Pilot student bus service to Belfast praised for helping “a lot of families”

A new pilot scheme will begin on Sunday, 28 September, offering south Donegal-based university students the opportunity to travel to and from Belfast to attend their studies.

Killybegs-based councillor, Niamh Kennedy, praised the service as a “good idea” that “would help a lot of families.”

Curran Coaches will run the bus service from Killybegs to Queen's University and the Belfast campus of Ulster University. 

The bus will leave from St Catherine’s Vocational School in Killybegs on Sundays at 4pm, and pick up further travellers at the Abbey Hotel in Donegal Town at 4.25pm. 

For the return journey, the bus will leave Queen's University at 5pm, and pick up more students at Ulster University at 5.20pm on Fridays. 

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The bus will travel via Omagh and will run on a pilot basis for a month to establish the level of interest. A single ticket for the bus costs €25.  

Cllr Kennedy told Donegal Live: “I think it was a parent who put this together herself. She made a few enquiries. It is welcome and a good initiative, and would help a lot of families who have students going to Belfast.

“Hopefully, the costs will be kept to a minimum because everything is obviously very expensive. 

“Anything we can do to share services, the better, so this is a good idea, absolutely.”