'The Dublin Bus brand is an iconic brand' - Dublin Bus denies getting proposal to re-brand buses
Dublin Bus have issued a statement saying they have not been given any proposal to re-brand their buses.
The company said: "The Dublin Bus brand is an iconic brand, which is widely recognised nationally and is a significant asset to the State.
"The value of this citizen brand should be utilised to the maximum, building on its strong performance to drive further customer growth.
"Dublin Bus has not received an official proposal from the National Transport Authority on this matter. Dublin Bus will continue to work with the NTA to seek the best possible outcome for our customers, company and city."
Dermot O'Leary from the National Bus and Railworkers Union is raising concerns the ultimate plan is to privatise the service:
Mr O'Leary said: "The NTA, as far as we are concerned, have been striving towards privatisation for a number of years now.
They see themselves as a Transport for London model and are trying to replicate what's being done in London.
"It's one thing creating a new brand, but it's a completely different matter replacing an old brand. I'm not too sure if some of the iconic brands that we have in this country, like Guinness and Aer Lingus, would take kindly to someone coming in and taking their brand away from them."
Dublin Bus is to lose its iconic colour scheme and will feature a less prominent logo on its new-look fleet.
The livery will be introduced from October when British firm Go Ahead takes over 10% of the network.
The National Transport Authority insists it is not stripping Dublin Bus's branding, and that customers want the double deckers operated by both companies to look the same.
Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin John Lahart is against the change and described the new colour scheme as "anaemic, a blancmange of nothingness."
He said: "A highly symbolic piece of transport infrastructure in the city. The new brand for me speaks nothing with its colours to Dublin
"It relates in no way to Dublin or Dubliners, and is an anaemic blancmange."
New livery for Dublin Buses - quieter than the yellow. I hope they are going to brand Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead in the same colours so that it all looks like the same service to the passengers.
— Ossian Smyth TD (@smytho) April 3, 2018
(photo by Mark Newman) pic.twitter.com/7uBrJwNgVY
