As the bus strike drags into its second week, a Galway city councillor is calling on private bus operators to look into providing transport services for the east side of the city.
Independent city councillor, and former Mayor, Declan McDonnell is in the process of contacting private companies to see if services can be provided for the Ballybane, Mervue, Renmore, Castlepark, and Doughiska areas. This follows representations from elderly constituents asking for this “opportunity be investigated”.
According to Cllr McDonnell, elderly people - along with school pupils and students - are the most inconvenienced by the bus strike. “They feel very let down, and like prisoners in their own homes,” he said, “as they can no longer depend on semi-state bodies to provide this essential service. They need a reliable and consistent bus service to attend hospitals, go to town and other day-to-day appointments.”
In order to operate in the east of the city, private bus operators will first have to obtain a licence to provide a service there. However, Cllr McDonnell said that in the current circumstances, “when people are being so discommoded, especially the elderly,”, who “cannot afford alternative forms of transport”, action needs to be taken “to alleviate the stress and anxiety this situation is causing the people of the east side of the city”.
