Manager of Local Link Wexford says she cannot reroute to Duncannon as ‘Bus Éireann is deemed to be serving it’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

The general manager of Local Link Wexford has said she can not redirect her buses to Duncannon until Bus Éireann rolls out a service which was supposed to commence almost three years ago.

Currently, Bus Éireann operates a three times daily service (370) from Monday to Saturday which connects Duncannon to Ramsgrange, Campile, and New Ross. However, this bus does not operate on Sundays or on public holidays and does not connect to other villages including Ballyhack and Fethard-on-Sea.

Frustrated by the situation, residents have repeatedly asked for the Local Link 399 Hook Head to New Ross service to include Duncannon in its list of stops, but, as the general manager of Local Link Wexford explained, that is not currently possible.

Speaking at the July meeting of Wexford County Council (WCC), MaryB O’Leary said every effort had been made to facilitate those in Duncannon but she was restricted in what she could do.

“A new timetable for the Bus Éireann 370 was supposed to kick in October 2023, it was to include two new routes in each direction,” she said. “Our 399 was designed to meet the Bus Éireann 370 in Ramsgrange, so people could swap over.

“I know people in Duncannon have been lobbying for this, but until Bus Éireann introduces its new service we can’t go near Duncannon, because Bus Éireann is deemed to be serving it. When that new timetable is introduced we may be able to do something there.”

With residents in Duncannon petitioning the National Transport Authority (NTA) to have their village served by the local link, Ms O’Leary said she is well aware of how upset they are.

“It’s been rumbling on for a long time, so much so that I don’t go to Duncannon for a drink any more because I get accosted, sometimes aggressively,” she said.

Ms O’Leary was present at the council meeting to discuss the rapid growth of Local Link Wexford since its inception in 2015 and, amid all the congratulations and praise, she was tasked with providing updates on other potential service changes in the county.

Noting that there was a “high demand” for the 387 service to Rosslare Strand, Councillor Ger Carthy asked whether it could be increased during the summer months to run every half-an-hour. However, Ms O’Leary said services such as the 387 were very much in thrall to the whims of young beach goers.

“It’s a bit of a conundrum, teenagers can wake up on a Saturday and decide to head to the beach in their numbers, and the next day can be a dull day and no-one wants to travel,” she said. “Increasing the service so it goes every half hour would require one, possibly two, more buses; we couldn’t do that as it would double the price of the route.

“And having a winter timetable and a summer timetable gets very confusing.”

Lastly, Cllr Pat Kehoe had a query about extending the range of a service into a neighbouring county.

“The 369 which goes from Enniscorthy to Bunclody and Tullow, could it be extended to include Carlow?” he asked. “That would be a game changer for students who go to college in Carlow.”

However, Ms O’Leary said this service was also dependent on Bus Éireann and its proposed route changes.

“The 369 local link was designed to fill in the Bus Éireann (132) service back in 2015, that 132 service is awaiting funding,” she said. “But our 369 gets to Bunclody in time to connect to Wexford Bus service to Carlow.”