Drivers’ union urges public to bombard Department for Infrastructure email over opening of Belfast bus lanes to 4,500 private taxis
Questions must be asked over how unelected civil servants can reverse decades of public transport policy with minimal consultation
June 18th: Unite Regional Coordinating Officer, Davy Thompson, was scathing of proposals published quietly last week by unaccountable civil servants at the Department of Infrastructure which would reverse years of Executive policy and open bus lanes across the city to an estimated four thousand five hundred private taxis.
“With virtually no publicity whatsoever, the Department of Infrastructure quietly launched a mere three week consultation on proposals that would have the potential to transform the status of public transport in Belfast. Aside from a copy of the legal changes involved, the Department’s website provides virtually no documentation on what is being promoted as an ‘experimental’ and temporary proposal but one very likely to become permanent if it proceeds. They have offered no studies on the dramatic impact that this will have on bus services, there is no pro-forma to encourage members of the public to engage with the consultation and no public meetings to engage those who will be most affected.
“For decades, locally accountable Ministers have adopted consistent policies to promote public transport and the transition to a healthier and environmentally-sustainable transport system but now unelected officials in the Department of Infrastructure are seeking to overturn that and offer virtually no opportunity for members of the public to find out about their plans, let alone raise any opposition. Continue reading
