Commuters in county Galway are missing out on a great saving that is currently only available in Cork and Dublin which is that you can combine train and bus journeys into one fare using a Leap Card, provided your final journey started within 90 minutes of your first, you only pay €2.
Green Party Candidate for Athenry Oranmore, Eoin Madden said that as regular train and bus user himself, he has raised with TFI and BusConnect that commuters in Oranmore and Athenry ought to be able to benefit from this fare.
“I know BusConnects aim to deliver a bus every 15 minutes from Oranmore to Galway, but I’m calling on TFI to examine pricing also,” he said.
“Currently the fare from Oranmore to Galway on the train will cost you €3.65 one-way, and that’s before you might get a bus from Eyre Square to your destination. While this is a significant improvement, thanks to the reductions introduced by Eamon Ryan in April 2022, the offering needs to improve further.
“I believe there is no single silver bullet to solve the traffic chaos in Galway, rather the solution will be a combination of better traffic management, increased public transport frequency, new bus routes, a Claregalway bypass and safer cycling routes.
“The current traffic during busy times is a constant reminder of a legacy of poor spatial planning and previous lack of investment in transport,” says Mr. Madden. “We can’t expect everyone to use public transport, but equally we shouldn’t force every young person into car ownership,” he said.
