Carrigaline to Ballincollig route gets 60% boost

THE 220 Carrigaline to Ballincollig bus route has experienced over 60% passenger growth since it began running a 24-hour service in January.

A spokesperson for Bus Éireann confirmed the increase this week, following the introduction of the enhanced route three months ago.

In January, the 220 service was upgraded significantly with buses operating every 15 minutes at peak periods and continuing throughout the night to provide a 24-hour service. The overhaul followed a long campaign for improvements to bus services in the city. A further 20 double-deck buses are to be deployed in Cork during the second half of 2019, but which routes they will serve has not yet been decided.

A Bus Éireann spokesperson said the next step with regards to Cork was to review other routes in the Carrigaline area as well as in Douglas, including the vehicles being used on the routes.

In the coming months, it is expected the National Transport Authority (NTA), which has overall responsibility for bus routes, is set to publish the Cork Area Metropolitan Strategy. It is expected to confirm a Bus Connects plan for Cork that will radically enhance service in Cork with new bus lanes, priority zones and services for Cork.

Separately the NTA said Bus Éireann city services, including in Cork, saw major growth in passenger numbers in 2018.

The company provided 35.1m passenger journeys in 2018 compared to 31.1m in 2017 and 32.1m in 2016.

Numbers on Bus Éireann’s city services in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford did particularly well, increasing by 13.2% overall.

Nineteen million more passengers used public transport in 2018 and 269 million passenger journeys were provided across Ireland.