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By ASHLEY TAYLOR, A KR I RTE, ASSOCINSTT ALTHOUGH the passenger transport scene in the Republic of Ireland is dominated by Corn Iompair Eireann, the national transport undertaking, up and down that country there are more than 30 independent operators, most of whom serve districts which at first sight appear commercially unattractive. In fact, the routes are usually so situated as to be undoubtedly unremunerative if operated on any big company system; but simplicity and freedom from heavy overhead charges mean that an on-the-spot proprietor can provide a service for his community that otherwise would be out of the question.
Obviously, a disinclination on the part of the authorities to take on something that might in the end prove a liability is why the various operators were left outside the nationalized field, but the present situation is one which on the whole seems to give satisfaction to both the proprietors and the public.
Many Private Operators Excluding the services operated by the Londonderry and Lough Swilley Railways and the County Donegal Railways joint committee, 34 private operators provide bus and coach services in various parts of the State—on routes which lie principally in counties Kilkenny, Tipperary, Monaghan, Kerry, Longford, Wicklow, Galway, Cork, Carlow, Louth, Cavan, Waterford, Leitrim and Westmeath, in areas not served by CIE.
One of the best-known of the private services holds the only independent licence issued to operate stage carriages into the city of Dublin. This is Mr. Patrick Doyle's St. Kevin's bus undertaking which works the Dublin-Glendalough route, starting from St. Stephen's Green in the city, then running by way of Donnybrook, Shankill, Bray, Roundwood and Laragh. The garage is situated at Roundwood.
The service takes its name from the sixth-century hermit, St. Kevin, who lived by one of the lakes at Glendalough where many monastic relics are to be seen today, notably St. Kevin's Oratory, the 11 ft. St. Kevin's Cross, a round tower and other Celtic crosses. Many of those who visit Dublin make the Glendalaugh trip a pleasant day's outing, on which a guinea or so will cover the return fare plus a decent lunch.
Mr. Doyle was literally brought up in the bus business. His father, Mr. William Doyle, was a bicycle dealer, but with the increasing development of the motorcar in the early 1920s he opened up a garage business and in 1927 purchased a 14-seater Chevrolet with which he established the St. Kevin's service. That was in the days before the local roads were tarred, when even a modest quantity of traffic could make them boggy. So there were occasions when Mr. Doyle had to search quickly for brushwood filling to give stability to the surface before he crossed some of the trickier spots on the southern part of the road.
His four sons all grew up to be road transport men, Patrick taking over from his father some 10 years ago. Helping him in the garage is Mr. Jerry (Jeremiah) Doyle, but the others have moved farther afield Mr. Francis Doyle to Coras lompair Eireann and Mr_ W. Doyle to the North Western Road Car Co.
The St. Kevin's fleet is primarily Leyland, including a Royal Tiger coach, a 44-seat Royal Tiger bus ex-Ribble, two other buses of this make and also one spare vehicle. Four operate in the summer and two in the winter. The garage is well equipped with the appropriate tools, all the maintenance being carried out by Mr. J. Doyle. This element of self-sufficiency is, indeed, one of the reasons why an undertaking like this is able to operate on an economical basis at all.
Two ordinary services are run daily between the terminal points, those on weekdays departing from Glendalough at 9 a.m. and 4.30 p.m., returning from Dublin at 11.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. in addition a workmen's bus runs on weekdays from the outer terminal point to the city, leaving at 7.30 a.m. Weekly tickets between Roundwood and Dublin. covering a period of six days cost 25s. for the total of approximately 300 miles.
An increasing number of people in the vicinity, even though they own cars, are using the St. Kevin's service for their daily business journeys, as the weekly fares are extremely economical when compared with motoring costs. On Sundays, in addition to the Dublin service, there is a circular trip round the local hill country which is designed to bring worshippers in to morning church. It is, of course, the tourist business that is the principal reason for the big rise in the number of passengers in the summer season that compensates for the lean months of winter. Obviously there would be no justification for carrying spare staff in a family-type business of this size and it is part of the general picture that the Doyle brothers will take over in busy periods when drivers and conductors have their days off.
Quite a number of private parties are carried, as the independents in Eire are unrestricted in this field. Generally speaking, there appears to be an increasing amount of private hire work in the twenty-six counties, and there is a considerable interchange in this field between the various independents. Because of the advantages that could be gained by independents acting together, Mr. Patrick Doyle is strongly in favour of an association being formed by private operators throughout the country.
Independent bus operators in the Republic come under the general supervision of the Ministry of Transport and Power, to whom they have to make monthly returns, under penalty, showing the numbers of passengers carried and the receipts. For some time past a form of roll ticket has been used on the St. Kevin's bus service but, so as to ensure absolute accuracy for the purpose of the records mentioned, it is Mr. Doyle's intention to turn over to some form of ticket-issuing machine in the near future.