Bus Éireann - A Swansong?

I don't like unions. That's not really a secret, I've felt like that ever since I had to deal with the unions at my old workplace in Frankfurt. Verdi, as they are called, one of the large unions in Germany, have consistently proving to be nothing but a bunch of self-serving loudmouths that care only about lining their own pockets and taking money from their members. But, even with all their egomania and greed, Verdi doesn't hold a candle to the unions over here in Ireland. While Verdi et. al. may have a skewed sense of reality, the unions in Ireland, not least transport unions like the NBRU (National Bus and Rail Union) are nothing but a bunch of extortion rackets that regularly hold the entire country for ransom. There is not even a pretence of interest in the public good here.

Not a welcome sight for travellers.

All bus displays outside of Dublin currently show this message. Makes a great impression on visitors, doesn't it?

Why am I bringing this up? Well, at midnight on March 24th, unions at Bus Éireann, Ireland's national bus operator and quasi-monopolist started an unlimited nationwide strike. To be fair, this strike is not really unexpected, given how far apart the unions and the management of Bus Éireann are. The bus operator has been haemorrhaging money like mad over the last few years, we're talking about losses in the millions. As it stands, if the company does not implement drastic cuts, it will be insolvent by the end of May. For the last couple of months, the management at Bus Éireann has been trying to get the unions to agree on a common cost-cutting strategy to turn the company around and get it back into the profit zone. The response of the unions? A demand for a massive pay rise, and a total opposition to any cuts, a line they kept up during numerous mediation attempts at the Workplace Relations Commission, a dedicated mediation body, and the Labour Court. Mediation attempts that the unions walked out on, that is. 
So now, here we are. Public transport outside of Dublin has been at a standstill for over 24 hours, with no end in sight. Tens of thousands of employees and students cannot get to work or to their colleges, while vulnerable persons like jobseekers or pensioners cannot access the services they need. As if that wasn't enough, the NBRU set up their picket at railway stations as well, at least those where they share operations with Irish Rail, bringing both intercity and commuter rail service to a standstill as well on Friday. To top it all off, users of GoBÉ, a joint venture between Bus Éireann and GoBus, have once again been threatened and intimidated by striking bus drivers, a move similar to threats made during an earlier strike back in 2013. All the while, the NBRU's keyboard warriors swarm out all over the comments sections of Irish newspapers and social media sites, insulting and threatening anyone who does not agree with the strike. There is no visible sign of movement in this strike, with the management at Bus Éireann saying they have no choice but to implement those cuts, the unions insisting on their demands, and Shane Ross, the minister for transport, refusing to intervene in this conflict.

Despite the fact that Bus Éireann is trying to modernise its fleet,...

... for example with these new Mercedes Citaro buses,...

...it is so bogged down with union-imposed limitations that it simply isn't viable anymore.

In my eyes, Shane Ross is dead right to stay out of this conflict. In fact, I see this strike as a blessing in disguise. Not only does it expose the greed and thuggery of the NBRU, it could also spell the long overdue end of Bus Éireann. True, the company has made some huge improvements in the four years I've been living here in Ireland, with new buses, or free wifi on all services, for example. I highlighted some of those in an earlier article on public transport in Cork. However, it is increasingly clear that the company has run its course, and that the time of a state owned monopoly operator has passed. Mind you, that's just the basic principle, before the inefficiencies imposed by union blackmail, such as over-the-top pay checks, restrictions on night work at maintenance depots, or on the use of telemetry units on board the buses kick in. I'm not even talking about the piecemeal adoption of Leap Cards, or the inability to pay onboard with credit or debit cards.
Meanwhile, private operators are making a killing. Be it Aircoach on their Cork-Dublin run, City Link with their operations out of Galway, or Translink, which operates between Dublin and the North, to name but a few. All have chartered extra buses to cope with the demand, and more often than not, are still operating at, or beyond, capacity. Now, to be fair, these companies are not always all they're cracked up to be. However, the speed with which they've been able to react to this strike just goes to show how much more flexible private operators can be, especially when they're not tied down by senseless union constraints.

Meanwhile, private companies are more than willing to pick up the slack...

...as these photos from St. Patrick's Quay, Cork's de facto private bus station, show.

Aircoach has had to bring in extra buses to cope with the extra demand.

The Dublin Coach services to Waterford are being overrun as well.

Aircoach has taken to checking passenger's reservations before letting them onto the bus due to the high demand.

Quite frankly, I believe that this strike will be a mortal blow for Bus Éireann, and if the Department of Transport is smart, they should already be planning for a post BÉ Ireland. In due course, I expect the public transport landscape to move in a direction that it already has in many places in Europe, and even in the UK, with local transit authorities putting urban and suburban routes out to tender, a series of non-viable routes being operated under what is known as a Public Service Obligation, or PSO, scheme, and pretty much free competition on the high yield intercity routes. It won't be a completely free market obviously, the National Transport Authority will still be the regulatory body, but as far as I'm concerned, it shouldn't be involved in route planning. Certainly not when it comes to bus services within the major urban centres of this country.

Some of the major employers in the region, such as Amazon...

....or Apple have hired buses for their employees as well. As has my employer, although they do that anyway.

Okay, okay, I've waffled on more than enough again, I get it. However, I'm someone who is not only dependent on public transport, but also believes passionately that it is the only sustainable way to ensure mobility for Ireland. For decades, public transport in Ireland has been held back by a disinterested government, an apathetic population, and self serving criminal syndicates masquerading as unions. This strike, as crippling as it may be for some, could very well turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

Whether it's heading down the river....

... or back up, it seems some people will do anything to avoid the effects of the strike!