New Cork bus route to connect Little Island and Hollyhill

Starting on Wednesday, the route will connect two of the city's busiest employment hubs

Cork Connect company directors Colm Kelleher, Thomas Kavanagh, and Wayne Morrison at the launch of route 210, which will serve Cork's Little Island-city centre-northside corridor from Wednesday. Picture: Cathal Noonan

A private bus company has announced a month of free travel on its new route between two of Cork’s largest employment hubs.

Cork Connect, which has been operating the successful Cobh Connect bus service since November 2017, will launch its new route 210 service on Wednesday between Hollyhill on Cork City’s northside and Little Island on the city's eastern fringes.

An estimated 5,000 people work on Apple’s vast European HQ campus in Hollyhill while an estimated 18,000 people either work or visit daily the hundreds of companies based on Little Island, which is served by a commuter railway station on the northern side of the N25 dual carriageway.

The 210 will compete against Bus Éireann’s 202 service on the Hollyhill to city centre leg. The 202 then runs on to Mahon while the 210 will operate along MacCurtain St, past Kent train station, and on to Little Island.

Cork Connect’s transport manager Wayne Morrison said the bus will serve the residential areas of Little Island as well as its large industrial, business, and retail parks.

'Greater choice'

“It’s about giving people greater public transport choice and options for connectivity,” he said.

“We hope the service will help reduce traffic congestion in Little Island especially and, hopefully, the service will be well established when normal work resumes and people return to their offices.” 

The new service has been supported by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Cork County Council. The NTA has granted the company a three-year operating licence on the route while the local authority has provided bus stops and other infrastructure.

A fleet of four 57-seater coaches and six drivers will operate the route, with 32 departures daily, Monday to Saturday, every half an hour between 6.15am and 9.15am, then hourly until 3.45pm, when it reverts to every 30 minutes until 6.45pm, with the last bus leaving at 7.45pm.

There are 17 stops along the route, including on Cathedral Rd, Camden Place, Kent train station, and Tivoli, with its terminus at Eastgate Retail Village in Little Island.

Free travel this month

To celebrate its launch, the bus is free for all passengers for the rest of the month. From August on, an adult will pay €4 one-way or €6 return, with cheaper fares for shorter journeys.

Discounted student fares and 10-journey fare offers are available. Cork Connect also accepts Leap cards and free travel passes, and children under three travel free.

Company director Thomas Kavanagh said as far as they are concerned, the service was a no-brainer and long overdue.

“With the sheer volumes of residents and commuters along the route 210 corridor, it seemed crazy that there was no bus service available to them,” he said.

The mayor of the County of Cork, Gillian Coughlan, welcomed the service.

"It will help deliver the council’s overall vision for more sustainable transport infrastructure for Little Island, allowing it to reach its full potential in attracting investment and improving the quality of life here,” she said.