Second phase of ‘phenomenally’ successful Tipperary bus project is needed
There have been calls for the second phase of a Tipperary transport project which has been a “phenomenal success” to be rolled out as soon as possible.
The call came from Fianna Fáil councillor Siobhán Ambrose at the July meeting of the Clonmel Borough District, who said the project has “far exceeded anybody’s expectations”.
The Clonmel Town Bus is a local bus service that links the outskirts of Clonmel with the town centre, and runs every 30 minutes.
The project is funded by the National Transport Authority (NTA), and it is up to them to allocate more funding for projects in towns across the country.
At the meeting, Cllr Ambrose was seeking clarity on the timeline for the implementation of the second phase of the scheme.
"Carlow was first to get their phase one, we got our phase one, Ennis are next, so do you know what the proposal is, whether they’re going to let all the big towns get phase one, and then start off phase two?
"Given the strength and given the numbers of people that are using Clonmel Town Bus, we do want it, every single day I have people asking me about it, people in Clerihan have been onto me, Rosegreen, they all want to get linked up to it,” Cllr Ambrose explained.
Phase two of the project would see the routes extend to further outside Clonmel town.
"They have said starting off that they want to concentrate on Clonmel, but there’s so many areas around Clonmel that aren’t on phase one,” she added.
The project is important economically and socially, Cllr Ambrose said, providing a link for many people to access Clonmel town.
"The number of older people using it is incredible, because it costs nothing if you have a bus pass, and then it’s €1.90 for an adult or 90 cent for a child, and the amount of people using it all the time, it comes into the town every half an hour, so shops are saying how great it is in terms of bringing customers in and out, so it has been a huge success,” Cllr Ambrose said.
Cllr Ambrose’s motion was seconded by Mayor of Clonmel Cllr Pat English, who agreed that the service had been a success for the town.