National Transport Authority chiefs have been slammed for jumping the gun with PR spin for the BusConnects project.
Labour senator Kevin Humphreys said they’ve “wasted” over €100,000 on this “sharp practice” ad spending.
Dublin buses and shelters have been festooned with ads for BusConnects for the past two week.
The public consultation process only finished at the end of last week and Mr Humphreys is angry campaign was launched without before the public had their say.
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He said: “This is clearly an example of sharp practice.
“What we’re seeing now is a very expensive PR campaign telling the people the benefits of BusConnects without actually listening to the submissions that thousands of people have now put in to the National Transport Authority.”
The NTA revealed to Mr Humpreys it spent €51,000 on advertising space and €26,000 in associated printing costs. This comes to close to €100,000 when VAT is added.
A spokesman defended the splash-out is needed to keep commuters informed.
He said: “This an information campaign the aim of which is to raise awareness of the whole BusConnects project.”
