Ms Anne Graham:

Senator Garvey asked about the frequency of buses and nighttime services, in particular. Prior to the pandemic we conducted a pilot programme to examine where we could extend some of our services into the evening. Some pilots were very successful but some were not and we continued with the successful ones. Where we are designing new services through Connecting Ireland we will look to see if demand exists to put the frequency in from the beginning. The other important part of Connecting Ireland is getting a network of services and structure in place. Then, if we find there is a further demand for services at a greater frequency, including into the evening, early evening or into the nighttime, then we can seek to extend the service if we have the funding available to do that. A number of Local Link services already operate into the early evening and if there is demand for that then we will give the matter consideration

In terms of bringing bikes on buses, our priority is to ensure that services are accessible and accessible for wheelchair users because they have not been for very many years. I mean accessible to the extent that there is a low floor and the service does not require 24-hour bookings. The trade-off is that bikes can be carried in the storage area under a high-floor vehicle. We think wheelchair users should be prioritised, however, and a folding bike could be brought on buses.

We try to integrate Local Link services with rail services as much as we can. If there is a particular location where there is a lack of integration, as mentioned by the Senator, then we will examine the matter. Irish Rail is involved. As Irish Rail is a key part of our transport network it is important that we ensure that bus and rail services are integrated.