THE president of Cork Institute of Technology has called for improved public transport in the region to address housing and transportation issues.

Dr Barry O’Connor said that reliable public transport would allow people to live outside Cork city and travel in for work or study.

He said that, at the moment, public transport in Cork is unreliable and people are forced to live close to work and college as a result, which is leading to greater competition for accommodation.

“One of the key answers to addressing this issue, and housing in general, is public transport,” he said.

“Also, if we had a proper bus service, it would allow people greater freedom in terms of where they can live, and greater access.

“There are normal bus services that come down here from the northside and there’s another going down to the southside, but they take too long.

“I know we have students coming down from Knocknaheeny to college here and it takes them an hour-and-a-half.

“That’s madness in a civilised society,” he said.

“If you knew you could build, buy, or rent a house out in Ballincollig, Knocknaheeny, or similar areas and still get into town on the bus in 10 minutes, it would be great.

“But, as things stand, people know they can’t do that.

“We don’t have a good public transport system — it’s unreliable.”

“The Tánaiste has been talking about a rapid transport corridor from the Docklands out to Ballincollig.

“That would be great but, for the time being, a fleet of buses would do the same thing.”

Dr O’Connor said the benefits of a reliable public transport service in Cork would be felt far and wide.

“If we had proper public transport, there wouldn’t be half the cars on the road and you would also have a wider area in terms of accommodation,” he explained.

“People could live in Ballincollig, on the northside or further south, and just hop on a bus and get to CIT.

“There wouldn’t have to be such a concentration in terms of accommodation if there was timely, reliable public transport options in place,” he added.

“A proper public transport system would also have a positive effect on the general housing crisis.

“I know the buses might not be full all of the time but if you could facilitate people living all across the city to be able to get into CIT, UCC, the College of Commerce, then it’s worth it.

“It means people do not have to live right beside their place of study or work meaning they are more likely to find accommodation.

“It also widens our reach here from CIT even further.” He added that CIT has attempted to get the City Bikes scheme extended as far as the campus.