Commuters have described the “torture” and “frustration” of trying to get to and from work due to the suspension of the Luas Green line service.
The line remains out of service on Thursday following a major power outage, with the operator saying it still does not know when it will be able to restore power.
Olga Oliynyk (30), who lives in Islandbridge and works in IT, usually takes a bus to the city centre before travelling via the Luas to her job in Sandyford.
Standing at the Trinity College tram stop on Thursday morning, Ms Oliynyk said due to the outage she did not return home until 9pm on Wednesday.
“There are only two buses from Sandyford to the city and they were packed, we couldn’t get on them yesterday evening,” she said.
“In my case, I finished at 5pm but it didn’t look possible I could get home, so I waited until 6pm and finally I got on to a bus at 7.30pm and then I got home at 9pm.
“The 80 bus route is already problematic and then the Luas isn’t working, it’s a nightmare. Honestly I’m very glad I don’t have kids because trying to pick them up and drop them to school would be impossible.”
Gwenaelle Ní Dhonnabhain at a ticket-vending machine as Luas Green Line services remained suspended. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
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Her colleague Ricardo Marcelo (40), who lives in the Liberties, said their company was arranging for a taxi to get them into the office on Thursday morning.
“Getting home yesterday was torture,” he said. “I got on a bus and it took forever. I just gave up at some point because of the traffic. I got off the bus at Ranelagh and walked home because it was just impossible to continue.
“The place where we work, there are multiple companies around us so getting the bus is impossible because the stop is packed.”
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Mr Marcelo, who is required to work on site five days a week, said companies need to be more flexible if problems with public transport and congestion persist.
“How can they expect productivity if we are getting home late and we have to wake up extra early and then all of these hassles to get to work?” he added.
“It would be easier if they just allowed us to work from home, especially when these things happen.”
Elisa de la Fuente (34), who lives in Clonee and takes a bus into the city centre before getting the Green line to work, also in the IT industry in Sandyford, said it usually takes her an hour and 45 minutes to get home, depending on traffic.
“If I was to consider the buses, it would probably take me two hours,” she said. “Yesterday it took me over three hours to get home from work. It’s just not working because I’m spending almost as much time on the bus as I am in work.”
Maruf Morbuteev (32), a homecare assistant living in the north inner city, relies solely on public transport to get to his multiple clients’ homes every day.
Mr Morbuteev, whose first client of the day was in Goatstown, said he hadn’t realised there was no service on Thursday morning and would probably now take the bus.
“I’m going to call my company now because I just checked my phone and saw it’s down. It’s annoying, transportation in the city is not good. When you’re getting the bus sometimes it’s just cancelled. There are always problems with the bus,” he said.
“I have to go to clients’ homes and some people really need help. Some live alone and are very elderly and need urgent help so it’s very bad if I’m late.”
Bahaar Thareja: ‘It’s really inconvenient as the Luas is much cheaper than a taxi.’ Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
Henry Stenson (20), who lives in Grand Canal and works in auditing in Sandyford, was also unaware the service was down on Thursday morning.
“I didn’t know about this,” he said. “Yesterday morning I was on it when it shut down. I just walked home and worked from home instead.
“The company are okay with us working from home. I’ll probably walk home now and do the same. It’s a bit annoying. There are other ways I could get to work. There’s a bus that goes to Sandyford but it would take me 20 extra minutes and the stops aren’t as frequent. I just personally prefer to use the Luas.”
Gwenaelle Ní Dhonnabhain (23), living in Irishtown and working in retail in Dundrum, said it was a “definite nuisance” the service was still not running on Thursday afternoon.
“I’m just looking at different ways to get to work now, wondering is it coming, is it not? I’ll probably get the bus,” she said.
“I knew there were issues with it yesterday but thought it would be back up and running today. It means I’m going to be 20 minutes late for work. The Luas is generally great, it’s really fast.”
Bahaar Thareja (31), living on Cork Street, was due to use the Green line to get to a tourist visa appointment in Sandyford.
Elizabeth O’Sullivan: ‘I knew it [the Green line] was down yesterday as a lot of students were really stuck’. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
“I didn’t realise it was down. It’s going to be more trouble to find a mode of transport now,” she said. “I’ll probably get a bus or taxi. It’s really inconvenient as the Luas is much cheaper than a taxi. I hope I won’t be late now.”
Elizabeth O’Sullivan (23), a student living on campus at Trinity College Dublin, also hadn’t realised the service was down as she was heading to meet a friend for lunch on Harcourt Street.
“It was a lazy journey for me, I guess I’ll just walk,” she said. “I knew it was down yesterday as a lot of students were really stuck because it’s actually exam season so it’s a really stressful time for students, it’s probably the worst time. The Luas is supposed to be really reliable.”
