Flexibus meeting to discuss bringing new routes through mid-Louth described as 'positive'

Sinn Féin Councillor Pearse McGeough has described a recent meeting he and Darren O’Rourke TD (Sinn Féin Spokesperson on Transport) with Flexibus and the campaign group Local Bus Link to Ardee as ‘positive’.

The campaign group was set up by Clive Finlay who initiated a petition to bring a bus route through the mid-Louth rural areas of Tallanstown, Reaghstown, Clonkeen to Ardee. 

Cllr McGeough said:

“I want to thank Mr Finlay for arranging this meeting with our Party Spokesperson on Transport Darren O’Rourke TD and Flexibus Manager Miriam McKenna. It was a very positive meeting and hopefully we will see some of the existing routes extended to encompass some of these areas but that’s only a start.

"There are many older people living in all these areas who are reliant on the goodwill of neighbours or friends with vehicles to take them on errands or to appointments.”  

Cllr McGeough continued:

“This petition has gathered pace as more people from these mid-Louth areas have signed up to it citing rural isolation and a lack of connectivity as reasons for doing so. Rural Ireland has been forgotten by successive governments and while we have TDs in Dublin telling us to ‘think green’ and protect the planet they fail to provide transport infrastructure or public transport routes through rural areas. They think the country stops at the Dublin county border.”

Mr Finlay added:

“It was a positive meeting and I felt that Miriam McKenna from Flexibus understood the predicament of rural Louth. When you look at the figures of people from the area using public transport over time the figures don’t add up because rural dwellers have done what we have always needed to do: we have bought cars, insurance, tax and all the running costs that go along with it simply because rural transport is unreliable and practically non-existent in some places.

"For example, putting on a bus at 10am is not sufficient to get people to and from work. 

“At this point in time we are focussing on people who are isolated and are assessing the level of need of public transport for day to day activities. If there was a reliable, adequate public transport system in place, perhaps a rural dweller’s first thought wouldn’t need to be the purchase of a vehicle.”

In conclusion Cllr Pearse McGeough said:

"This is a good campaign and as we become more aware of our carbon footprint and want to play our part we need to have systems in place to allow us to make those changes. We should always ensure that no-one in our society is left behind and connectivity in rural areas is very important to achieve that.

“I would encourage everyone in rural Mid-Louth to sign this petition and demand better facilities for rural areas."

The petition is travelling around the county and you can check its whereabouts on the ‘Local Bus Link to Ardee’ facebook page.”