Figures reveal longer wait times for Cork city bus routes

A Cork TD has raised concerns about the bus service in the city, saying buses are becoming “less and less reliable”.

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould submitted a parliamentary question asking for data on the number of cancellations and delayed buses on various bus routes from December 15, 2023, to April 10, 2024.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) supplied data on the average excess passenger waiting times for routes in the city, including routes 202 and 208.

The data showed that the average planned waiting time on route 202 was 11.98 minutes and the average actual waiting time was 16.58 minutes, an average excess waiting time of 4.60 minutes.

On route 208, the planned waiting time was 9.06 minutes and the actual waiting time was 13.60 minutes, an average excess passenger waiting time of 4.54 minutes.

The data, which the NTA advised should be considered preliminary, also revealed the punctuality of low-frequency routes in the city which showed that on routes 203, 207, 209, 215, 216, 220, and 245, between 55.2% and 64.5% of buses departed on time; between 4.5% and 8.9% departed early; and between 25.9% and 38% departed late.

Promised

Mr Gould said: “People are being forced into cars. We’re being promised reviews and changes to the routes but these aren’t happening. Where is the proactive response from the NTA? I know, from speaking to Bus Éireann and to drivers, that they are doing their best but the reality is the NTA are slow to respond and slow to make changes. That does not facilitate the modern bus service Cork needs.

“There is a lot of talk about BusConnects but we need changes now. We need to see a frontloading of current spending to allow for a responsive bus service now.”

Sinn Féin councillor for Cork City’s South West Joe Lynch said an increasing number of people are experiencing a poor level of service on the 220/220X bus route.

“I understand that bus drivers are doing their best and the NTA recognise that this route needs to be fixed, but improvements were promised in January of this year and it is clear that nothing has been delivered. If anything, services are getting even worse; if that were even possible.”

Mr Lynch said a review of the bus system in Cork city was promised back in April but that the review has been delayed until September. “It is not a tenable situation. The improvements that were promised must be delivered,” he said.