Council to roll out eight new bus stops in South Offaly this year
The funding for the bus stops is €500,000 (for the whole of Offaly) and has been sourced from the Active Travel Fund
The County Council is to roll out eight new bus stops in South Offaly during 2026.
This is an important step forward because there are no officially designated bus stops in South Offaly at the moment. The places where buses pull in have no official markings of any type.
Area Engineer Brian Keenaghan told the June monthly meeting of Birr Municipal District that the bus stops will include a pole and road markings (referred to as a "bus cage") and will be created at Banagher (near the library); Belmont (near the village's crossroads); Crinkle (near the junction of Cribben Terrace and Barrack St); Kinnitty (near the Community Centre); Lemanaghan (outside Pullough Community Centre – this will be a disabled friendly bus stop); Moneygall (near the Community Café); Pullough village (beside the Grand Canal); and Shannonbridge (near St Kieran's Church).
Cllr Peter Ormond commented that he was very disappointed to see that Shinrone wasn't included. He urged the Area Engineer to remedy that.
The funding for the bus stops is €500,000 (for the whole of Offaly) and has been sourced from the Active Travel Fund.
Cllr Ormond said he hopes the work will be done this year. “I am anxious to see the bus stops being created during 2026,” he remarked.
The Area Engineer says there are three different options, firstly a pole in a footpath; secondly a pole with dropdown kerbing; thirdly a bus shelter. “Local Link says there are no funds available for bus shelters," he commented.
Cllr Ormond said Local Link has been a great success. “For example, the Local Link route through Birr and Crinkle has 30,000 passengers per annum. It is very busy. Therefore we need a bus shelter in Birr Town for that route. People waiting for the bus are out in the elements during bad weather and getting soaked. We need a bus shelter.”
Cllr Audrey Hennessy Kennedy agreed. “I welcome the fact that at long last we are going to get bus poles, but bus shelters are badly needed. It's especially important that there will be a bus shelter in Birr Town. It is also important that the footpaths will be wheelchair accessible."
Cllr Maher agreed. He too welcomed the news about the new bus stop poles and road markings (which is a reflection perhaps of how successful Local Link has been), but he pointed out that a bus shelter in Birr Town is essential.
Cllr Eleanor Clendennen pointed out that in Kinnitty “we have a lot of tourists but they don't know that there's a bus regularly stopping in the village. Therefore a bus pole is essential. It would be better I think to have the bus stop not near the Community Centre but in the centre of the village."
Cllr Hughie Egan commented that the wheelchair access at Pullough Community Centre, in a village where quite a few elderly live, is very welcome. “We would also need a pedestrian crossing there. There's also a problem with Ferbane. If you google search a bus stop in Ferbane you are given the wrong location!"
Cllr Leahy pointed out that a pedestrian crossing can cost €70,000 to €80,000, which makes them expensive. He praised the Engineer for placing the bus stops strategically, “in such a way that I don't think the people living beside them will complain.
"Local Link has been a huge success. I see people using it for socialising. I also want to say that I am not sure of the term 'bus cage'!"
“The works will definitely happen this year,” the Engineer promised.
“The criteria for bus shelters has been set out by the National Transport Authority. You need a three metre wide footpath. The number of stops made by buses at the proposed location during the day is important. The population has to be greater than 5,000. Unfortunately the funding is simply not there. The €500,000 is for bus stops, that's all. We don't ignore people. We agree that shelters would be the ideal choice. We are making this case all the time." He added that the Council "will drop the kerbs to ensure that wheelchairs can access the bus." The Engineer told Cllr Egan that "We have contacts in Google and we will let them know about the Ferbane mistake."
Cllr Ormond pointed out that bus shelters can cost from €10,000 to €100,000. “We don't need the more expensive ones. We simply need something which shelters people from the elements."