Town chambers want dedicated urban bus services

Submission calls for public transport systems for towns with populations of more than 10,000

Tralee chamber is among a number of chamber groups calling for a State-backed town urban bus service to provide transport to ensure rural areas remain attractive places to live and work.
Picture: Dan Linehan

Chamber groups representing towns across Ireland said they want a State-backed town urban bus service to provide transport to ensure rural areas remain attractive places to live and work.

In a submission to the Department of Transport, the chambers are asking that the National Transport Agency be resourced to ensure an urban public transport system is developed across the larger key towns with populations of more than 10,000.

The submission has been signed by chamber groups representing Tralee, Ennis, Letterkenny, Kilkenny, Westport, Ballina, Dungarvan and West Waterford, and Dundalk.

"For many of our larger key towns where there is an existing bus service, these services often serve routes which are no longer optimal, often ignoring, or underserving, key developments such as third-level centres of education, new industrial and retail parks, or recently developed housing," the submission states.

"Often, the service is infrequent or irregular, and the quality and accessibility of the vehicles undermines the environmental benefits of public transport. 

Many members of the public – people with additional needs, children, the elderly, people with buggies are often excluded from using these services."

The submission adds that at the inter-village and inter-town level, dedicated routes for active travel should feed into local public transport hubs in the centre of our larger towns. "Within those urban areas, our towns need to place active travel first in how they adapt to the changing climate and economic pressures."

"There must be increased and sustained investment to deliver a safe and sustainable urban transport network for our larger towns which supports prosperous communities, promotes balanced regional development and helps to realise our climate change goals."