Five new Athlone routes under radical rural transport plan
The introduction of five brand-new bus routes from Athlone and changes to a whole host of other routes is proposed as part of a radical overhaul of the rural transport network .
The new plans were revealed on Friday last by the National Transport Authority (NTA) under their Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan which proposes new bus corridors from Athlone to Mullingar, Roscommon, Thurles, Drogheda and Clonmel.
The proposed routes include a new hourly service from Athlone to Mullingar and then on Trim, Navan and Drogheda, and a second local bus from Athlone to Mullingar which will serve Ballymore, Castletown Geoghegan and other rural areas along the route. The latter service will have a minimum frequency of three return trips a day.
Among the other new routes being proposed in the Connecting Ireland plan is a bus service from Athlone to Roscommon, serving the South Roscommon villages of Ballyforan, Ballygar, Athleague and other rural areas along the route, with a minimum frequency of three return trips a day.
It is proposed that the Athlone to Thurles service will also offer passengers a minimum frequency of three returns trips a day, while the Athlone to Clonmel route will offer a mimimum frequency of two hours.
The rural transport plan does not propose “any significant changes” to either the bus or train routes that currently serve Athlone and Roscommon, but states that “as more people travel more often and more widely by public transport, we will continue to review their usage and taken steps to ensure their continued fitness-for-purpose.”
The Connecting Ireland Plan is the first rural transport plan of its kind and aims to reduce our reliance on private car use in a bid to meet our climate change targets and to revitalise rural towns.
The Plan sets out very ambitious targets including commitments to providing:
a) access to a public transport service for over 70% of those living outside cities, with at least three return trips weekly to a nearby towns
b) improved mobility options for those living in remote areas with the provision of “Demand Responsive” and other innovative transport services
c) middle of the day bus services from rural areas to nearby towns to cater for those who want to go shopping or pursue other leisure activities.
d) Schedule services to arrive before 9am to facilitate travel to work and for education.
e) plan to serve key locations in towns such as hospitals, schools and train stations.
f) plans to operate rural bus services on a seven day week basis.
The NTA carried out a “comprehensive assessment” of the existing public transport network on a county-by-county basis before formulating their Connecting Ireland plan, which identified a number of gaps including the fact the 26% of the population are “either not served atall by public transport” or are served “at a very minimum level.” They also found that two in every five villages in rural areas is not connected to their nearby bigger town.
The plan states that the existing rail network “could be better utilised” and this could see the “re-opening of disused stations and building new ones on existing lines” according to the NTA.
The shadow of Coviid-19 looms large in the plan which states that “societal changes are underway” as a result of the pandemic, which will see “new transport patterns and trends emerge” including a shift to more remote working hubs, increased importance of local tourism and a “re-imagining of urban spaces to prioritise people over traffic.”
The plan also states that local authorities will play “a key role” in the delivery of a new integrated rural transport plan, and it found that seven out of every ten journeys taken in Ireland is by car.
The proposal comes despite Bus Eireann axing its 20 and X20 Expressway routes from Dublin to Galway in July.