Vol. 575 No. 1
80 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Transport when he intends to bring forward proposals for the future development of the rural transport initiative; the funding which will be available for the rural transport initiative in 2004; and the reports he has received on the record of the 34 services that have been provided to date. [27805/03]
The rural transport initiative was originally due to conclude at the end of this year. However, I am happy to be able to announce that I have secured sufficient funding of €3 million in the recently published Estimates for the initiative to continue until the end of 2004. This funding will provide more time to generate further practical experience in the provision of rural transport services by the 34 community pilot transport projects being funded under the initiative.
I receive regular updates on the rural transport initiative from Area Development Management Limited who are managing the initiative on behalf of my Department.
I can tell the Deputy that over 2000 transport services are currently being operated on some 300 new rural routes which have been established under the initiative. Many of these are door-to-door services and are designed to fit in with existing scheduled services. The rural transport initiative services are now carrying in excess of 16,000 people each month and these numbers are rising as new transport services are rolled out and as existing services are developed to their full capacity. I am delighted to note that the community transport groups concerned are working closely with existing local transport providers in the provision of the new services.
