Nine brand new electric buses paid for by the Department for Infrastructure have been gathering dust at a depot in Craigavon since August due to a dispute with engineers over their maintenance.
The nine Translink vehicles, seven double-decker and two single deck buses, cost the Department more than £5 million and, it’s understood, were initially planned to be made operational in September 2024 having been delivered to the depot last August.
The taxpayer funded buses are part of Translink’s rolling out of zero emissions vehicles aimed at decarbonising public transport in Northern Ireland.
One hundred battery powered buses were purchased from Ballymena-based Wrightbus by the Department for Infrastructure last year, with a total investment of £64 million.
However, it’s understood the nine buses in Craigavon have not left the depot since arriving six months ago, as engineers at the station are locked in a dispute with bosses over pay and training for the new vehicles.
“Millions of pounds of taxpayers money sitting there like scrap metal,” a source familiar with the dispute told the Irish News.
“It’s embarrassing to see so much money sitting there that long not earning its crust.”
A spokesperson for Translink said close to 200 electric buses had already been rolled out across the north and that it expected Craigavon to be one of the next locations to roll out the vehicles.
It says engagement with staff over training for the new vehicles is ongoing.
“Translink continue to roll out zero emission vehicles as part of our plans to decarbonise public transport in Northern Ireland,” a statement said.
“This is being completed in phases, and to date 191 buses have been deployed across Derry/Londonderry, Coleraine and Belfast. Craigavon is one of the next locations for services to go live.
“Engagement with staff and training for these new vehicles continues, and we look forward to these zero emission vehicles going into service in the near future”.
Unite the Union, which is representing the Translink staff involved in the dispute, declined to make any comment in relation to it.
The Department for Infrastructure said the matter was “an operational issue for Translink” and declined to make any further comment.
Green Party councillor Brian Smyth said it was an example of waste and mismanagement of public services.
“It’s not acceptable to have £5 million worth of buses sitting gathering dust, especially when our overall public transport network is poor, disjointed and unreliable,” Cllr Smyth said.
“It’s just another symptom of how the Stormont Executive and the Department for Infrastructure fail to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.”
