Candidate criticises NTA decision over Aircoach services
A local election candidate has reacted angrily to a report by the National Transport Authority (NTA) into the decision by Aircoach to end its 706 and 706X services between Galway and Dublin.
The NTA report ruled that there was no public service obligation on the State to put a replacement bus service into effect.
Sam Brooks, a Sinn Féin candidate in South Roscommon, who criticised the withdrawal of services on the Galway-Dublin Airport route, said: “This decision is disastrous for everyone, younger and older people relied on this route to get to college, to the airport, or to visit family. When Bus Eireann's original route 20 was cancelled I spoke in Leinster House about how the Midlands and West were being let down when it came to public transport, at the time I also criticised letting an unreliable private company take over such a vital route and now look where we are.
The report stated that "The services that will remain in operation along the Galway to Dublin corridor via Ballinasloe, Athlone, and Maynooth, meet the minimum service standard outlined in Connecting Ireland and no immediate action is required to address the withdrawal of route 706.”
He said the Citylink service did not serve Maynooth and he had received many messages from worried students who relied on the Aircoach service for this very reason.
"There needs to be an obligation placed on the government to ensure there is a service in place so that students from Athlone, Ballinasloe, and the wider South Roscommon area can make it to college, it is disgraceful that this is not recognised.
"I have also been talking to many older people on the doors who loved the convenience of hopping on the bus to the airport or up to visit family, this is now made more complicated by a massive reduction in the amount of services they can take to get to these destinations. We are constantly told by the government to use public transport but how are we supposed to do that when we are constantly being let down by a reduction in services and an increase in ticket price?"
"The decision to cancel these services is a slap in the face and nothing short of a disgrace. It is time that national bodies up in Dublin stop letting the good people of the West and the Midlands down. We need to be increasing the frequency of services and the number of routes servicing our communities.”