Comment: Twenty-five years is too long to wait for public transport

Predicting that Mullingar will have a town bus service by any particular date feels like a risk, given the stop-start nature of progress to date.

In the last 25 years, there have been at least six attempts to see a service provided in the town – some of which actually started running, but didn't last. Incredibly, in August of this year, it will be exactly 20 years ago since a bus service launched in town. Unfortunately, that ‘Hub Bus’ service folded after just two weeks.

Almost equally incredibly, it is now eight years ago since talks on the latest hoped-for bus service began, but, despite phenomenal expansion of the town, Mullingar still doesn't have a bus.

Finally, however, it looks likely that by the end of this year, there will be a service, running two routes through the town.

A hold-up that delayed provision of the service related to the proposal that one of the routes go through the Lakepoint and Gleann Petit estates. That proposal has now been shelved after members of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District agreed last week to abide by the findings of a survey that found that 49% of survey respondents supported the proposed route through both estates, while 51% opposed it.

At the meeting of the district, an assurance was given that once there is a service running, route additions can be made, as has happened in Athlone.

Now that a decision has been made, it is important that the buses start running as soon as possible – for the sake of the convenience of the public; for the sake of the environment and for the sake of progress.