'We’ve been campaigning for years': Calls for bus service for Kilcully to be expedited

Calls have been made for the proposed bus service for Kilcully to be expedited, with residents considering protest action if the service doesn’t come on stream in the near future.

Under the new design for the Cork Metropolitan bus network, announced by the National Transport Authority (NTA) last June, it is proposed that Kilcully will be served by new Route 52.

“Route 52 is proposed to operate every two hours and will connect Cork City centre to Carrignavar via Kilcully, Ballincrokig and Whitechurch.

“Coming from the city, the bus will travel along Glenville Street before turning left onto Kilcully Road, passing St Catherine’s Cemetery and then heading north towards Whitechurch.

“The implementation of the new network for the Cork Metropolitan Area will begin in 2023 and 2024.

“The timeframes for the implementation of specific routes have not yet been finalised,” a spokesperson for the NTA told The Echo.

However, chairwoman of the Kilcully and Ballincrokig Residents’ Association, Joan Lewis said the service needs to be delivered in a shorter timeframe.

“We want it tomorrow because we’re waiting so long for it,” she said.

“We’ve been campaigning for years. How long more are we going to be waiting?” 

“We’re nearer to Patrick Street than Douglas and still we have no public transport.

“If that bus doesn’t come on stream soon, we will be going out to protest because we’ll have no other choice,” she continued.

Green Party councillor Oliver Moran echoed the call for the service to be implemented quicker than has been scheduled.

“The new routes for BusConnects in Cork are due to be rolled out in 2023 and 2024, though the latest update is that 2024 is now more likely than 2023.

“I think that needs to be brought forward.

“The demand that's there in places like Kilcully shows the importance of delivering BusConnects.

“Plans for bus priority measures have taken many of the headlines, but at its core, BusConnects is about delivering real differences to places like Kilcully and across the city, which is why we all need to support it,” he said.

“The new BusConnects Cork services will also include new 90-minute fares.

“This means that a single ticket can be used for 90 minutes across the entire city's bus and rail network.

“It means someone in Kilcully can get a bus from the Blackman Pub to the city centre and change to continue on to CUH or MTU by bus or change to rail and continue to Little Island or Cobh at no extra cost," Mr Moran continued.