MacSharry says new town bus route would be a ‘game changer’

A PROPOSED new third bus route in Sligo town has been described as “a game changer” by a local councillor.

Cllr Tom MacSharry, pictured right, welcomed the news this week that the National Transport Authority (which has responsibility for all public transport nationally) has agreed to the provision of a new route by Bus Éireann.

The new service will be subject to funding being provided by the Department of Transport. At present Sligo town has two bus routes.

S1 runs from Cartron, via IT Sligo, into the town centre and out to Caltragh, while S2 runs between Strandhill and Rosses Point, via the bus station, town centre and IT Sligo. However, there have been ongoing complaints from people in the west of the town particularly at the lack of public transport in areas previously served by the old Imp bus service. Cllr MacSharry, who was one of a number of councillors involved in Monday’s online meeting with representatives of the National Transport Authority, said that it was a “very positive” meeting. The meeting had been arranged as a result of a motion proposed at a meeting of Sligo County Council by Cllr MacSharry. He told the Sligo Weekender: “The NTA have designed a new S3 bus route following strong arguments made by myself and all my colleagues to accommodate the demand for a third Sligo town bus service. It would be known as the S3 and would run two buses per hour.” He said the new route would start at Finisklin estate and go up First Sea Road, accommodating estates such as Sea View Park, Sráid na Mara, etc. It will then go up the Western Distributor Road accommodating Kevinsfort and Kevinsfort Heath, Mitchell Curley Park. From there it would go down Ballydoogan and into Maugheraboy, down Wolfe Tone Street, over Wine Street and then out to the hospital and IT Sligo. Welcoming the proposal, he said: “This would be a complete game changer for all the elderly residents in the area and families with young children who at the moment have to pay taxi fares to the hospital, for example.”

The Fianna Fáil councillor acknowledged the “great work done by the NTA who have really delivered on the brief we gave them and they really drilled into the issues and have provided an excellent proposal”.

Cllr MacSharry said the new route is subject to funding. “We all now need to lobby everyone in government to provide funding for the S3, which is the game changer we desperately need and the people of Sligo deserve,” he said. He feels that Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, who he said is “a massive advocate for public transport”, should be well disposed to the provision of the new route.