Official Athlone town bus stop signage to be installed
For close to two years, Bus Éireann's expanded town bus service in Athlone has operated without any markers to designate many of its stops.
That is now starting to change, according to the company, which this week said poles were being put in place to show people where the bus will be stopping.
"New bus pole infrastructure is in the process of being installed in Athlone and should be finished in the next few weeks. These stops will include stop-specific bus stop information," a Bus Éireann spokesperson said on Monday.
The two local services - routes A1 and A2 - were put in place in late January of last year and they connect the town centre with an area on the Westmeath side of Athlone as far as the Creggan Court Hotel and AIT, and with an area on the Roscommon side as far as Monksland and Bealnamulla.
The Westmeath Independent asked Bus Éireann whether the new routes were introduced on a trial or permanent basis, and the company's response indicated that they are in place for the long-term.
"The Athlone services Routes A1 and A2 are operated by Bus Éireann on behalf of the National Transport Authority, and there currently are no plans to alter these timetables," said the spokes-person.
At an Athlone Municipal District meeting last year, Cllr John Dolan called on Bus Éireann to adjust its town routes in order to include a stop at the primary care centre in Clonbrusk.
When asked if there were any plans to include such a stop, the company spokesperson replied: "The appropriate location for a bus stop at the Clonbrusk (primary care centre) is currently being examined."
We also asked the company about passenger numbers on the Athlone town routes. The reply we received said "customer usage has more than doubled," although no figures were provided in relation to this.
The adult fare on the town bus routes is €1.90, but this is reduced to €1.33 when a Leap card is used. Bus Eireann said Leap cards were available online and in some local shops including Day Today on Connaught Street, Centra on Church Street, and Croughan's SuperValu on the Ballymahon Road