community transport and town services.
Mr Lynch, who is deputy chairman of the committee for regional development, questioned the department’s officials at the last meeting about the scale of the cuts.
He said: “The scale of reduction to Translink in 2015 and 2016 is estimated to be £15 million. The Department has stated that, whilst some further efficiency savings can be made, a reduction of this scale would inevitably lead to a combination of increased fares and reductions in, and the cessation of, some bus services.
“An indicative list of towns and cities across the North that have been identified as routes for either cessation or reduction of services focuses on the least profitable routes. These correlate almost entirely with rural towns and routes and have provided Translink with the opportunity to cherry-pick profitable routes while discarding unviable but vital routes.”
While acknowledging the difficult economic conditions faced by many agencies, the MLA said the loss of such services to the area would be a devastating blow.
“Translink, like many other departments, agencies and businesses, no doubt are facing reduced revenue grants, however there has to be a balance when decisions about withdrawal of services are being made,” he said.
“Older people in particular need access to essential services. Many households have no car and many even in car-owning households do not have access to a car, or are too young or too old to drive. Buses enable non-drivers to access jobs, shops, education, training and services. They also help create less traffic within the urban environs thus reducing log jams. Cuts in services to the public must be a last resort, not a first option.”
The committee’s chairman Trevor Clarke also denounced Translink and the department for the 5 per cent increase to bus and rail fares announced last week.
The MLA said the committee was “aghast” at the “underhand way” in which Translink brought these charges in.
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