Phantom bus stops must be reinstated throughout Co. Clare

–        People should be encouraged to look at public transport

–        Lack of stops making it harder to use bus services

 

Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe is calling on Transport Infrastructure Ireland to reinstate phantom bus stops throughout Co. Clare.

“Over the years, TII has taken over full responsibility for bus routing and also determining where buses should stop,” said Deputy Crowe.

“In some locations, people stop their local bus service by simply standing at the side of the road and waving it down but in other areas the stops are far more formal with bus stop signage and shelters.

“I have noticed a trend in recent years whereby TII are insisting that buses should no longer stop at locations that don’t have signage and the most recent example I’ve come across is the community of Shannon Banks in Co. Clare where the 301 service operates every 30 minutes or so into Limerick City.

“This now won’t stop at the top of the estate when travelling in an outbound direction.

Crowe continued: “In this instance, I’ve had some success – following contact with TII, they’ve agreed to reinstate this stop officially and put up a new sign but there are other examples I can think of in the Cratloe and Sixmilebridge area where the stops have simply vanished.

“This is rather punitive and unfair to communities who see a bus shuttling along the road but unable to stop to pick them up.

“At a time when we are encouraging the population to leave the car at home and look at changes in how they travel, I think that we should be doing everything in our power to ensure that we’re making it as easy as possible for people to do so.”

-ENDS-