Transport: Minister for Transport Martin Cullen was criticised yesterday for not permitting competition in the Dublin bus market.
Addressing the annual conference of the Dublin Economics Workshop in Kenmare, competition economist Pat Massey said the Republic was lagging behind the rest of the world by its failure to reform the bus industry.
In a paper entitled Delayed Indefinitely, Mr Massey, a former chairman of the Competition Authority, argued that the lack of competition allowed inefficiency to persist. He described this as a "sizeable hidden cost of social partnership".
Mr Massey contrasted the Government's stance on bus deregulation with remarks made by Mr Cullen in the Dáil last week in respect of the Ryanair bid for Aer Lingus, in which the Minister warned of a possible monopoly in air travel.
"It is somewhat disappointing that the Minister has failed to apply the same logic in the case of bus services," he said yesterday.
"Since 1998, revenues have increased by 35 per cent but operating costs have increased twice as fast. The net effect is that Dublin Bus's operating deficit has increased from just under €9 million in 1998 to almost €63 million in 2005," Mr Massey said.
He reserved particular criticism for the bus licensing system, which he said discriminated against private-sector operators.
"The record shows that private bus operators have persistently been refused licenses to operate on routes serviced by CIÉ or its various subsidiaries," he claimed.
Mr Massey said the deregulation of bus services in the UK had initially encountered problems but was ultimately successful.
Adopting a private sector approach to bus regulation need not preclude the development of integrated ticketing, Mr Massey added.
The Government must change its policies on tourism if it is to adapt to a "new age" in the sector, according to a paper presented at the conference yesterday.
Jim Deegan of the University of Limerick said the sector's full economic potential could not be achieved by relying on the Republic's traditional image.
