Eamon Ryan was speaking at the National Transport Authority launch of a plan for 67 new or enhanced' rural bus routes in the year ahead.
TRANSPORT MINISTER EAMON Ryan says finding new bus drivers to hire is “the biggest constraint” on rolling out new services.
Investment in rural bus services by the Department of Transport and NTA is set to double to €8.5 million this year, with routes operated by Bus Eireann and Transport for Ireland Local Link services. He said not all buses on the new rural routes would be electric, adding that the rollout was still at an early stage.NTA chief executive Anne Graham said electric buses were being tested out in cities first.
When asked why investment in rural bus routes had not happened before now, Ryan said that there was not the political will to do so – referring to the pledge in the programme for government to ensure a 2:1 spending ratio on public transport over road infrastructure. “Maybe people thought ‘people would never use that’. But actually, when you provide good quality public transport, the Irish people flock to it. And that’s what’s happening at the moment.”
“The likes of lone parents, the likes of their particular categories in society – we’ve always know this – that they find it particularly difficult.”
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