Mairéad Farrell
Question:10. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Transport his plans on improving bus connectivity in Galway city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29223/23]
View answerThursday, 22 June 2023
Questions (10)
Oral answers (7 contributions)
I ask the Minister to comment in regard to bus connectivity in Galway city and the plans in that regard.
The National Transport Authority is overseeing the delivery of the BusConnects programme in our five major cities, including Galway, which will be substantially delivered in all five cities by 2030. BusConnects Galway will be a major enhancement to the bus system in Galway, comprising changes to the network, the fleet, ticketing, bus shelters and poles, and the development of bus lanes and other bus priority measures. The largest part of the programme is the development of bus priority measures and bus lanes throughout the city. Key elements of that programme are currently under development, namely, the cross-city link project and the Dublin Road scheme. The Salmon Weir pedestrian and cycling bridge was also officially opened to the public last month.
Bus services are also being improved and members of the public have been asked for their input on how they want the Galway bus network to look and operate in the future. The NTA published its draft bus network for Galway in April 2023. A public consultation on the draft new network ran for six weeks and closed on 2 June. The redesign will be finalised in the coming months and the new network will be rolled out from 2025. Under the proposals within the Galway bus network redesign report, the level of bus services in Galway city, Bearna and Oranmore should increase by nearly 50%. The added service levels will make possible the extension of bus services to new areas, frequent services on a greater number of routes, an enhanced weekend timetable and a new 24-hour route. The proposals should also result in approximately 67% of residents in the city and its suburbs living within a 400 m walk of a bus stop compared to 62% today. BusConnects Galway will represent a step change in the provision of bus services in the city.
I am aware that a lot of welcome changes are being proposed for buses in Galway in terms of greater availability and improved times, all of which is very positive. One of the things I had been calling for over a long time was a night bus, so I think the 24-hour route is a very important and positive step forward.
I live in Mervue, which has always had a bus stop. There is a huge issue of concern for the people of Mervue at this point because there is a proposal to get rid of that bus stop. It is part of this concept that buses should go through quickly but this bus stop is being used by the elderly community in Mervue, day in, day out, and if people go to Mervue, they will always see it being used. That is an element of concern for me simply because we want more people to use the service. This is something that is already being used so let us not take it away.
In support of my good colleague, who lives locally there, the demographic has to be taken into account when taking away bus stops. In other words, if there is a very old demographic, it is not the same as a much younger demographic. That is the first issue. The second issue is that, as I understand it, a housing estate was refused because there was no bus service. An Bord Pleanála should never refuse on that basis. The arrangement should be that, automatically, when new developments take place, this is dynamic and the bus services are then provided. Otherwise, we are totally undermining Rebuilding Ireland by a lack of flexibility in our system.
I thank both Deputies for their remarks. Like Deputy Farrell, I welcome the fact there has been progress on a night bus for the city. As the Deputies know, the public consultation closed on 2 June and the redesign will be finalised in the coming months.
I will reflect the Deputy's feedback and that of Deputy Ó Cuív on Mervue and the bus stop there. The intention of a network redesign is not to take away transport connectivity from people who have it at present. We will reflect what has been said to the National Transport Authority.
I note Deputy Ó Cuív's comments relating to the board. Obviously, it is separate and independent in its decision-making but it is important, where we have investment and capacity increases coming in areas, that consideration is not being made of the historic position and the future position in terms of transport capacity. A lot of work has been done on transport-oriented development. For instance, we are developing new rail stations or new strategic transport capacity in order that in parallel, we can have local development around that. That is prudent planning.
I welcome the Minister of State's comments. Demographics need to be central to planning because planning without looking at the situation on the ground is not good planning. There is an elderly demographic and there is a pharmacy and butcher shop beside the bus stop, which also allows elderly people from neighbouring estates to come in to pick up a prescription or whatever. It is really important to the community. I cannot over-emphasise that.
An Teachta Ó Cuív made a very good point about ensuring service to estates. There was a case in Galway city where an estate was refused because there was no bus connectivity. I understand this plan does not contain bus connectivity to where that estate was due to be built either. We must ensure that we have that connectivity and take local demographics into account.
I thank the Deputy for her remarks. We will reflect the feedback from today to the NTA. Other iterations of consultations related to BusConnects in Dublin were responsive. If one looks at the original plan compared with today there have been a lot of changes through proper public engagement and engagement with local representatives. We will reflect the points made. I am sure there have been a lot of submissions made in Mervue and other places relating to the specific network redesign. It is not set in stone. There have been consultations in order that they can finalise the overall network design in coming months. It will be published with a view to implementation in 2025.