‘Four-hour daily journeys’: Calls grow for earlier NX buses and improved local transport services in Meath
A 5am NX bus from Navan, additional peak-time services, and a trial allowing express buses to access the motorway directly from the North Navan Park and Ride — these were the demands made by a local councillor warning that Meath commuters are now facing “four-hour daily journeys.”
At a meeting with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Bus Éireann, Aontú councillor Emer Tóibín raised the demands, describing what she said is a growing crisis in “reliability, punctuality, and capacity” on services serving Meath.
Citing Census 2022 figures, she said 84pc of commuters in the county travel by car while just 7pc use buses and 2pc use trains.
“These figures reflect a very poor public perception of and confidence in public transport provision and reliability in Meath,” she said.
“They are an indictment of the Government’s slowness to take public transport seriously for people who live approximately one hour from the capital.”
“Yet despite this failure, the Government continues to make both the motoring commuter and the bus commuter pay heavily through fuel, tolls, parking, fares and lost time while dragging its heels on delivering a public transport system that actually works.”
According to the councillor, the NTA stated that €2m was invested in “reliability and punctuality” reforms for NX services. However, Cllr Tóibín said the service is “going backwards.”
“Four-hour daily commutes are now becoming the norm, reliability is deteriorating, and if demand is not matched with supply, a five-hour commute is inevitable,” she said.
At the meeting, the NTA agreed to examine the introduction of a 5.20am NX service from Navan.
Cllr Tóibín also called for three additional NX services during morning and evening peak times and proposed that some services depart from the North Navan Park and Ride while others leave from Johnstown to reduce overcrowding and improve journey times.
She also sought a trial allowing NX buses to bypass Navan town and access the motorway directly from the Park and Ride, which she said would reduce congestion and restore the route’s express status.
Bus Éireann confirmed at the meeting that there is a 4.9pc cancellation rate across services.
Among other proposals discussed were feeder bus services from Navan to the M3 Parkway rail station, as well as potential shuttle links to Drogheda and Broombridge stations.
Cllr Tóibín said nearly 2,000 Meath students attend Maynooth University and called for expanded NTA-funded services to cater specifically for student demand.
She also raised concerns about the reliability of Navan town bus services, saying trips were down by 20,000 this year compared to last year despite increased demand. She attributed this to frequent delays, breakdowns, and cancellations and called for a newer fleet of buses to be introduced.
Meanwhile, she added that the NTA stated a consultation process is underway to assess the “operational readiness” of the NX and 109 services, and that these routes require “subvention as they are not fully profitable.”
“Public transport is a public service. Profitability cannot be the excuse for forcing Meath commuters into unsustainable, exhausting and unacceptable daily journeys,” she said.