Minister Anne Rabbitte should spend less time encouraging the privatisation of the Galway to Gort bus route, and spend more time campaigning for Bus Éireann to reinstate the service.
This is the view of People Before Profit Galway representative, Adrian Curran, who said the Government should be investing in the State’s public transport system to make it “free, frequent and reliable”.
Bus Éireann’s decision to cancel its evening service on the Galway – Cork Expressway Route 51 - which departs Galway city at 5.05pm - has proven controversial. The Minister for Disabilities, and Fianna Fáil TD for Galway East, Anne Rabbitte [pictured below], said it will leave many people “without a means to get home from the city to South Galway.
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“This impacts on students, workers and general commuters travelling out of Galway,” she said. “It leaves a large swathe of South Galway without an evening transport connection, particularly in the likes of the very populous area of Gort.”
Minister Rabbitte raised the issue with the National Transport Authority and was informed that private bus companies can operate on the Gort - Galway bus route.
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As a result, she is encouraging commercial bus operators to make an application to operate the Galway-Gort route. She added she would be willing to work with any interested operators and the NTA to “help reinstate some of these essential bus services”.
However, Mr Curran [pictured above] has branded this “encouraging of privatisation” a “disgrace”. He said: “For Fianna Fáil to be calling for the route to be privatised rather than fighting for it to be reinstated as a public service is typical of their ideology. These services should be recognised as a public good and receive the support they need from the Government to serve people in the area.”
