Bus Atha Cliath/Dublin Bus yesterday secured a High Court order restraining Dublin Corporation from awarding a contract for the supply of bus shelters. Mr Eoghan Fitzsimons SC, for the company, claimed that the corporation was trying to "muscle in" on income derived from advertising in the bus shelters.
The corporation's director of traffic, Mr Owen Keegan, said that the corporation's fundamental concern was the refusal of Bus Atha Cliath to share its bus shelters with other bus operators. He claimed in an affidavit that the bus shelters erected by the company were, in general, not consistent with the approach to "street furniture" now required by the corporation. The shelters were of poor-quality design, used low-grade materials and were in some cases poorly maintained.
Mr Justice Lavan said he would grant an interlocutory order restraining the corporation from awarding contracts for new bus shelters. The order remains in place pending the outcome of the main hearing between the parties.