New rural bus routes announced for Athlone

A number of new or improved bus services connecting Athlone with rural towns and villages were announced by Transport Minister Eamon Ryan in Tullamore today (Friday).

The Minister was in the Midlands for an announcement that was billed as "one of the most ambitious plans yet for rural transport," with "67 new or enhanced" bus services being proposed under the 'Connecting Ireland' programme.

The list of new or improved services for 2023 included a new Roscrea to Athlone route, which is to serve parts of West Offaly, and a new 'Mullingar to Athlone, via Castletown Geoghegan' route.

These two routes are currently at the procurement stage, and it is estimated that they could come into operation this summer.

A 'corridor review' of the Athlone to Westport bus service is also due to take place this year, with an "enhanced" service on the route pencilled in for introduction between July and September.

In addition, an 'Athlone - Nenagh - Limerick' route is currently at the planning and design stage, and is scheduled to become operational between October and December.

The funding for 'Connecting Ireland' bus services is being doubled this year, it was announced, with €8.5m being provided for these services, compared to €4m last year.

Rural bus services are provided on behalf of the National Transport Authority by 15 TFI Local Link offices nationwide, while Bus Éireann was also described as "a key partner" in the delivery of some of the new services this year.

Today's announcement also heard that passenger numbers on bus services had returned to pre-Covid levels, with a particularly good response to the TFI Local Link services in rural Ireland.