The Government is to invest €57 million in the Local Link transport service in a move described as “the Bus Connects of rural Ireland”, by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan.
Local Link includes some 15 separate, community-based organisations across the State which provide buses to connect outlaying homes and villages with urban centres. Running for more than a decade the organisations were brought under Local Link branding in 2017, with services funded by the National Transport Authority.
Announcing an overall increase of about 25 percent in Local Link bus services, in Laragh, Co Wicklow on Friday, Mr Ryan said roll out of services in Kerry and Leitrim had already shown that “if reliable public transport is provided people will use it”.
The expansion plan, called Connecting Ireland, has been developed by the NTA with the aim of increasing public transport connectivity, particularly for people living outside major cities and towns.
Mr Ryan said under the Connecting Ireland plan:
* More than 100 rural villages would benefit from frequent public transport service of at least three return trips daily, for the first time
* More than 100 rural areas would also benefit from a regular service, at least three return trips daily to their county town for the first time
* More than 60 new connections to regional cities from surrounding areas would be established .
* Demand Responsive services would on some rural areas allow flexible services to operate when needed.
Other initiatives already include subsidies for local hackneys and the development of mobile phone apps to summon buses.
Mr Ryan said the measures would ensure that 70 per cent of people in rural Ireland would have access to public transport services that provide at least three return trips daily. This compares to the current figure of 53 percent.
Mr Ryan said “to have strong local economies and to give people real options for getting around you need good public transport links - this plan represents a step-change in delivering good quality public transport in rural Ireland”.
He said that, particularly when coupled with rural broadband, the service would be transformative and he noted the Brockagh Centre in Laragh was currently involved in installing broadband and creating a digital hub.
“If we are to deliver on our emissions targets, we need to make sure that people have the services and alternatives they need”, he said.
The plan is to be subject to public consultation which opened on Friday, but Mr Ryan said €5.6 million from Budget 2022 had already been allocated to the NTA “so that as early as next year the NTA can begin investing in these services and giving people those alternatives.”
Mr Ryan was joined in Laragh by Anne Graham CEO of the National Transport Authority who described the expansion of services as “another reason to leave the car at home”.
She said for many people “living in a village or in a rural area can mean that accessing services, or employment, or education, or even retail is difficult if not impossible, without using a private car. We want to change that”.
“I believe that expanding the public transport network and increasing service levels, in the way we are proposing, will mean that more people in rural areas will have greater levels of freedom whether or not they have a car”, she said.
Details of the public consultation are available here: https://www.nationaltransport.ie/connecting-ireland/
