Public transport services by both bus and rail will be scaled back starting from next week as demand plummets amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The government announced today that public transport will be reduced to about 80% capacity with new schedules starting to come into place from Monday.
Irish Rail’s new timetable will come into effect next Monday, March 30, followed by Bus Eireann, which is introducing a revised timetable from next Wednesday, April 1.
The changes were confirmed this morning at a press briefing from the Department of the Taoiseach, where Deputy Assistant Secretary General at the department Elizabeth Canavan said that changes are needed in response to demand, and social distancing requirements.
Local Link has also announced that is is suspending its regular evening door to door bus services effectively immediately.
Instead the public transport provider is shifting its resources to provide collection and delivery services from local shops to people in rural areas.
Yesterday saw the Dáil pass an omnibus bill of emergency legislation, building on what was passed last week to give the government powers to deal with the Covid-19 crisis.
It also contained more measures to economically support businesses and employees during this time.
The number of confirmed deaths due to the coronavirus in the Republic of Ireland more than doubled as of yesterday, now standing at 19 lives lost.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the state also climbed to 1,819 with the addition of 255 new cases yesterday.
