SINN Féin senator Joanne Collins raised an issue in the Seanad of irate commuters travelling from Kilfinane into Colbert Station in Limerick City.
Senator Collins told the Upper House that commuters on a daily basis are left late for school or work as up to 80 people line up for a 52-seater bus.
“This means at least 20 people are standing at a bus stop somewhere having to wait for the next one, which might not come for two hours or might not turn up at all,” Senator Collins explained.
“These are college students who cannot afford to rent in the city and are staying at home and trying to commute in and out. The same thing is happening in West Limerick with the Killarney bus, which passes through Abbeyfeale, Newcastle West, and Adare on its way into the city. By the time it hits Abbeyfeale, which is the first town it reaches in County Limerick, the bus is full. The next bus does not arrive for another two hours.”
Senator Collins said “these students, and the workers, are trying their best to commute but the services are just not there. I raised this with the National Transport Authority at the transport committee before the summer recess. Its response was that it would look at capacity. Nothing has changed since. We are still in the same situation, with a lack of capacity and timings that do not work for people who need to be at certain places at certain times.”