Social Democrats TD for Wicklow Jennifer Whitmore claimed in the Dail that drivers of the L2 bus route are actively choosing to skip stops to reach others faster
14:26, 20 Feb 2026Updated 14:34, 20 Feb 2026
The L2 bus(Image: TikTok/seanthebusenthusiast)
A TD has claimed in the Dail that a young Wicklow woman with physical and intellectual disabilities was left on the side of the road in “lashing rain” because her bus driver refused to follow the route.
Social Democrats TD for Wicklow Jennifer Whitmore claimed in the Dail that drivers of the L2 bus route are actively choosing to skip stops to reach others faster. The L2 bus, which is operated by Go-Ahead Ireland, launched in January 2025, as part of phase 6a of BusConnects.
The bus runs from Bray to Newcastle, and takes in the towns of Greystones and Kilcoole on the way. Deputy Whitmore alleged that the young woman intended to get the bus home from day service in Bray to Kilcoole, but her stop was skipped by the driver.
She claimed that the driver then let her off at the end of the line in Newcastle in the “dark” and “lashing rain” and refused to bring her back to Kilcoole. Deputy Whitmore made a direct call to the Taoiseach to intervene and review Go-Ahead’s contract on Tuesday during a debate on the Climate Action Plan, claiming they have “never once” provided sufficient service.
She said: “The provision of public transport should play a huge part in climate action. Unfortunately, in my constituency of Wicklow, Go-Ahead provides many of our services.
“It is just not up to scratch. It is plagued with problems in providing the service. There are ghost buses and buses that will just drive by people and not pick them up, particularly teenagers.
“We have buses that refuse to go on the predetermined route. They will actually bypass a road they are meant to go down and instead just drive to the nearest village.
“I will tell the Taoiseach how bad this is. I am really annoyed with this. There is a young lady in my constituency who has intellectual and physical disabilities.
“She got on her bus from her day service. That bus was meant to go down her road. Again, the bus driver refused to go down and brought her to the next village.
“It was dark, it was lashing rain, and that bus driver put her out when he got to Newcastle village and would not bring her back to Kilcoole. She was left on the side of the road by herself.
“It is not acceptable. The service Go-Ahead is providing is not sufficient. I ask that the Taoiseach look at the contract that was provided to it because it has never once provided a sufficient service in Wicklow.”
Taoiseach Micheal Martin said Deputy Whitmore “should complain to the National Transport Authority, which awards the contracts” if she had an issue with the service. Dublin Live have contacted Go-Ahead Ireland for comment.
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