Students with disabilities left waiting up to two hours for a bus to take them home from college in Cork 

STUDENTS with disabilities have been left waiting up to two hours, sometimes in the rain, for a bus to take them home from college in Cork on multiple occasions, complaints to the National Transport Authority (NTA) show.

Complaints from 2023 and 2024 about the number 205 bus — Kent Station to MTU via College Road — were provided to The Echo under the Freedom of Information Act, and reveal ongoing issues with the service.

“Some of our students with intellectual disabilities are having trouble boarding the 205 bus from College Road when they finish class,” a UCC staff member wrote. “It seems the bus is often full, and either doesn’t stop at all, or when it does stop our students are unable to board.

“On some days they have waited until around 5.30pm before a family member has collected them by car instead,” the staff member added. “I’m concerned they may stop attending college if transport continues to be a barrier.”

Students with disabilities also emailed the NTA, many calling for more buses to service the route, saying the situation left them “upset”, “anxious”, and “distressed”.

Several also said that the drivers had been “very rude.”

Complaints 

Complaints included comments such as: “I was soaked to the skin and felt very sick,” and “I could get pneumonia from waiting in the rain”.

Another UCC staff member sent in a complaint, appealing to the NTA “to increase the number of buses on this route in the afternoons so that our students can continue to attend university”.

In a follow-up email a few weeks later, the staff member wrote: “The problem has continued over the last couple of weeks, including last Thursday when four students with intellectual disabilities (and presumably many other passengers) waited two hours in the rain from 3.30pm to 5.30pm while four buses failed to stop because they were full.

“It has taken enormous efforts on behalf of our students, their families, and UCC to create an opportunity to access third-level education for students with intellectual disabilities.

“This unique opportunity, which is their human right, is now being jeopardised by the failure of Bus Éireann to provide transport for them to travel home from college,” they said.

One staff member accompanied some students to the 205 stop and reported: “We waited for 40 mins for the 205 bus.

“For all of that time the sign said the bus was due in 8 mins. So the sign isn’t very reliable.”

Review of route 

A spokesperson for Bus Éireann told The Echo that the route, schedule, frequency, fleet, and fares for the service are determined by the NTA.

“Following completion of the works by Cork City Council due to take place on Patrick Street and Grand Parade this summer, a review of route 205 will be undertaken in order to improve performance,” they said.

The key challenges in Cork include traffic congestion and driver recruitment, they said, adding that just 2% of the kilometres travelled by vehicles in Cork are in bus lanes.

Cork drivers also report “consistent issues in relation to motorists illegally blocking bus lanes or vehicles parking at bus stops, both of which cause undue delays to services”, which the company are actively engaging with An Garda Síochána about.

They added that they are continuously carrying out recruitment campaigns for drivers including regular driver information and open days.

“We have also established a B to D driver training school in Cork to support those with car licences to gain their bus licence,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that they would encourage anyone with an interest in joining Bus Éireann to log on to careers.buseireann.ie.