New and improved bus routes, as well as additional capacity, have been announced for Limerick and many other counties.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton announced the routes, saying the new and improved routes link Limerick to its hinterland and nationally as part of the new Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan.
Speaking about the changes, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said: “The Government is very conscious of the need to connect people and places in rural as well as urban areas, with accessible, integrated, and sustainable public transport.
“The type of connections being announced in Limerick today demonstrate our commitment to linking towns and cities, and providing improved access to centres of employment, education, healthcare, and retail.
“New routes, more routes and enhanced capacity on our public transport network in addition to the fare reductions introduced by the Government, will make it easier for people to be able to access and choose public transport as their preferred way of travelling this winter.”
Route 332, the first ever direct public transport connection between Cashel and Limerick, including a direct route to the University of Limerick, will begin operating on Sunday, October 23rd.
The extended Route 314 will connect Limerick to Ballybunion, while Route 328 Mitchelstown will triple in frequency and Route 345 to Scarriff would rise to five daily round trips.
There will also be a tripling and doubling of service frequency, as well as additional regional linkages between the Midlands and Northeast areas connecting Dundalk and Ardee, Drogheda and Trim, and Athlone to Longford.
The new routes will assist ten counties, according to Minister Ryan, including Cavan, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Meath, Tipperary, and Westmeath.
It will improve services and connections in 72 towns and villages, adding 1.7 million kilometres to the entire transportation network.
They also stated that the additional routes will result in the creation of nearly 50 new employment.