Ms Anne Graham:

I thank the committee for its invitation. I understand it wishes to focus on the topic of Local Link services. To assist me in dealing with its subsequent questions, I am joined by Mr. Tim Gaston, director of public transport services, and Ms Bláthín McElligott, rural transport manager with the authority.

Before dealing with the specific areas of focus, I wish to provide an overview of developments in the TFI Local Link rural transport programme. The objective of the rural transport programme is to provide a good-quality, nationwide, community-based public transport system in rural Ireland that responds to local needs. TFI Local Link bus services connect communities throughout rural Ireland as part of the Transport for Ireland, TFI, network. TFI Local Link operates two types of services: regular rural services, RRS, which operate on fixed routes between towns and villages and run on scheduled timetables, and demand-responsive transport, DRT, services, which operate along the same routes with the option to divert to collect and drop off passengers at their homes, with frequencies ranging from once per week to daily. These services are managed and administrated by 15 transport co-ordination units, TCUs, or Local Link offices nationwide.

In early 2022 as the pandemic-related travel restrictions eased, passenger numbers on TFI Local Link RRS routes returned almost immediately to pre-pandemic levels. The roll-out of the Connecting Ireland plan, along with other factors I will list, saw passenger numbers continue to increase at an unprecedented level, a level that still continues into 2023. During 2022, TFI Local Link services carried a total of 2.8 million passengers, consisting of 1.8 million passengers on RRS routes and 1 million on DRT services. The factors for the growth in public transport include Connecting Ireland, which is developing new and enhanced routes for the TFI Local Link network; a reduction in the cost of fares by 20% as a cost-of-living measure, with the young adult card seeing a further 50% reduction in fares as well as cheaper TFI Leap and TFI Go fares; and ticket technologies, with TFI Local Link recently expanding its fare payment options to allow passengers on RRS services to pay for travel with their TFI Leap cards or on the TFI Go app, offering passengers a more convenient way to pay and savings of up to 30% on cash fares.

The Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan is an initiative by the National Transport Authority, NTA, to improve connectivity and mobility in rural areas through the development of new and enhanced public transport services. The plan is to provide a minimum level of services per day, seven days per week. In many cases, we are providing services with higher than the minimum frequency based on demand, population and the services that are provided in the towns being served. These services are planned to integrate with regional bus and rail services.

In phase 1, which was delivered in 2022, 38 new and enhanced bus services were introduced as part of Connecting Ireland. More than 110,000 weekly vehicle kilometres were added to the public transport network, with 13 brand new services, 16 frequency enhancements and nine route extensions. More than 50 settlements have improved connectivity due to the expansion of our public transport network. These have been implemented on our behalf by Bus Éireann and our Local Link offices. Connecting Ireland services continue to see an increase in patronage - up 112% at the end of 2022 compared with the beginning of 2019. Where Connecting Ireland services have been implemented, patronage increased by 128% between the beginning of 2022 and the year's end. The Connecting Ireland phase 1 report is available on the NTA's website.

We are now working actively with our delivery partners to deliver phase 2 of the plan this year, with 67 new routes planned for implementation across Ireland. The authority is also seeking to pilot the delivery of a small number of app-based demand-responsive bus services.

Regarding the co-ordination of services, in exercising its functions, the authority seeks to achieve the provision of an integrated public transport system of services and networks for all users. Wherever appropriate, we seek to integrate and co-ordinate services to provide for seamless travel options where change of bus and-or mode is required. This includes the operation of rural transport services, which can facilitate connecting to mainline interurban services irrespective of the provider of those services. In fact, the NTA is the only body that can bring modes and operators together in an integrated service pattern that provides the best service for rural communities.

Regarding rural taxis, the NTA recognises that public bus transport cannot meet the travel demands of many people in rural Ireland, either because it is not available at all or it is not available at the time needed. Taxis and hackneys play an important role in meeting the travel demand when public transport is not available. However, it is recognised there are many gaps in the provision of taxis and hackneys in many rural communities. The report of the Taxi Regulation Review, published by the Government in January 2012, recommended the introduction of a local area hackney licence to address transport deficits that would not otherwise be addressed in certain rural areas. Regulations permitting the issuing of such licences were introduced with effect from December 2013 to enable a part-time hackney service to be provided in, generally, rural areas that were likely to be too small to support a full-time taxi or hackney operation and that were too far from adjacent centres to be serviced by taxis or hackneys from those centres. However, there is a very low uptake of local area hackneys, primarily due to the cost of insurance.

In response to this, the NTA has undertaken to simplify the administration involved in the local area hackney application process, to pilot a small number of local area hackney services that will receive grant aid in areas that have no hackney or taxi service operating currently, and to pilot a small number of community transport services that will receive grant aid in areas that have no hackney or taxi service operating currently. The pilot local area hackney scheme, which was launched at the start of 2023, will enable the NTA to test this operational model. It will better allow us to estimate the cost of delivering this type of grant aid. The pilot scheme has to be carefully managed so that it does not undermine existing licensed taxi and hackney operators in rural areas. A small number of applications for grant aid have completed the process and are now moving through the licensing process.

The work the NTA is doing in expanding rural public transport services and local area hackney and community transport services will go a long way in meeting the travel demand in isolated rural communities.

This concludes my introductory presentation. I trust that we can answer any queries that arise.