WHAT was described as a completely inadequate bus service from Kinsale to Cork city was the subject of a packed meeting in the coastal town this week, after 1,000 people signed a petition seeking a better service.
The meeting heard that Bus Eireann’s 226 – the only bus service from Cork city to Kinsale – is now badly over-subscribed because of a merger with the 226a service from the city to the airport.
Students, workers, tourists and the public have been returning to the city since Covid abated, and this has resulted in a large degree of pressure on a service which only has a one-hour frequency.
In recent weeks, as the weather has turned, commuters also found themselves frequently abandoned by full or overbooked buses, standing largely in the rain at an unsheltered stop for hours, as Green party representative Marc Ó Riain pointed out.
The ‘intolerable’ conditions at the ‘unsafe’ Clontarf Street city stop, near the Bus Eireann station, have to be addressed immediately, Sen Tim Lombard (FG) told the meeting.
‘This bus stop is dangerous and totally inadequately for the numbers of people that are waiting day in, day out, in all weather, for a service that is more than often over-booked and full,’ Sen Lombard later told The Southern Star.
At the meeting, Cllr Kevin Murphy said that not only was the bus stop on Clontarf Street not fit for purpose, but it appears that the stop was moved to its current location without adequate public or garda consultation.
Many people at the meeting also complained that the bus service was incredibly unreliable, with late arrivals or no-shows of timetabled buses.
Marc Ó Riain and Marian Caulfield of the ‘Fix the 226’ campaign said that the only solution that was realistically achievable was to get the alternative, already licensed service – the 228 – to begin serving Kinsale, Belgooly, Riverstick, Ballinhassig, the universities and the city, every half hour. It would also give students the possibility of getting to their lectures within 30-40 minutes of Kinsale, said Mr Ó Riain.
However, Damien Long of bus service West Cork Connects – the company that operates the 228 service – pointed out that the only thing stopping the 228 from going into service was the lack of a bus stop in Ballinhassig. If the 228 could stop in Ballinhassig this would solve all of the problems overnight, he claimed, because he has enough buses and enough frequency to take the pressure off the 226.
Those present at the meeting called for a full double decker bus service to run all day from Kinsale to Cork and back (from 7.30am into the evening).
They also want the 226 service to increase in frequency to every half hour and for the 226a service to be reinstated to the airport. Also, the terminus at Clontarf Street needs an urgent covered and sheltered bus stop – or for the stop to be relocated back to the bus station.
Furthermore, they want each stop on the 226 route to have a shelter and a bus stop in Ballinhassig to allow the West Cork Connects 228 service to come into operation. They also made the point that all commuters at all bus stops should be able to depend on a timely and frequent bus service that will stop for them.
Sen Lombard told the meeting that he had asked that representatives from the National Transport Authority (NTA) meet with himself, Cork County Council and Bus Éireann to find a solution. ‘The NTA refused to meet with us, they are a law onto themselves,’ he said. ‘We will continue to work with Cork County Council and Bus Éireann to sort out this service once and for all.’
Marian Caulfield also pointed out that it was not just the people in the packed hall that were demanding a resolution, but also the 1,000 people who signed a petition supporting the demands of the ‘Fix the 226’ campaign.
Meanwhile, after raising the issue in the Seanad on Wednesday, Sen Lombard said he was very disappointed with the response from junior minister Peter Burke who said a meeting with NTA staff would ‘depend on the availability of relevant staff to facilitate such a meeting.’
‘It is unbelievable that a body with a budget of €35bn to spend over the next 10 years won’t meet public representatives and local communities.,’ said the senator, He called on Transport Minister Eamon Ryan to intervene.
