Calls for Eamon Ryan to intervene in rural bus service closures

The Transport Minister, Eamon Ryan, has been called on to intervene following the announcement that another bus company contracted to run rural routes is to close. File picture: Maxwells

The Transport Minister, Eamon Ryan, has been called on to intervene following the announcement that another bus company contracted to run rural routes is to close.

A bus company in north Kilkenny which is contracted to run rural routes in the region has announced it is ceasing operations, saying it has been unable to cope due to “soaring costs”.

It comes only days after another company operating rural routes in east and mid-county Waterford announced it is winding down operations.

The announcements have been met with concern by the Opposition, with Sinn Féin’s transport spokesman Darren O'Rourke saying the development “flies in the face” of aims to encourage public transport.

“We know there needs to be a wider shift to public transport but this flies in the face of government policy. There have been real challenges in the sector for private operators."

Falling passenger numbers post-Covid and the need for a major investment in electric vehicles were cited by Waterford company Suirway as its reason for closing after 123 years of service.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

The company will continue servicing routes for areas including Dunmore East and Portlaw until it ceases operations next month. It employs roughly 20 staff and has nine vehicles.

Buggys, a coach company operating routes around Castlecomer and north Kilkenny, has similarly said that it is struggling to continue and will temporarily cease operations later this week so it can assess its commercial position.

A spokesman for the National Transport Authority confirmed it granted the request to suspend the operations.

The Coach Tourism and Transport Council of Ireland said it has found that while schools, colleges and workplaces have reopened, “passenger footfall remains low” on certain routes, due to hybrid working and studying. File picture: Denis Minihane

“In response to the temporary withdrawal, the authority is assessing the public service obligation for replacement public transport services.” The NTA has also said finding a replacement for the rural Waterford routes is a high priority ahead of those ceasing.

Mr O’Rourke, who received a budget submission from the private operators group the Coach Tourism and Transport Council of Ireland (CTTC), said the demands from the sector include an emergency contingency fund for fuel costs and a feasibility study on alternatively fuelled vehicles.

The sector has approximately 1,800 licensed operators in Ireland and claims to support 11,500 jobs. There are also calls for a 20% reduced fare rate to be applied to private bus operators.

You have businesses here that built up routes over literally decades and at the flick of a switch have been made uncompetitive because they can’t access the 20% fare reduction.

“In certain rural parts of the country - like Cork, the southeast, Donegal - private operators were the ones to fill a gap that the State didn’t fill. There is a serious concern here that others could follow [Suirway and Buggys] because of the pressures on their business and the minister must respond.” 

In its budget submission, the CTTC said it has found that while schools, colleges and workplaces have reopened, “passenger footfall remains low” on certain routes, due to hybrid working and studying.

It added: “Given the enhancement of remote working infrastructure through the country’s network of connected hubs, and in light of the continued roll-out of the National Broadband Plan, it is clear that Government does not expect a return to pre-pandemic ways of working, and is planning for a future of remote and hybrid work.

“Evidently, remote working is a long-term policy objective of the Government. It is likely therefore, that on certain routes, we may never see a return of passenger numbers to pre-pandemic levels.” 

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has been contacted for comment.