Online booking hitting disadvantaged

The increasing use of online bookings for bus and rail travel is placing people on social welfare at a serious disadvantage, a spokesman for Republican Sinn Fein said today.

Mick The Quill Ryan, from Ballynanty, the RSF chairman in the north side of Limerick said that people on free travel and other transport allowances are finding that very often services are fully booked out when they arrive at the rail or bus station.

The use of online booking is increasingly taking up all the available seats and we have found that in many cases people cannot use their entitlement because they have to call in person to the transport office he said.

In a world there new technology is changing many social functions the transport services should also take into account that there are people who cannot use on line booking.

By its nature the entitlement of free travel is given to many elderly people or to those who are on disability yet these are the people who may not have the facilities to access on line booking.

In recent weeks we have been approached by many people who have been unable to use their travel entitlement because of over booking.

These people have to go in person to the transport office only to be told that the services are fully booked.  This is an area that will have to be examined by those with responsibility to administer the scheme.