WITH the rollout of BusConnects scheduled for early 2025, communities in areas like the Mill Road and Rhebogue cannot continue to be excluded from the Limerick City bus network.
That’s according to Labour Party Labour councillor Conor Sheehan who tabled a motion at last month’s Metropolitan district meeting calling on the local authority to write to the National Transport Authority (NTA) to seek the introduction of a demand responsive service to serve these communities.
“I have spoken to the NTA privately about this a number of times and they have indicated that they would like to introduce a demand responsive transport service to serve areas that will not be connected to BusConnects such as the Mill Road and Rhebogue,” Cllr Sheehan explained.
“What this involves is a smaller bus service like Local Link in rural areas or a feeder bus to serve areas that cannot accommodate double decker buses. I am calling on the NTA to give councillors an update on their proposals and to commit to introducing these services with BusConnects.”
“BusConnects is a fantastic investment in Limerick but it sticks in the craw of the communities I represent that they will yet again be excluded from the bus network.
“It takes 15 to 20 minutes to walk from the bottom of the Mill Road or some of the estates in Rhebogue to get to the nearest bus stop and that is not feasible for many elderly people.
“The NTA need to put their money where their mouth is and commit to introducing this with BusConnects in 2025 so these people living in Rhebogue, the Mill Road and further afield like Mayorstone and Greystones will be able to access the bus network,” he added.
