Bus driver hunt ‘constrains’ service rollout

FINDING new bus drivers to hire is ‘the biggest constraint’ on rolling out new services, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has said.

The Green Party leader was speaking at the National Transport Authority (NTA) launch of a plan for 67 new or ‘enhanced’ rural bus routes in the year ahead.

Among the areas that will see attention paid to its bus routes are the Dingle-to-Dunquin, Longford-to-Roscommon, Dungarvan-to-Clonmel and Ring of Kerry routes.

Investment in rural bus services by the Department of Transport and NTA is set to double to €8.5million this year, with routes operated by Bus Éireann and Transport for Ireland Local Link services.

Speaking in Co. Offaly at the launch of the Connecting Ireland plan for 2023, Mr Ryan acknowledged that recruiting bus drivers was ‘the one restriction we have’.

‘If we get the drivers, we’re going to provide the service,’ he told reporters in Tullamore. ‘That is the biggest constraint.

‘Just talking to the Local Link company here, they’re saying “that’s what we need” – particularly younger people to go into this profession. It’s a good job, you get thanked every day along the way. That’s the one restriction or the constraint that we have, we need more drivers. But as long as we get them, the funding is there, the organisation is there to make it happen.’

He said the new service is ‘good value’ and is something everyone can use. ‘The really good thing about them is they’re accessible – that’s good if you’re in a wheelchair, if you have a buggy, if you’re older,’ he said.

Mr Ryan said not all buses on the new rural routes would be electric, adding that the rollout was still at an early stage.