Call for hourly bus between Kildare-Carlow

Public transport in south Kildare could be set to receive a boost with local councillors campaigning to make the 880 Naas to Carlow bus an hourly service.

At the most recent meeting of Athy Municipal District (MD), cllr Veralouise Behan motioned that Kildare Council works with Local Link to make this happen Athy MD Cathaoirleach Ivan Keatley seconded the motion.

Currently, the Naas to Carlow route runs 7 times a day from Monday to Thursday, with an increase to 8 on Fridays and Saturdays and a decrease to 5 on Sundays. The reverse route from Carlow to Naas operates with the same regularity.

The 880 serves 7 towns and villages in the MD – Castledermot, Moone, Timolin, Crookstown, Ballitore, Narraghmore, Calverstown and Ballyshannon.

The report issued in response to cllr Behan by senior executive officer for transport, mobility and open spaces at the council Mark McLoughlin said that the scheduling and frequency of Local Link services is a matter for the National Transport Authority (NTA) to decide.

Mr McLoughlin’s report suggested that with the agreement of the councillors a letter could be written to the NTA to increase the frequency to an hourly service.

Speaking at the meeting, cllr Behan noted that this increase to the service would be a proactive measure in the context of population increase and related demands such as an increase in people commuting from the area.

Cathaoirleach Keatley noted the “huge student population” commuting to Carlow and Maynooth from the within the Athy MD, and also expressed his concern over the level of connectivity between the elected members, the local link service and the NTA, stating that there “is a link missing in the chain there still”.

It was decided that a letter would be written to the NTA requesting that they come down to the MD for a meeting.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme