Calls for retention of Limerick-Dublin bus service
Tipperary Independent TD Michael Lowry and Limerick Fine Gael TD Kieran O'Donnell have criticised the ceasing of the X12 Dublin to Limerick Expressway route from last Friday, January 29th.
Deputy O'Donnell, who is also Chair of the Oireachtas Transport committee, has written to the CEO of Bus Éireann requesting that they defer any consideration on the matter until after the Covid-19 pandemic has been brought under control.
“I received a notice from Bus Éireann on their proposal to cease the operation of the critical X12 Limerick to Dublin Expressway bus route from last Friday and I have written to them requesting they defer any consideration on this bus route until post Covid-19 and when public transport is back to normal, returning to full capacity,” Deputy O'Donnell stated on Wednesday of last week.
“Also, I have written to the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan in this regard. I will be following this up with Bus Éireann and the Minister for Transport to hold discussions on the importance of retaining this vital expressway route.
“Furthermore, at a meeting of the Transport committee this afternoon, we agreed to write to Bus Éireann asking them to defer this consideration on expressway bus route X12, Limerick to Dublin, and requesting that they are available to appear before the Transport committee as quickly as it can be arranged to discuss all Bus Éireann operations and plans, including this X12 Dublin to Limerick Expressway bus route.
“As a TD for Limerick City and North Tipperary, I am fully aware of how highly important this X12 Expressway bus route is for connectivity, going six times per day and including stops at Limerick city, UL, the Hurlers, Annacotty, Nenagh, Roscrea and Portlaoise on route to Dublin city and final destination Dublin Airport.
“It seems extraordinary that the national bus carrier, Bus Éireann would not have an expressway service linking the third largest city of Limerick and Dublin, and I believe that this route should be maintained in terms of connectivity and promoting the use of public transport,” said Deputy O'Donnell.
Meanwhile Deputy Lowry has also asked Minister Ryan to intervene in this matter. “I have emphasised to both Bus Éireann and to the Minister for Transport how vitally important this Expressway bus route is for connectivity for people in North Tipperary. This route provides a means of travel for passengers in Nenagh and Roscrea and the surrounding hinterland to travel to and from either Limerick, including UL, or to and from Dublin, including Dublin Airport, with busses stopping six times daily in these Tipperary town,” said Deputy Lowry.
“With the country currently in the midst of the third and most vicious wave of the Covid pandemic, people may not be travelling in the numbers that they did. However, travel demands will return to normal as the vaccine is rolled out and life returns to normal and these services will one again be vital to daily living. I am asking that Bus Éireann not make this decision based on the current situation.”
Uncertainty remains over the Expressway service that serves Cashel and Nenagh. Deputy Lowry has made contact with Minister Eamon Ryan in relation to this route, underlining the impact the withdrawal the Expressway service will take on both Cashel and Nenagh. Both towns are busy hubs and it is crucial for them to have connectivity. For many, the bus service is the only means of connecting for work, educational and recreational purposes.
The Expressway service is valued in each of these towns in Tipperary and is used extensively in all four. In Cashel, a Chamber of Commerce petition gained 773 signatures in a bid to have the Expressway service retained.
“Withdrawing such vital services is an assault on rural towns and villages across the country. The aim will be to rebuild our communities after the ravages of this virus, not to make life more difficult for them. Ending services that will assist with a full return to work and education is the opposite to what we should be working towards,” concluded Deputy Lowry.