Campaign to bring back bus service between Nenagh and Roscrea
A local group calling for the reinstatement of Bus Éireann's X12 service staged a small demonstration in Toomevara last week to highlight their campaign.
The 'Save Roscrea-Nenagh X12 Bus Éireann route' group set up placards in the village reading: ‘Lockdown, locked out of society’.
“We are asking the minister - is it back to the days of the pony and trap for towns and villages?” said spokesperson Martina Donovan.
The X12 service was cancelled by Bus Éireann last January. Towns on the route in Tipperary that are affected include Nenagh and Roscrea. Cahir and Cashel have got a “stay of execution” with a more limited service to continue, but this is still under review.
“So, this is a real issue for the people of Tipperary,” Ms Donovan stated. “Various local politicians have spoken against the decision and called for Bus Éireann to reconsider. Local groups have also organised to voice their opposition to the cancellation and call for bus service levels to be maintained.
“With the continuation of the cutting of services over the past four years, Bus Éireann is retreating from the national roads, and the private operators are operating non-stop services, so towns and villages lose their connection. Last November Bus Éireann announced they would pull out of Belfast, Limerick, Cork and Galway routes. This is not a Covid stoppage; this is a planned, permanent withdrawal from service.
“Roscrea and Nenagh will lose 45% of their bus service to Dublin, for example. This is going on all over the country and is the complete opposite to what the country needs. It is the wrong decision at the wrong time and totally out of step with the needs of the people in the towns and villages,” Ms O'Donovan stated.
“Bus Éireann says it was losing financially but Bus Éireann in their latest annual report are showing an operating profit. This is prior to Covid, and the Government have heavily supported the company to keep operating with limited seating and fewer passengers.
“The biggest impact is on those on lower incomes – students, unemployed, retirees, low wage workers. So getting to college or a training course, a medical appointment, jobseeker interviews, visiting families - all these people now become stuck.
“It is also just one more blow to towns and villages that are already on their knees. Towns in rural Ireland are going downhill and that spiral has to be halted. Cutting them off is not part of the answer.
“During the day the gaps between buses is now significant – over two hours. There are no evening services.
“There are alternatives to Bus Éireann, though. JJ Kavanagh also provide a service. But we don’t have any service commitments from this operator. Past experience shows that they too trim stops from their routes or, as in the case of the villages, they just leave. That said, we appreciate that they are providing a service for the major towns
“The ridiculous part of this is that we have never had as many buses passing by the towns and villages. The problem is that they don’t stop. Four operators and 104 buses were going up and down from Limerick to Dublin daily.
“Dublin-Coach for example have 70 buses flying by daily. But not stopping. Licensing can change that.
“What we as a group have tried to do is get an understanding of what is really happening and what changes need to be made. So, part of what we are doing is engaging with those involved: the operators, the NTA and our Government via local representatives.
“We also created an online group to share information on the issue. We reviewed the information available and published this review on our Facebook page - Save Roscrea Nenagh Bus Éireann X12 Route - which now has over 400 members.
“Yes, the Local Link has been rolled out but it is a very different type of service. It goes in indirect routes through villages and neighbourhoods in an area. It is just that, a local service and it finishes early in the afternoon. We are looking for the national service that stops along national routes.”