New upgraded bus routes announced for Limerick as part of 2023 NTA plan
THE UPGRADE of bus routes for 2023 has been announced, with Limerick benefitting from three new or enhanced routes in total.
The Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan TD, with the National Transport Authority (NTA) launched the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan for 2023 on February 17.
Described as being “one of the most ambitious plans yet” for rural transport, 67 new or enhanced Connecting Ireland bus services are proposed, strengthening existing services and connecting more towns across the state.
New or enhanced routes planned for Limerick this year include: Nenagh–Limerick, Athlone-Nenagh–Limerick and Limerick–Kilfinane.
Commenting on the launch, Minister Eamon Ryan said: “Massively improving rural transport is one of my key priorities as Minister for Transport. The Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, launched in 2021, has already played a key role in towns and villages across Ireland and providing people with new choices to travel by bus.
“But now, we want to go further and build on that success with many more new and enhanced routes planned for 2023.”
In 2022, almost €4m was invested in implementing Connecting Ireland bus services, but this year that figure will double to €8.5m provided by the Department of Transport and NTA.
Minister Eamon Ryan added: ‘We know from last year’s statistics that people respond positively to new routes and services, backed up by our new cheaper fares”.
‘Young people, in particular, are choosing to use public transport more, which is great - It’s more convenient, it’s more accessible and frequent than it’s been and it’s cheaper,’ said the Minister.
‘The more people choose public transport the better it is for our environment as well - Public transport, both rural and urban, is a key to Ireland meeting our emissions targets.”
The response by customers to new services in rural Ireland has been very strong, with passenger numbers on buses returning to pre-Covid levels. The annual passenger journey figure for 2019 was 2.5m. Covid had a serious impact on passenger numbers in 2020 and 2021, but in 2022, they rose to 2.8m.
Weekly passenger numbers peaked at over 45,000 during November and December 2022, confirming people’s desire to use the enhanced services.
CEO of the NTA, Anne Graham said: “NTA is proud to launch our Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan for implementation in 2023, which will deliver better access to safe, reliable, and more frequent bus services connecting towns and villages.
“The NTA is continuing its efforts to improve rural bus services and we are committed to continuing to develop connectivity through the phased rollout of new and enhanced bus services this year and in future years”.