Average of just five people per journey using new rural bus service

An average of just five people per journey have been using a new bus service introduced for people living in rural areas.

The findings are detailed in a new report released by the National Transport Authority (NTA) today.

The NTA funded the initiative for a six-month trial period at a cost of €530,000.

The evening and nighttime services were introduced in July to tackle isolation and to improve access to local towns and villages.

After a review of the programme, the NTA says that three of the 65 services have been cancelled due to poor numbers.

The report says that the majority of services are performing well but after speaking with customers it found that they felt that most of the services finished too early.