Dublin South West TD, Seán Crowe, has said that a plan must be put in place to tackle the traffic chaos that has resulted in parts of Dublin, particularly around College Green, since the Luas Cross-City was implemented. Crowe called for the Luas, the National Transport Authority (NTA), Dublin City planners and the Minister for Transport, Shane Ross, to urgently act in this regard.

The Sinn Féin TD also called on Minister Shane Ross to go directly to College Green and try and commute on a Luas tram, a bus, or in a car, and actually experience the nightmare that commuters endure on a daily basis.

Deputy Seán Crowe said:

“There has been ongoing disruption in Dublin since the Luas Cross-City was introduced in December. Clearly, all new systems experience some initial teething problems but the current system is broken and not delivering for commuters travelling through College Green in the city centre.

“Travelling by Luas, even at off-peak times, is now extremely challenging for commuters due to the reduction in service frequency and resultant over-crowding. College Green is a nightmare for commuters and many are trying to avoid it at all costs, with Dublin Bus services also being seriously delayed for long periods.

“The NTA’s announcement that the new longer Luas trams have been withdrawn from service due to a fault in the system has compounded these problems on the Luas, and this week commuters again experienced total chaos on the service.

“Luas, the NTA, Dublin City planners and the Minister for Transport need to act urgently and come up with a plan to tackle this traffic chaos. This sorry saga seems set to continue unless urgent action is taken.

“Minister Ross needs to go directly to College Green and actually experience trying to commute on a Luas tram, a bus, or in a car, and live the nightmare that commuters are forced to endure on a daily basis.”

ENDS