Almost 70 new bus routes for rural Ireland announced

Macroom and Newmarket to Cork, Mallow to Fermoy to Lismore, Skibbereen to Killarney, and Youghal to Dungarvan in Munster were earmarked as part of the 67-route national package. Picture: Naoise Culhane 

Nearly 70 new and improved bus routes to serve rural areas have been announced, just as the appetite for public transport is picking up significantly, new data shows.

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said evidence has emerged that young people in particular are turning more to public transport, as Macroom and Newmarket to Cork, Mallow to Fermoy to Lismore, Skibbereen to Killarney, and Youghal to Dungarvan in Munster were earmarked as part of the 67-route national package.

It comes as data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that in the last week of January, the number of bus journeys in Dublin and the rest of the country exceeded those taken in the same week in 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

The number of bus journeys in January 2023 exceed pre-COVID-19 figureshttps://t.co/b4nuH6nGHa#CSOIreland #Ireland #IrishTransport #TransportIreland #Transport #PortTraffic #VehicleLicensing #NewVehicle #RoadFreight #Logistics #Business #BusinessStatistics pic.twitter.com/3DduPbUZfQ

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) February 17, 2023

The new and improved bus routes will be provided by 15 Transport For Ireland (TFI) Local Link offices countrywide on behalf of the National Transport Authority, while Bus Éireann will take charge of 20 routes in Cork, Clare, Waterford, and Galway.

TFI Local Link services in rural Ireland had a bumper year in 2022, figures show. The annual passenger journey figure for the village and townland bus service in 2019 was 2.5m. 

While Covid-19 severely curtailed passenger numbers in 2020 and 2021, they rose to 2.8m last year.

Mr Ryan said he wanted to "massively improve" public transport in the coming years. "It’s clear that when you build it, they will come. We know from last year’s statistics that people respond positively to new routes and services, backed up by our new cheaper fares. 

Young people, in particular, are choosing to use public transport more which is great. It’s more convenient, it’s more accessible and frequent than it’s been and it’s cheaper than driving and paying for a parking spot all day in college or school. 

"The more people choose public transport, the better it is for our environment as well. Public transport, both rural and urban, is a key to Ireland meeting our emissions targets," he said.

The NTA attributed the growth in bus numbers to factors including the addition of cashless payment options including TFI Leap and TFI Go, and a reduction in the cost of fares due to the cost-of-living crisis.

According to the CSO, the number of bus journeys in Dublin for the last week of January 2023 was 11% higher compared with the numbers of journeys in the same week in 2019. 

The number of bus journeys outside Dublin for the last week in January was 27% higher compared with the same week in 2019, it added.

Luas journeys in the last week of January also increased above pre-Covid-19 levels, at 10% higher compared with the same week in 2019.

However, rail journeys remained below pre-pandemic levels.

Airports are also considerably busier, even considering the impact of the virus on travel.

The number of passengers in Dublin airport in January 2023 was over twice that of January 2022 numbers and 11% higher than the level seen in the same month in 2019 before Covid-19, the CSO said.

More than 2.3m passengers went through Dublin, Knock, and Kerry airports in January 2023, compared with about 2.2m for the same month in 2019. Data for Cork and Shannon were not available, the CSO said.