Laois residents fight removal of ‘unofficial’ bus stops

Durrow residents are fighting the removal of ‘unofficial stops’ from the 858 bus routes connecting Portlaoise to Cashel, Thurles, and Urlingford.

Following a public procurement process last May, Transport For Ireland (TFI) retendered the operation of the 858 Local Link services.

Since Slieve Bloom Coaches took over from JJ Kavanagh on September 1, 2026, bus drivers have been instructed to bypass all ‘unofficial’ stops on the routes – locations where there are no signposted bus stops but where drivers have habitually collected passengers.

One such unofficial stop is Seandoire, a housing estate on the outskirts of Durrow. The 858a and 858b buses have historically stopped on either side of the R639 road outside the estate.

Pat Carey is a resident of Seandoire. He first noticed the lapse in service when he met an older neighbour waiting for the bus to Portlaoise. Mr Carey was going to Kilkenny that day, and when he returned, the neighbour was still waiting at the unofficial stop, where the Portlaoise bus had driven past her.

Later that day, Mr Carey’s daughter witnessed another incident in Killamuck.

“This man gets the bus almost every day to and from Portlaoise, and all of a sudden, the bus has passed him out,” Mr Carey said. “She witnessed him having words with the bus driver in Portlaoise, and the bus driver said, ‘I’m not supposed to stop, but I will stop for you Lawrence.’

“Now, I’ve since seen Lawrence be picked up twice, once today and once yesterday,” Mr Carey conceded.

Mr Carey explained that the Seandoire bus stop is an essential service to the neighborhood of approximately 100 dwellings: “Most of the people who use this are either, usually, unemployed, older like myself, or you have disabled people, you have school children.”

“Now, it’s only one kilometre to walk down the road, but for someone like me, that kilometre’s an awful long way, especially with the state of the footpaths in Durrow.”

“And coming back is a different thing, because you’re going uphill with full bags. Today’s weather is good, but what if it’s raining, what if it’s cold, what if it’s icy?”

Mr Carey emphasised that the problem is “nothing to do with the bus drivers, it’s not their fault.”

Mr Carey and his neighbours have raised their grievance with TFI and the local authority, which is responsible for the approval of new bus stops.

In response to an email from a Seandoire resident, TFI Local Link manager for Laois and Offaly Frances Byrne said: “In the last two weeks angry interactions between drivers, my staff in Local Link and passengers has been ongoing. Multiple unofficial stops along the route have come to light when passengers standing out on roadsides were missed which led to complaints and missed appointments.”

She highlighted that “the drivers have the designated stops to drive to and cannot be expected to be stopping at random locations many of which are unsafe for the driver to pull in [to] and [for] the passengers to access the bus. It is unfair to expect the driver to know when these random locations will be necessary to stop at when the bus is at speed travelling between designated stops and adhering to a fixed timetable.

“We are working with Laois Co Co to assess these unofficial stops and determine the safety for the driver and the passenger, while some will be approved a number of these stops are on stretches of road [where] the speed limit is 100km/hr and dangerous for pedestrians to cross [the] road and the bus driver to pull in and out of.”

Ms Byrne told the Leinster Express: “TFI Local Link offer[s] two types of services, the door-to-door services which are prebooked the day before so the driver knows who to pick up at their doors and they generally operate twice a week on specific days during a specific time allocation.

“The second service is our regular rural services which operate to a fixed timetable with multiple frequencies across seven days of the week. The stops on our regular rural services are approved by the local authority to ensure the safety for the driver and the passengers using the service.

“Like all our services new stops do develop over time but are reviewed and approved before being added to timetables. These services are contracted for a set number of years and then retendered as per public procurement guidelines.”

She continued: “The 858 service works to a fixed timetable with designated bus stops and as such connections are timed and passengers rely on getting to their destination as per stated times. The safety of stops is a priority for all and unless they are approved by the local authority, they will not be added to timetables.”

Cllr Ollie Clooney said that he is aware of the issue and plans to bring a motion before the council in a few weeks, but he could not provide a timeline for the reinstitution of the unofficial stops.