Frustration in Waterford over delays to BusConnects programme amid capacity issues
Cllr Declan Barry raised the issue at the September plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council
A local councillor has expressed frustration over delays to the delivery of the Waterford BusConnects programme.
Independent councillor Declan Barry raised the issue at the September plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council.
Cllr Barry said: “Who made the decision to postpone BusConnects until 2028 at the earliest?
“When was it made? Why was it not communicated to local representatives?
“What did the NTA (National Transport Authority) intend to do about people being left at bus stops due to capacity issues as a consequence of the BusConnects postponed?”
In response, Director of Services Gabriel Hynes insisted that the BusConnects programme has not been postponed.
Mr Hynes said: “There’s no decision to postpone BusConnects. The NTA are currently working in the background in relation to the delivery.
“The plan would be that the infrastructure would be delivered next year. That’s the bus stops, shelters, the terminals we need in order to deliver BusConnects.
“We would be hopeful that we would have a consultation process this autumn with the national infrastructure to go in for next year and we would be hopeful then that the rollout of the buses would commence early 2028.”
He outlined that the council executive is scheduled to meet with the NTA this month.
“Having said all that, the NTA will be attending Waterford at the end of the month.
“They will be having a meeting with ourselves and workshop with yourselves so at that stage, you will get the opportunity to ask those very questions in relation to the programme, the consultation process and finally, when it will all be in place.
“It’s imperative that BusConnects is rolled out as soon as possible, to allow the alternatives to be given away from the car.”
BusConnects is the NTA’s programme which aims to greatly improve bus services in Irish cities.
Under the programme, the bus network is set to be redesigned, with new routes and stops put in place.
As well as that, there are plans for more bus lanes and a simpler fare structure.
Public consultation took place for the programme in 2024. At that time, it was envisaged that it would be implemented.
However, a series of delays and funding issues has meant that the new bus services are not expected to be in place until 2028.