Bus Éireann boosts services and adds €40 million to Southwest economy in 2014

 

Bus Éireann boosts services and adds €40 million to Southwest economy in 2014

Bus Éireann, which employs just under 400 staff in Limerick and the South West region, contributed approximately €40m to the local economy in 2014.

Earlier this year saw the welcome announcement from Minister Alan Kelly about the multi-million development of Colbert station into a modern integrated high quality public transport interchange. We are currently awaiting a final decision on planning, but it is anticipated that work on the Public Plaza will commence in the first quarter of 2014.

In the last 12 months, Bus Éireann revamped its stage carriage services between Limerick, Shannon, Ennis and West Clare in conjunction with the National Transport Authority (NTA). The key features included:

  • A simplified network
  • Improved access to Shannon Airport
  • Better access to employment areas, industrial estates, tourism locations and residential areas
  • More frequent services
  • More customer-friendly Information Displays
  • Improved connections to and from the Rail/Bus Station
  • New services in Ennis town, serving shopping and hospital districts

 

New 343 & 350 routes & revamped Kerry network in 2015

The 343 Shannonlink route & 350 Clare Coast route are performing well, and service changes have been welcomed received by customers.  A significant amount of planning in conjunction with the National Transport Authority and local authorities has also been carried out in preparation for the roll-out of the revamped Kerry network. This  is due to be launched in the New Year.

2014 also saw the completion of the bus lane along Ballinacurra Road. This has resulted in improvements to journey times on the Raheen side of route, as a result of new bus priority measures.  We still encounter difficulties with congestion at peak hours on some city routes however, and we look forward to working with the local authority and the NTA in 2015 to identify further required improvements in Limerick’s public transport infrastructure.

 

Limerick’s successful reign as City of Culture

Many key events in Limerick throughout the last 12 months centred around celebrations associated with Limerick’s crowning as City or Culture 2014. The flagship event was Royal De Luxe visit of the “Granny” to Limerick the weekend of September 5-7 last, and Bus Éireann helped carry some of over 230,000 visitors who thronged the city to see this truly spectacular event. 

 

New Route X12

In September 2014, a new and revised timetable was introduced on the Route X12 service from Limerick to Dublin, which has attracted significant customer numbers. Now a limited stop service, X12 provides a journey time of just 2 hours and 45 minutes between Limerick, and Dublin city centre. The X12 operates from Dublin Airport and Dublin city non-stop to Portlaoise, and then on to Roscrea, Nenagh, University of Limerick and Limerick Bus Station. 

The Route X12 operates nine times a day in each direction from Dublin Airport, to Dublin city and then to Limerick (Monday to Thursday, and Saturday) with one additional service each way on Friday and Sunday. Customers can also travel from Dublin to Nenagh in just under two hours, and from Dublin to Portlaoise in one hour and 10 minutes.  

 

Bus Week

Bus Éireann in Limerick is proud to run “Bus Week” in conjunction with Limerick Smarter Travel as part of European Mobility Week. This educational service has proven to be hugely successful and it will continue in 2015. The aim of the public travel themed week is to encourage schools to promote sustainable modes of transport to and from school. Bus Éireann commits resources to this project which both inspectors and bus drivers giving children lessons in the classroom, before taking them on a journey through the city via their local bus route.

 

Special Services

During the year, Bus Éireann operated special services to many sporting events including; Park and Ride December services for Limerick city, rugby games, football and hurling matches and race meetings at Limerick Racecourse.

“For over 25 years, Bus Éireann has been an essential and integral part of Ireland’s transport infrastructure. We are continuing to build on that tradition of public service, and transport expertise, to give Limerick and the South West a bus and coach system which it can be proud of,” said Miriam Flynn, Regional Manager, South-West, Bus Éireann.

Friday, 2nd January, 2015