Rural areas fare well with new Local Link bus route

Last week the Local Link bus service in Westmeath introduced a new route that will give rural dwellers further opportunities to avail of public transport to get around the county.

It’s an extension of a service that has transformed the lives of many who avail of the transport option.

The total government budget for the Department of Transport for 2025 is €3.9 billion, featuring an increase in funding for public transport, Active Travel, and major infrastructure projects like BusConnects, MetroLink, and a DART Expansion.

Urban areas get the lion’s share, because it makes sense to have the money benefit the largest number of people.

Just a small proportion of that overall budget goes to rural transport, but for those who use the service, it’s a lifeline. Urban commuters may despair when there’s a 10-minute delay in their schedule, a service that can be tracked on an app, but rural service users may only have one transport slot.

Longford Westmeath Roscommon Local Link facilitates rural transport in the three counties. It provides a safe, secure and reliable means of getting around.

Last Wednesday Multyfarnham Community Centre was a hive of activity. The pickleball session started at 10.30am and the four courts set out in the centre were full.

In a room adjacent to the main hall, another group was gathering. Though less energetic, they were just as active in their own right.

The Local Link team were introducing a new rural regular service. The manager of the tri-county service is Damien O’Neill, who facilitated The National Transport Authority (NTA) launch of the new route.

“This is one of our newest services, the 816, from Longford to Mullingar. It operates three times a day, seven days a week, with two additional services on Friday and Saturday evenings. The service has been funded by the NTA from the Dept of Transport,” Damien said.

The Local Link manager outlined how the latest addition to the Longford Westmeath Roscommon bus service came about: “It’s part of the commitment by both the department and the NTA to get rural villages and towns connected to larger rural villages and towns and the main transport networks.”

Developing rural transport is essential, both for economic and environmental considerations: “This is an area of considerable growth in the last 20 years. That’s a lot to do with the focus the NTA has put on the connectivity of public transport,” John Nott, head of Transport Services Planning at National Transport Authority, said.

Last week’s announcement was part of the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, a five-year programme: “This is the fourth year of the plan and we’re here today launching a new route. That’s another step on that journey.

“We’ve seen a transformation in rural public transport over the course of that plan. We’ve seen about an eight-fold increase in passengers in the last four years,” John told the Examiner.

Mr Nott said expansion is passenger led: “We’ve had a massive response from our passengers, in terms of what they’re telling us about the usefulness of the service. Whether that’s going to school, college, work, or even social trips. Local Link gives people a lifeline to get out into the community.”

He says customers appreciate the professionalism of the service: “It’s modern, it’s clean, it has a low floor, making it fully accessible. That’s all part of it, but the critical piece, I think, is the network effect.

“This is just one piece of the jigsaw. We have a good network in Westmeath, and we’re continuing to grow by linking towns, villages and onwards to cities with coordinated public transport.”

Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Robert Troy, said Local Link has been a “significant benefit for the people of rural Ireland” and the latest route will continue in that vein.

“We can see the demand for the routes that have been in operation, most recently Castlepollard and Collinstown to Mullingar, and before that the Mullingar to Athlone route,” Minister Troy said.

“The connection it has been for the villages and townlands in between is vital. There has been a huge demand for the service. That just goes to show the importance of the service for rural Ireland.”

He said there’s an increasing hunger for rural transport: “When new services are announced other areas are putting their hands up and saying ‘we want to be part of the connecting rural Ireland programme’. I suppose that was the catalyst for this.

“Damien and John met with the community here, saw the demand in this area, and accelerated the delivery. This is really positive for Multyfarnham, Ballynacargy, Ballinalack and across the border into Longford, for Legan, Carraickboy, Ardagh, Ballycloughan, and back into Longford.”

Minister Troy believes more routes will be opened: “We’ll be back to them again for other areas, because we want to see this rolled out across the county. I take this opportunity to say to the wider public, ‘use the service’. You know, people are often saying we don’t have any services in rural Ireland. This is a good service for rural Ireland.”

Providing more passengers with more options in a reliable and cost-efficient way is the Local Link goal: “We’ve put on this service. We have to see the feedback from the passengers, how many passengers use it. There’s always potential for further development,” Damien O’Neill said.

The rewards for the operator go beyond the fare: “You see that you’ve helped people get to where they need to go in a cost effective manner. We are moving back to a place we were years ago, when buses were more popular.

“We’re now looking at climate change, with our carbon footprints. We’ve all this in the back of our heads and this all helps,” Damien concluded.