BUS Eireann has been told to put its plans to scrap its Limerick expressway services into reverse gear.
Earlier this week the national bus company announced that the X12 service to Dublin will cease operating early next year while the X51 service to Galway will not be resumed following its suspension in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The move has been described as a disastrous blow to Limerick by Mayor Michael Collins who said that there was more involved than commercial considerations.
“This is a vital service as it provides connectivity from Limerick not just to Dublin but to a number of other towns along the route”, he explained.
The decision has been described by SIPTU Sector Organiser, John Murphy, as “short sighted, flawed and a kick in the teeth for workers and passengers”.
“The blame for this 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,” he said.
“Bus Eireann, unlike other operators, has continued to maintain services during the Covid-19 crisis and the NTA needs to recognise this and provide funding so that these services continue.”
“Some, but not all, of the routes have been given access to emergency funding and when this is stopped, Bus Eireann will not be able to operate these services on a loss making basis.
“The NTA now needs to commit to funding all essential public transport services,” Mr Murphy said.
A statement from the Department of Transport confirmed that Bus Eireann management made it clear that the decision to drop four Expressway routes was “a commercial decision.”
All of the Expressway corridors affected are served by other public transport options, including rail and private bus operators. The NTA will consider whether some segments of the affected routes will require intervention to ensure adequate levels of connectivity continue.”
Limerick Labour Party councillor Conor Sheehan has called on Transport Minister Eamon Ryan to intervene.
“We need to be expanding public transport options, not reducing them. The Minister has spoken at length about establishing a stakeholder forum and he needs to move now and establish it,” he said.
He said it was a retrograde step that Bus Éireann was not prepared to provide express services between major cities.
“The Minister needs to intervene as it is part of a long running management agenda to reduce Expressway services because of intense competition in the sector.
“The State-owned company should not be retreating from services in the middle of a pandemic and climate crisis. I am particularly concerned that a route like the X51 that links Galway to Limerick and Cork with a stop at Shannon will also now be lost, and that this will be the first of more route closures,” Cllr Sheehan added.
