More than 5,300 weekly trips made on Cork Local Link buses

There are 5,365 journeys being made on TFI Local Link bus services a week in Cork.

These bus services are provided for the National Transport Authority (NTA) by 15 Local Link offices around the country.

Nationally, there were 105,986 passenger journeys on TFI Local Link services in the week ending October 13, a more-than five-fold increase on January 2022.

This dramatic increase coincides with the rollout of the NTA’s Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, in January 2022, which introduced 110 new and enhanced routes.

Quadrupled

In Cork, passenger numbers have quadrupled, driven by new enhanced routes, including Mitchelstown to Mallow, Allihies to Kilcrohane, and Charleville to Mallow.

“We are delighted to be a part of this ongoing increase of people using Local Link services,” TFI Local Link Cork manager, David O’Brien, said.

“Local Link Cork are planning for further route development under the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, in association with the National Transport Authority.”

This is the third year of a five-year implementation plan for Connecting Ireland. Some 60% of the services are in place, with the remainder to be introduced in the coming years.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said: “We have seen a transformation in public transport across rural Ireland and going by the numbers, people really like it.

“Reaching this milestone of 100,000 passengers a week is incredible, but I’d like to think of it as just the beginning. We need to have buses criss-crossing this country and reaching into towns and villages everywhere. The growth we’re seeing highlights the importance of the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan.”

Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority (NTA) said the achievement was “a direct result of the dedication and hard work by a whole range of people and the continued support from passengers”.