Tales of random bus stops and phantom timetables!

Members of Offaly County Council painted a picture of random bus stops and phantom timetables at their January meeting this week when a Fine Gael member tabled a motion calling for greater collaboration between the local authority and all public transport agencies serving the county.

The motion was tabled by Cllr John Clendennen, who said “nobody seems to know” where bus stops are located in towns and villages across Offaly and the policy seems to be that buses “just stop anywhere they see a space”.

Fianna Fail's Cllr Declan Harvey went one step further by declaring that buses are currently stopping “all over the town of Tullamore” and added that “nobody seems to be able to get a timetable anywhere”.

He expressed the hope that the relevant authorities will “get the finger out and do things right” in an effort to ensure that people using the buses in our towns and villages know when they are arriving and where they might be stopping.

Cllr Clendennen's motion called on the council to work with public transport providers to identify locations for the introduction of bus stops and “physical timetables and/or QR codes” in every town and village served by the public transport network. He said the objective of his motion was to “encourage greater public transport usage, improved safety and service for passengers and reduced carbon emissions”.

He made reference to the Local Link bus service serving rural communities and said it was “vital” that this service is allowed to continue and to grow and expand. “We need to ensure that people using public transport know where the bus stop is and that they can also access a timetable, and that doesn't seem to be happening at the moment," he said.

Cllr Clendennen's motion was seconded by Cllr Harvey.