By Michael Murphy
RESIDENTS IN Rivermeade in North Dublin have engaged in a determined battle to hold on to the 40B Toberbu
rr route as a direct bus from the estate into the city centre. Dublin Bus announced that the route, which has been in place for decades, would be axed as part of their plans to cut 120 buses and 160 drivers.
Instead residents would have to take a link bus to Deanstown in Finglas where a second bus would be picked up. This would be a nightmare for the elderly and school children and would mean that workers in the estate will not be able to get to work on time. A compromise put forward by the residents to at least keep peak services was ignored.
It is totally unacceptable to treat a community in this way. The Rivermeade estate is unique, built as it was, in the 1970s miles beyond Finglas on country roads. The Toberburr bus service was only delivered off the back of consistent community pressure in the first place and community action can secure it for the future.
