PASSENGERS in parts of the south east will soon be able to call a bus to pick them up, in a project designed to provide better mobility for isolated communities.
Under a Kilkenny centred pilot project, part of the EU aided Rural Transport Initiative, passengers will be able to phone a travel and dispatch centre when they want to travel. A bus tracked by satellite will then be routed to pick them up, and they will pay the fare using a "smart card".
Ultimately, depending on the public response, it is hoped the initiative can be extended throughout the island.
The Minister for Transport, Mr Lowry, said the project was of "immense long term significance for rural Ireland" because it would mean a better quality of life, less isolation and improved access to job opportunities for those in rural areas.
The service in Kilkenny is to be operated by J. J. Kavanagh and Sons, of Urlingford, Co Kilkenny, on behalf of PAMBO, the association of private bus operators. Other partners include Maynooth College and European Transport and Telematics.
The project is part of an EU funded transport project called SAMPO, which will operate in Ireland, Belgium, Britain, Finland, Italy and Sweden.
All the technology is proven, having worked well in Finland.
One of the aims of the project is to encourage a shift away from cars, to save energy and reduce pollution.
The sponsors claim one of its principal benefits will be to make transport available "on demand" to elderly and disabled people in rural areas, as well as schoolchildren and even commuters.
Benefits to the operators are expected to include increased business, reduced operating costs and the ability to attract new types of customers from public agencies, health boards and hospitals, as well as tourists and shoppers.
Ireland qualified for the project after Mr Richard O'Byrne of PAMBO made a submission to the European Commission identifying use of new technologies as a key to developing rural public transport.
