Work progressing on town bus service plan for Mullingar

Mullingar’s town bus service is definitely on the way to becoming a reality – and will be well established by this time next year, Westmeath TD Peter Burke has revealed.

“I would be hopeful that it will be in place by the end of this year,” he said, adding that the indications from the National Transport Authority in a letter to him are that they want the service in place by either late 2019, or early 2020.

“The commitment to provision of a bus service for Mullingar was included in Project Ireland 2040, which is the government’s capital investment programme. Obviously, Mullingar is indicated as a key town, with a significant population and with, therefore, a demand for a service,” Deputy Burke stated.

At this point, he continued, work is advancing between Westmeath County Council and Longford Westmeath Rural Transport Scheme to try and get the project up and running.

“I will be keeping the pressure on Westmeath County Council and the National Transport Authority to ensure this is delivered as soon as possible. Cllr Andrew Duncan has been bringing it up consistently at meetings of Westmeath County Council and at Mullingar Municipal District level, and during the local elections it became clear there is a huge demand for a service like this considering the growing population in Mullingar and the dramatic changes in the town as more people are now living longer and living independently.”

Deputy Burke said that the NTA is working to finalise the timetables while Westmeath County Council is currently in the process of assessing suitable bus stop locations.

“It is crucial that the routes selected are those that would service the greatest number of potential users, to help ensure viability of the service,” Deputy Burke said, adding that this is where the focus currently lies.

“I would be hopeful that it will be in place by the end of this year - although these transport schemes do however take a bit of time to roll out since there will have to be a competitive tender process to select an operator/s. But all things being equal, I would be hopeful that it could be rolled out this year and I will do all I can to ensure that is the case,” he said.