BREAKING: Bus Éireann to cut Athlone's Expressway routes to Galway and Dublin

Bus Éireann has announced that it's planning to close a number of its Expressway routes, including the services between Dublin and Galway which serve Athlone.

In a statement this afternoon (Monday) the company said the Dublin to Galway Expressway services were among those which would "cease" in the coming months due to financial pressures arising from Covid-19.

Expressway services from Dublin to Cork and to Limerick are also scheduled to be closed down.

Bus Éireann said no end date for the Dublin to Galway route had been decided yet, but that services were likely to end "early next year" when emergency supports for the routes between Dublin and Galway, Cork, and Limerick are to expire.

The company said the decision to close the Expressway routes was made at a meeting of its board today.

"This measure is being taken in response to significant medium-term challenges posed by Covid-19 in order to safeguard Expressway's remaining 14 national routes and meet demand required on other city and commuter services," said Bus Éireann in a statement.

It said the National Transport Authority (NTA) was responsible for "transport connectivity" and would review requirements along these routes "to mitigate any impact" on the public.

Bus Éireann CEO Stephen Kent said the Expressway routes which are due to close would incur "unsustainable" losses if they were not shut down in what he described as a "very difficult" trading environment.

"We will communicate any changes clearly with our customers and will work closely with the National Transport Authority on timing," added Eleanor Farrell, Chief Commercial Officer at Bus Éireann.

The company's announcement was strongly criticised by the SIPTU trade union, with its sector organiser John Murphy describing the closure of these "high profile" routes as "short sighted, flawed and a kick in the teeth for workers and passengers."

Mr Murphy said the blame for the situation "lies squarely with the National Transport Authority (NTA) which has, over the years, flooded the market with privately held operating licenses and strangled the national carrier.

"Bus Éireann, unlike other operators, has continued to supply much needed services during the current Covid-19 crisis and the NTA needs to recognise this and provide funding so that these services continue to provide safe and accessible transport for all its passengers.

"The threat to some of the most strategic bus transport routes in the country is short sighted, flawed and a kick in the teeth for workers and passengers," Mr Murphy commented.