Call made for night bus services at Christmas in Limerick
LIMERICK councillors are to write to the National Transport Authority (NTA) to request night bus services for the Christmas season.
It comes after a motion from Labour councillor Elena Secas was unanimously adopted at this month’s metropolitan meeting.
Councillor Secas referred to research taxi app Free Now, which showed on December 27 last, there were 50% more requests for taxis than there were drivers in Limerick.
She added that the number of requests on the app was up by a third on the rest of the year.
Councillor Secas believes night-time buses can help.
“Between 2am and 3am on December 27, 2022, the Freenow app had 1,512 requests in Limerick alone, 52% more than the number of valid driver licences operating in the county of Limerick, “Cllr Secas stated.
“In total, the number of taxi requests on the Free Now app in Limerick last December was 33% higher than the average for the rest of the year.”
With the proposed relaxation of night-time licensing laws now on ice until summer 2024, people heading out for their Christmas celebrations will continue to face battles for taxi journeys, the councillor predicted.
This, she said, will put people at risk of being unable to get home.
“So now it is time to take action to address this issue,” added Cllr Secas.
Pilot night-bus services will address this pressure, she says.
“This is to address the pressures on transport services ahead of the festive season by providing additional capacity at peak night times, in order to ensure a sufficient supply of public transport options to meet people’s travel needs and to make sure that people are not left without a way to get home at the end of the night,” the Labour councillor for City East concluded.
At present, only Dublin and Cork have night bus services.
But under new transport plans, Limerick’s 304 route, connecting University of Limerick and the city with Raheen, could become a 24-hour service.
The proposal comes as part of the NTA’s BusConnects strategy for Limerick.
It's anticipated the night service will travel once every hour.
The move will no doubt be popular with late night revellers in the city centre, many of whom often will struggle to source a taxi at the end of an evening.