LOCAL Link, the rural public transport service, is operating at full capacity in Limerick.
That’s according to Independent Ireland TD Richard O’Donoghue, who told the Dáil that people are in dire need of more services. Local Link, he said, would not be in rural Limerick were it not for private operators.
“I appreciate the investment the (Transport) Department is putting into Local Link, but there is no joined-up thinking,” Deputy O’Donoghue said.
“It is doing one route. It should be doing a figure eight on all links such that when one route is done it links up with one spot where the other route connects to it in order that an operator can go from one to another and travel around different parts of the country.”
The County Limerick politician said that 300 signatures have been collected from people looking for a Local Link service for Martinstown, which he described as “JP McManus country”.
“People in Bulgaden are looking for a Local Link. There are more than 300 signatures on this but we have not got the investment. We need the Department to invest more in Local Link to make sure it can happen,” he insisted.
“There are bus routes coming from the likes of Bruff, Kilmallock, and Bruree. While there are services for people there, there are not enough. People in those areas will use that transport if it is provided. It is the private operators, which we need, that are providing it.”
Deputy O’Donoghue also suggested increasing the age cap for drivers to 70, to compete with the private sector.
In response, Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien said that great strides have been made with rural transport in recent years, “we want to accelerate that”.
“I have met Local Link as well. There can perhaps be better route designs … in linking up routes to other routes, but the numbers speak for themselves in terms of rural transport and how people are responding to it. It is an area that we will continue to accelerate,” Minister O’Brien said.
