Minister for State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton, has revealed plans to increase public bus services in Galway.
The expansion forms part of the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan and is a major national public transport initiative developed by the Department of Transport and the National Transport Authority with the aim of increasing connectivity, particularly for people living outside major cities and towns.
“I am very pleased to announce that we will increase the frequency of many existing services and add new services to various routes to and from Galway city and throughout County Galway," Minister Naughton said this week. "Some of these developments include the expansion of the Galway–Cork service, which serves Oranmore and Ennis, among other locations along the route, giving a minimum service frequency of 30 minutes and a more integrated service overall. The Galway–Clifden service will also be improved with a minimum service frequency of one hour. The Galway to Castlebar, Galway-Sligo, Galway-Ballina, Galway-Dublin, and Galway-Longford routes will also be subject of improved frequency.
“Connecting Galway city is not the only priority in our plans," the Galway West TD added. "We also aim to improve services between more rural areas in the county. These include increasing the frequency of the Clifden–Westport and Gort–Loughrea services, adding additional stops to the Ballinasloe–Ennis route, and introducing new routes between Clifden and Roundstone and Galway and Nenagh, via Loughrea.
The full list of service improvements has been published online at www.nationaltransport.ie
“The plan aims to improve mobility in rural areas, and it will do this by providing better connections between villages and towns by linking these areas with an enhanced regional network connecting cities and regional centres nationwide,” Minister Naughton continued.
“Representing a constituency of both rural and urban dwellers, I am very conscious of the lack of public transport options in areas of rural Ireland. While we all agree that climate change is a hugely pressing issue, it is impossible for people living in rural Ireland to move away from car use in the absence of realistic alternatives. These service improvements will go some way to providing that alternative and also improve the connectivity of our region.”
