Public transport improvements are a cornerstone of meeting Northern Ireland’s climate targets.
But the prehistoric system has so many problems, it’s no surprise people daily choose to jump in their cars rather than get the bus or train.
Despite years of damning stats that show Stormont is failing us on this front, there seems to be little real will to make meaningful changes to provide services that are both enticing and meet the needs of the population.
Read more: The Earth's Corr: We need a citizens' assembly on what DfI is doing in Belfast
You all know I think kids and university students should go free as well as pensioners - but that idea was poo-pooed by the government.
Then there’s little things like the fact you still can’t buy tickets at every station, people arriving at our airports can’t pay on services with cards and the app only allows people to buy one ticket at a time - damn those pesky parents trying to get tickets for their children as well.
Serious shortcomings on bike storage facilities at Belfast’s major stations shows there’s little joined up thinking in the push for people to choose active travel over petrol-guzzlers. Then there’s the ridiculous lack of facilities at some halts for people with disabilities, which in this day and age is just disgusting.
I try to take the train or bus when I can, but nearly every journey I make highlights a new problem.
I was mortified for a poor tourist trying to get on the bus from Belfast International to the city centre on my way home from COP27.
He tried to pay on the bus with his card but was told ‘it’s cash only’ and to use the machine.
The machine, however, was broken and other customers had to step up to help.
Not a great advertisement for a country in the global north trying to entice visitors from overseas.
Then there’s the really poor Translink website, that just isn’t that easy to use, and don’t get me started on the M-Link app that wouldn’t let me buy train tickets for my nephew and I in one transaction.
When the powers that be make it hard for people - how do they expect to attract more customers?
Translink should be looking to make every interaction with its customers as simple as using an iPhone.
Then the trains go just every half hour from Holywood to the city - when it’s major route. And why the hell are night time services only rolled out at Christmas?
People all year round need these services to get from working to support our night time economy - and even when they are introduced in the festive period they don’t run nearly late enough.
Taxis home from the city centre are a nightmare and I have been ripped off more than once.
But there is no alternative as I can’t get a bus or train home after closing time.
Our public transport services should not stop when pubs, resturants, bars and clubs are still open - they should be running when people need them.
And then there’s the fact none of our airports have a rail service, not to mention half the country.
I totally support the idea of a circle line around Belfast to service huge parts of the city that have no train stops - even when services scoot by places like North Belfast. What is that even about?
And to this day I feel real dismay that the new Glider North-South routes will not run through the new transport hub, when we should be joining up all the dots to make public transport easier for everyone - not least those with mobility issues.
We need train services that are faster, more frequent and meet the needs of commuters travelling into the Belfast as well as between Belfast and Dublin.
We need a train stop at Royal Victoria Hospital. We need trains running to the airports and we need trains that go to Tyrone and Fermanagh.
It would take petrol and diesel guzzling cars off the road and it would make life easier from the masses commuting into the city every day.
All of this is not rocket science - it’s necessary for the future - and it’s time Stormont and Translink delivered.
Another kick in the guts for NI folks
This is more an energy thing than a climate thing, but the way I see it both are linked.
Our government’s failings over the past 10 years or so have left all of us up the left with today’s energy costs.
No smart meters, 70% relying on oil for heat and the rest still using polluting gas, coal and peat - little movement on retrofitting and grants that only help the few to upgrade their homes to be more energy efficient.
Now I don’t know whether it’s the lack of imagination that has got us here or the deeply embedded hooks of fossil fuel firms in our policy makers.
What I do know is that despite all we have already suffered in this wee country, we are still being done over by those supposed to looks after our best interests.
Take the £400-£600 we were all promised this winter.
It has been said more than once Westminster had to ‘step in’ to deliver the scheme as the DUP won’t form a government. They say it’s not their fault - but I’ll let you decide.
What I do know is that with little other option than to dole out huge amounts to stay warm and well this winter - if we can - we are none the wiser about when we will see it.
In Ireland, people are getting €600 from their government - and more if they receive social security.
In England, Scotland and Wales they have had their October and November payments of £66 towards their electricity bills.
Yet here in NI, the poorest region of the UK and Ireland when it comes to disposable income and where over a third have no savings, it could be January or even February or we may not see a penny of that money.
I don’t know about you but I am sick and tired of our lives being held to ransom by politicians.
GAA stars 'Plant the Planet' with games in Kenya
A huge well done to the Antrim GAA stars who are in Africa this week, planting trees and raising awareness about the impact climate change is having on some of the world’s most vulnerable.
Hurlers Paddy Burke and Neil McManus, camogie player Jane Adams and inter-county footballer Chris Kerr have joined 50 sportsmen and women from across the country on a week long trip to Kenya for the ‘Plant the Planet Games’ in Nairobi.
Gaelic Players Association CEO, Tom Parsons, said they got involved to empower inter-county players to realise the bigger picture beyond sport.
“Not only will this campaign allow the players to come together and experience something entirely different, but in doing so they will also be able to leverage their influence off the field of play in support of the planet and some of the world’s most challenged communities,” he added.
Wrapping paper not needed
I’ve not started my Christmas wrapping just yet, but this year I will be using paper I have collected throughout the year.
Why pay for a role of wrapping paper when a little imagination and some recycling will do the job?
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