‘Low-cost, high-impact’ feeder bus could improve Meath rail links, says councillor
The introduction of feeder bus services linking Navan and Dunboyne to the rail network could provide a low-cost and “high-impact” improvement for commuters in Meath, a local councillor has said.
Feeder buses are short, local bus routes that connect residential areas to major transport hubs such as rail stations.
Aontú councillor Emer Tóibín said such services would act as a direct link between towns and nearby rail stations, allowing commuters to transfer more easily to train services while reducing pressure on already congested Dublin-bound bus routes.
She said she contacted the National Transport Authority (NTA) in November last year to ask whether a Navan–Dunboyne rail feeder bus service could be introduced to support rail users and improve overall network efficiency.
According to the councillor, In the response she received, the authority said it was “actively considering options of this nature, subject to availability of resources and funding”.
Cllr Tóibín said the reply was “disappointing” and reflected what many commuters in Meath have come to expect.
“Feeder services that reduce Dublin-bound bus journeys would be a gamechanger for many, as they would reduce congestion, improve punctuality, increase rail usage and cost less to operate,” she said.
She said it was “deeply unfair” that commuters in Meath, one of the closest counties to Dublin and one of the fastest growing, were expected to “tolerate substandard public transport year after year”.
“Meath has been stuck in transport limbo for far too long. Rail is always promised ‘down the line’, so bus services are never properly optimised in the meantime,” she said.
“A Navan–Dunboyne feeder bus would be a low-cost, high-impact measure that could be introduced as a pilot and would immediately improve reliability across the network.”
“This is not a radical proposal, it’s how public transport works properly in other countries. What’s missing here is not feasibility, but political will,” Cllr Tóibín added.
Cllr Tóibín said the proposal was not unusual and was standard practice in countries where public transport systems are designed to integrate bus and rail services.
“This is not a radical proposal. What’s missing here is not feasibility, but political will,” she added.