Coach operator links city with Dublin
The service, which will be launched today, will offer eight departures in both directions and cost €20 for a one-way trip and €30 return.
Aircoach managing director John O’Sullivan said the Aircoach brand was well known for providing comfortable transport and an on-time service.
“We offer an unrivalled service at very competitive prices and will demonstrate this to intending passengers in the months ahead,” he said.
The service will depart from Patrick’s Quay and will serve Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Cashel, Durrow, Abbeyleix and Monasterevin on the way to Dublin, where it will terminate at Westmoreland Street beside O’Connell Bridge.
Departures start at 6am and continue to 7pm. Mr O’Sullivan said the route timings would allow business travellers from Cork to get to Dublin in time for a 10am start and return home at 6pm.
Aircoach said that its customers would be able to enjoy greater comfort than that available from rival operators because it deliberately reduced the number of seats on buses to 44, allowing each passenger to have more legroom.
Standard buses carry more than 50 passengers.
The company also operates the world’s first integrated ticketing system that allows passengers to buy tickets online or using a mobile phone text message.
Users receive a text message that is similar to a barcode and scan the screen of their mobile phone when boarding.
The new route is the latest move in Aircoach’s expansion outside its Dublin base. The company, which opened for business in 1999 by operating a service linking Dublin Airport with the city’s major hotels, recently launched new routes from the airport to Belfast and Portlaoise.
The Cork service will link in with the Portlaoise-Dublin Airport route to allow Cork travellers easier access to the airport.
The company recorded turnover of €7.2 million last year, generating profits of €1.28 million, and employs 120 people. It also operates a private car park at Dublin Airport that undercuts Aer Rianta’s rates.
