Consternation

 Last week we learned that there will be some changes on the bus route we regularly use. For years it has technically been a Bus Eireann route but it was operated by a local company, McGeehan's Coaches. Everyone is familiar with PJ, the regular driver. Indeed, we used to know him from when we lived in Killybegs and at the start of our time in Dungloe (pre-pandemic), because we used that bus all the time. We even did most of our move from Killybegs to Dungloe on that bus. When we moved here and got on the bus for the first time, PJ said hello, asked how we'd been and what we've been doing. Then he asked, 'Are you moving, by any chance?' He's a nice guy. Today when he found out we were going to the library, he said he'd drop us off at the top of the town, thus saving us a few minutes walk. Since we got there a bit later than usual (road works) and only had about half an hour before the bus left to come back, this was welcome. He knows where to look for the regulars who climb on the bus from the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, getting a ride to a grocery store. For these people, there are not even any corner shops for them to get some groceries--there aren't even any corners, just a long winding road with the ocean, sheep, cows, hills, and beautiful scenery on either side. Without this bus, things would be a lot harder for them.

Now things are changing, though. Bus Eireann has decided they no longer want to contract the route out and will run it themselves. There is no one who is happy about this. There is concern that they will be unreliable and cancel the route without notice on individual days or altogether or that they might change things in some way. There is also an expectation that the people driving this route will not be as friendly as PJ and might not stop for those people along the side of the road. Needless to say, it's been the talk of the bus for a week and speculation about what will happen is running wild. There has also been an air of sadness and even some stress among the regulars.

Today on the way back, PJ stopped to pick up an older lady out front of her house. She placed her free travel pass on the reader and said to him, 'We're losing you, I hear.' PJ replied that today was his last day. 'This is for you,' she said as she handed him a gift wrapped package and thanked him for the years of driving her around. This is so rural Donegal. 

She sat next to someone she knew and they were talking about the change that starts next week. She was saying how we all know the drivers now and we won't when Bus Eireann takes over. Another guy said that he doesn't think they'll last a month and will give the contract back to McGeehan's. Wishful thinking? I think there is also a feeling that McGeehan's and the drivers are local and are more trustworthy than the national and impersonal Bus Eireann. I am curious to see how things play out. As for PJ, he's hoping for a week off next week before he finds out what his new territory will be. He's been driving this route for 5 years so maybe the change won't be all bad for him. Hopefully things will go better than expected for all of us who ride the bus, too. 

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