Radical rural transport shake-up will see new routes for Offaly

Offaly will be served by three brand-new bus routes and improved frequency on a large number of existing routes under radical new proposals to improve the public transport network across rural Ireland.

The new plans were revealed on Friday last by the National Transport Authority (NTA) under their Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan which proposes new bus corridors from Mullingar to Portlaoise; Athlone to Thurles and Birr to Portlaoise which will see many towns and villages across Offaly being served by a bus connection with a minimum of three return trips a day on each of the new routes.

The NTA plan also proposes to extend the existing bus route 840 from Lough Boora to Clara to three return trips a day. This route currently serves Pollagh, Ballycumber and a number of other rural locations en route, and it is also proposed to increase the frequency of the existing bus route 843 from Tullamore to Birr, which serves Mucklagh, Kilcormac and other rural areas to a minimum of three return trips a day.

Under the new proposals, it is planned to establish a new local bus route from Birr to Portlaoise, which will serve Kinnitty and other local areas along the route, along with a new bus route from Mullingar to Portlaoise which will serve Edenderry. The third new route will be from Athlone to Thurles and will service a large number of locations across rural Offaly including Shannonbridge, Banagher and Birr. Each of the three new routes proposed will have a minimum frequency of three return trips a day.

The NTA proposals, which will now go out to public consultation, have been warmly welcomed by local Green Party Minister, Pippa Hackett, who described them as “transformational” and said the revitalising our rural towns and improving connectivity “is high on the Green Party agenda” as well as on her town personal agenda.

The rural transport plan has also been welcomed by Cllr Mark Hackett, who has encouraged people to “get involved” in the public consultation process and added that “inclusion of all voices will key to the success of this plan".

The NTA rural transport plan does not propose “any significant changes” to either the bus or train routes that currently serve Offaly but states that “as more people travel more often and more widely by public transport, we will continue to review their usage and taken steps to ensure their continued fitness-for-purpose.”

The existing transport routes through Offaly include a wide range of bus services, including a bus from Tullamore to Enfield serving Daingean, Rhode, Edenderry, and other places en route; a bus from Tullamore to Mullingar serving Kilbeggan, Tyrrellspass, Rochfortbridge and other places en route; a Tullamore to Tullamore service that stops in Daingean, Rhode, Edenderry, Walsh Island and other places en route and a bus from Portumna to Dublin serving Banagher, Birr, and Tullamore.

The public transport network also includes two train services, one from Dublin to Galway, which stops in Tullamore and the Dublin to Ballina/Westport train service which also makes a scheduled stop in Tullamore.

The Connecting Ireland Plan is the first rural transport plan of its kind in Ireland and aims to reduce our reliance on private car use in a bid to meet our climate change targets and to revitalise rural towns.

The NTA carried out a “comprehensive assessment” of the existing public transport network on a county-by-county basis before formulating their Connecting Ireland plan, which identified a number of gaps including the fact the 26% of the population are “either not served at all by public transport” or are served “at a very minimum level.” They also found that two in every five villages in rural areas is not connected to their nearby bigger town.

The plan states that the existing rail network “could be better utilised” and this could see the “re-opening of disused stations and building new ones on existing lines” according to the NTA.

The shadow of Covid-19 looms large in the Connecting Ireland Plan which states that “societal changes are underway” as a result of the pandemic, which will see “new transport patterns and trends emerge” including a shift to more remote working hubs, increased importance of local tourism and a “re-imagining of urban spaces to prioritise people over traffic.”

The plan also states that local authorities will play “a key role” in the delivery of a new integrated rural transport plan, and it found that seven out of every ten journeys taken in Ireland is by car.