Councillors express frustration of NTA refusal to meet Sligo bus service

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

Cllr Ann Higgins has expressed her anger and frustration in relation to the failure of the National Transport Authority (NTA) to meet with local elected representatives regarding queries and concerns in relation to the recently reintroduced S3 bus service.

In her motion Cllr Higgins called on the local authority to write to the NTA seeking that the S3 route be extended to include a loop around the Ursuline Convent, Seaville estate, Builders Providers, Llidl area and ATU Sligo.

Cllr Higgins’ motioned continued, “Additionally, a request should issue to schedule an online call with representatives from NTA to discuss the issues of public transport connectivity across the county as it is essential that members are provided with an opportunity to air issues and queries raised by our constituents.”

Addressing the meeting in relation to her motion, Cllr Higgins said, “I was dismayed to learn the NTA are not prepared to attend an in-person meeting with us. They should be using the public transport network to come to us and then make an informed decision,” with regard what aspects of the network can be improved.

In relation to issues at Caltragh, Cllr Higgins said, “They haven’t factored in unique factors – the steep hill, the diverse population of elderly and young people. I don’t believe we have an efficient transport system which means the NTA are failing.”

Those comments were backed up by Cllr Edel McSharry who said, “I think the NTA need to meet with us. This desk based research; you need to get down on the ground and talk to people.

"They need to think outside the box in order to meet the needs of our town.”

Cllr Nealon was also critical of the NTA when he said, “They are fumbling around in the dark. They said they won’t go to Sligo Airport because of a lack of frequency of flights! They had no idea about the creche up there and everything else that is there.”

Prior to the debate concluding there was a word of caution from Director of Services Jim Molloy who advised, “Adding time or distance to a service, you are taking away from the frequency of the service.”

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.