Frustration at delays in bringing in late night bus service to Connemara

Frustrations have been expressed at delays to bringing in more late night services on the Route 424 bus line serving Connemara.

Currently the last bus from Galway city out to Connemara on Route 424 leaves at 6pm, which can be a problem for those who work in the city but live out west.

Route 424 from Galway city to Carraroe also serves Barna, Spiddal, Inverin, Rossaveal, and Costello, with one service at 5pm going further to Lettermullen and Carna.

Back in June the National Transport Authority confirmed that it would be adding a late bus service up until 11pm, with more frequent buses during the day.

These new services were supposed to come online by September, but Galway West TD Eamon Ó Cuív says that people are still waiting

Deputy Ó Cuív said that he couldn’t understand why this was taking so long to implement.

“I find it difficult to understand why there would be any significant delay in making a simple decision in relation to providing better bus services on a route that is totally under served.”

The Fianna Fáil TD said that adding more evening services would make commuting much easier for students and people who work in the city.

It would also make it more viable for people to live out in Connemara, taking pressure off of the housing market in Galway city.

The NTA sent a letter to Deputy Ó Cuív with revised timetable, saying that the new services could be expected by January 2019.

“The NTA in conjunction with Bus Éireann is seeking to make improvements to services on Route 424 serving Spiddal, Carraroe, Lettermullen and Carna. Those improvements will include the provision of additional evening services as well as an improved all day frequency. The proposed revised timetable of services is at draft concept stage and will be fully developed over the next number of weeks. At this stage we anticipate that the revised services could be implemented in early January 2019.”

Details about the new timetable should be made available to the public by Christmas according to Deputy Ó Cuív, so that people can plan for their Spring commutes.