West Cork operator hits out at council’s revamped coach parking arrangements
The bus stop on Anderson Quay in Cork City will facilitate Dublin Coach and other services from this month.
The operator of a west Cork bus service has hit out Cork City Council plans to move private coach operators from St Patrick’s Quay.
The council announced in a statement today that the coach parking area on the quay will be permanently vacated from May 23 to May 27 to enable the construction of improvements works as part of the McCurtain St Public Transport Improvement Scheme.
Damien Long, of West Cork Connect, said this will destroy connectivity in Cork City.
A number of operators - including Aircoach, Go Bus, Cobh Connect and Dublin Coach - use the stop on the quay and will now be moved to three different locations.
The new locations for the various services are:
- St Patrick's Quay (east of Mary Elmes Bridge) for , , and ;
- Lower Glanmire Rd/MacCurtain St (opposite Moody café) for , ;
- Andersons Quay (to the east of the Bus Station) for and other services (including ).
Cork City Council said that the new coach stops "are within a couple of minutes of St Patrick’s Quay and provide easy access to the city centre, bus station, train station".
Coach operators’ wish to have single end stops for all their services is being met under the new arrangements and all coach operators can continue to seek use of the existing and new Bus Eireann bus stops across the city, the council added.
Mr Long has said he is being moved to Anderson Quay, facing east when he needs to go west.
He told the that his service cannot work from that quay adding that he has told the council that if an alternative spot is not found, his company will be closing on May 23.
West Cork Connect, which has 18 staff, connects Skibbereen and Bantry to Cork City, with a route linking Kinsale also in the pipeline.
"We go in a west direction. We have to go from Patrick's Quay or Merchant's Quay, either quay for us is where we have to go from.
"Our service can't work timing wise for timetables otherwise. They’ve faced us in the wrong direction."
Mr Long hopes to meet with the council on Tuesday.
"I have told them to find me an alternative," Mr Long said.
The council has said that the McCurtain St Public Transport Improvement Scheme will deliver shorter bus journey times for all bus passengers in Cork city due to an increased network of dedicated bus lanes and bus priority.
Speaking about the overall move from Patrick's Quay Mr Long said it will have a negative impact.
"That quay was used for everything. The amount of passengers who would get off that bus every day and travel onto Dublin, or Galway or Waterford. That's destroyed," he said.
Mr Long said that on a Sunday night a lot of students travel on his bus looking to get connecting buses to go back to college in a different county, which they would normally have gotten at Patrick’s Quay where they were dropped.
He said that students will have to rush to their next bus increasing the chance of it being missed.
"The quay was a hub of connectivity."
He said that they based their timetable on when the inter-county buses were travelling, which Mr Long said is a reason for their success.
The council has said that the reason for the move is that there "is insufficient space available on St Patrick's Quay to accommodate the current, growing demand for coach parking facilities as well as the development of much needed facilities for coach passengers and facilities other road users".
At the new locations, passenger facilities such as seating, lights and weather covered stands are being developed.
The work on St Patrick's Quay is expected to be completed later this summer.
It will include the provision of:
- New wider footpaths;
- Two way segregated cycle facilities;
- Reorganised spaces for disabled parking, loading bays and set down spaces;
- Reduced and upgraded coach parking.
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