79% of rural dwellers ‘have no public transport option’

THEY may live in the greenest parts of the country but the majority of rural dwellers can’t choose green modes of transport.

A survey by Macra na Feirme found that 79% of those driving to work each day had no other choice because there were no bus or rail services available to them.

The survey of 200 people aged 17 to 35 found that over half of them (53%) clocked up mileage of more than 30,000km a year because of their reliance on cars. While the majority (67%) lived 30km or less from their workplace, the remainder had to travel in excess of that distance to get to work.