Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 11 March 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications

Expressway Services: Bus Eireann and NTA

9:30 am

Photo of John O'MahonyJohn O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank both witnesses for presenting a clear picture of the role of the NTA and Expressway as a commercial service. When the changes to routes 5 and 7 were announced, there appeared to be panic locally. Public meetings were arranged and the NTA was called in to prepare a plan. Is there not a better way of managing these matters? What kind of consultation takes place between Bus Éireann and the NTA where changes to Expressway services are being considered?

Smaller towns and villages must be accommodated and cannot be left isolated. Automatically, if changes are to be made, an accommodation must be made in respect of services to some of these smaller towns and villages. When these changes are being made, why is there no consultation or knocking of heads together in advance to put an overall package to the people living in the affected areas? When they were talking about routes 5 and 7, the delegates put a question mark over the Athlone to Westport service. Is this a case of use it or lose it? What is the threat to the service?

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