Group campaigns for new local bus service between Athlone and Ballinasloe
By Rebekah O'Reilly
A local community group has started campaigning for the introduction of a local bus service between Athlone and Ballinasloe.
Moore Community Council started the campaign, and an online survey, which is part of the initiative, had over 400 responses as of Tuesday last, August 13.
Campaigner Sean O'Rourke said: "This particular area did have an excellent bus service in the 90s and early noughties, but it has diminished.
"We're looking for a Local Link which would feed into the train station, bus stations, and the town centres."
For locals living in rural areas between Athlone and Ballinasloe, getting to the hospital, getting to schools and colleges, doing their weekly shop, and getting to sports events requires having their own car - which is just not feasible for some young people and elderly people living in those areas.
Sean said: "We feel out the country that we need cars to be bought. Young people can't get anywhere without a car.
"There are great services from Roscommon, Glasson, and Ballymahon. The only link that is missing is Ballinasloe."
The results of the survey will be sent to TFI (Transport for Ireland), with the aim of the campaign being to get a Local Link bus service which would serve stops at Moore, Drum, Creagh, Taughmaconnell, Ballinasloe, and Athlone to help connect communities to the town centres in their local area.
"We want more of a local service to get to key areas in the key towns. We're not expecting a bus to bring us to Dublin or Galway, we just want a link to the local health centres, to get to work, to get to TUS," Sean added.
Previously, Senator Aisling Dolan raised the need for a bus route from Athlone to Ballinasloe along the old Dublin-Galway road with campaign in 2021 that encouraged people to make submission on the bus connections they would like to see under the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan. This plea was renewed again in 2024.
Currently there is no service for rural areas along the route between Athlone to Ballinasloe as commercial bus providers only go from town to town along the M6 motorway.