Belfast City Council presses Translink for all year round late night buses

At the recent full meeting of Belfast City Council, elected representatives agreed to a motion by SDLP councillor Donal Lyons to call on Translink to extend the night-time provision of its Metro and Glider bus services on a permanent basis.

Translink currently have a special one-off late night service for buses and trains in Belfast and Londonderry, for the run up to Christmas. However, city hall is calling for a permanent late night service across the city on the buses.

Mr Lyons told the chamber: “I think it’s important we re-emphasise the lack of late-night public transport for the vast majority of the year in Belfast and the surrounding areas. “It’s no joke when you look at the congestion and the number of people travelling into Belfast in the morning, and then look at how our streets become deserted after 6pm after work.

"It shows there is a willing population to come into Belfast, but for whatever reason they are not staying. “It is starting to have an impact on our economy – people staying away from the city.

"The idea that we should all pile out at one time and be left with one mode of transport is having an inhibiting effect, especially on our cultural venues, and those smaller cultural venues.”

He said it was “galling” when you compared late-night services in Belfast to a city of half the population like Cork, or cities like Dublin, Glasgow and London. He said: “And it’s no joke to say it is easier to get to Dublin Airport than it is to Dunmurry.”

He added: “If you look at social media in the last month, you can see people, particularly women, saying they are feeling unsafe or stranded in the city centre in the hours of night. Having a regular or safe public transport system is something we were due 10 or 15 years ago – we need to play catch-up and get it as soon as possible.”

Mr Lyons said Translink’s responses to date have been “copied and pasted” from previous calls from the business sector and the night-time economy. Alliance councillor Michael Long tabled a friendly amendment for the council to also ask Translink for specialised free public transport days in the run up to Christmas.

He said: “In some parts of the city the last bus is at 10pm, the glider is 11.30pm. "If we are encouraging people to come into the city centre we need ways to get home, if people want a drink or are going to an event, for many (the buses) is the only way they can do it.”

Asked by the News Letter if late-night services could be extended, particularly for those trying to get home to towns throughout the Province after enjoying events in Belfast which tend to finish late in the evening, Translink said: “Longer term, late-night services will require investment.

"Translink is committed to working closely with key partners to develop additional and extended services which will help support local businesses, those who work at night and those who want to enjoy the great hospitality available, with the comfort of knowing they have access to safe and reliable transport.”