Alliance MLA to hand over dossier of Metro complaints to Consumer Council

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 1st Apr 2005

EAST Belfast Assembly member and Councillor, Naomi Long, has said that the 541 complaints generated by Translink's new Metro bus service doesn't include hundreds of signatures on her petition calling for the restoration of the Mount Merrion link, nor the 70 complaints about other services in East Belfast.

Cllr Long said:

"Last week I handed a petition to Translink with about 630 signatures complaining about the Mount Merrion service being axed, and also a dossier of complaints about Metro - about five pages containing 70 complaints over the last month.

"These are just complaints to me, and I intend to send them to the General Consumer Council who will be working with Translink when they come to review the service later this year.

"Hopefully, Translink will look at the pattern of the complaints and analyse them to see where the problems are. While some services may have improved, others have deteriorated and there are patterns that need to be fed into the future review.

"If Translink really are customer-focused, then they need to listen to public transport users, like those in Mount Merrion, Tullycarnet, Braniel and Knocknagoney, where services have been dramatically altered."