So according to the Pat Kenny show this morning it could take as little as 48 million euros to buy an entirely new and dedicated school bus fleet. This sounds like money well spent especially given the 57 million that the Minister for Incompetency Martin Cullen spent on e-voting that we could end up (hopefully) never using. Mary Hanafin quoted a figure of 58 million for 300 new buses and Bertie Ahern has put the whole thing off until all three investigations are complete. As with anything, Ahern has put it all aside until everyone has forgotten about these events.
Oh for a government that can make decisions and spend money wisely.
Who else thinks we should go buy the buses?
Comments
8 responses to “Meath crash”
Gavin,
I didn’t hear the radio show, but I’ve been wondering if the fleet is upgraded at the government’s expense, will more people want their children to be able to avail of school buses? I don’t know, but I think it’s possible that a new fleet of buses will cause demand to rise significantly.
The government pays for the buses already. There a quite strict rules for who can avail of the service. So I do not think demand would rise as John suggests, but I do think that making the buses as safe as possible would be a good way to spend some of the tax take. Perhaps we could flog off the voting machines to pay for it. I believe we are paying a fortune to have the vote machines stored.
Kevan,
The government doesn’t always pay for the buses, right? I know they do in some instances, but in others it is the parents who lump their money together to bus their children to school.
I think if new, safer buses are unveiled anyone who’s paying for their kids to be bussed now will want/demand the government now pick up the tab.
Forking out 57m for a new fleet of busses is a pretty dumb idea. For my reasons why see:
http://www.sliabh.net/index.php?p=308
I heard a great idea for the voting machines on the radio the other day – sell them to Michael O’Leary! He could make some money out of them somehow while saving the government from storing them until kingdom come.
Re: the bus situation, €48 million sounds like a lot to spend, although I agree that the 3:2 condition is out of line. Wouldn’t buying a limited number of new buses and putting seatbelts on the ones we have already be a lot cheaper, while solving most of the problems?
€48 million is nothing for 300 buses! Have you seen the decrepit wheel-mounted shacks in use at the moment? I’m paying €400 a year for my kid to get to school on an ’82 reg heap of crap. Both Bus Eireann and the private bus companies get away with it simply because the kids don’t how to complain, and the adults don’t see what the kids have to put up with. When so much money is being wasted on overspending on road projects and the like, €48 million could surely be accommodated somewhere along the line.
Why just confine it to the school buses? How many of Bus Eireann’s buses are old/decrepit/without seat belts? Lots of them. Why not just replace the whole fleet in the mass hysteria.
Personally, I think a better measure would be to ban school children from sitting in the back seat of the bus. They only fatalities occured in that row. Everyone else survived. That measure wouldn’t cost a penny.
I heard Pat Kenny’s program and quite frankly, thought he had morphed into Joe Duffy, make a few phone calls and sort out the whole debacle. It never ceases to amaze me how people think RTE always have the answers. They don’t.
A new fleet is an over reaction. Buses wouldn’t be on the road if they weren’t deemed to be road worthy. Also, why is no one talking about the fact that the road was being worked on and there were no signs for road works and reduce speed?
Jumping to proclaiming “All the buses should be replaced” is pretty premature considering the investigations have not been completed.
I think kids living within two miles of the front door of school should not be able to use the bus unless they board at bus stops marked with street furniture. Spend money on the street furniture because that reminds others that more public transport should be available and used. Ireland needs more buses–not just school buses.
Do not let anyone sit on or aft of the rear wheel wells of school buses. The ride sucks back there and the injuries are the highest when you’re at the end of a spinning pendulum in an accident.
Do not let anyone sit with their legs in the aisles or on anyone’s lap. This includes kissing couples.
All buses more than five years old should be subjected to rigorous mechanical inspections once a year, or every 5000 miles, whichever comes first.
These measures would need Exchequer money but against a value-for-money metric that delivers safety and reliability over emotional responses. Ireland is not a poor country anymore and should act its age.