Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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44. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the policy initiatives he is considering to ensure better public transport services in rural areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15098/19]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.

The Deputy will be aware that in recognition of the value and benefit of rural transport to many communities, the Programme for a Partnership Government undertakes to examine how best to improve integration of services in the rural bus network within regions. This matter is being examined and developed by my Department in the context of the wider work on which it has embarked around a review of public transport policy, which is another commitment in the Programme for Government. 

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally. It also has national responsibility for integrated local and rural transport, including management of the Rural Transport Programme which now operates under the Local Link brand.

The Action Plan for Rural Development, “Realising our Rural Potential”, contains a number of commitments in relation to public transport initiatives in rural areas, ie Actions 252-255 and 257. The Department of Rural and Community Development, which has responsibility for “Realising our Rural Potential”, publishes Progress Reports on all Actions in the Plan, including initiatives relating to public transport in rural areas.

I am committed to the further development of public transport services in rural areas and that is why funding has been increased over the past number of years, for both PSO and Local Link services in rural areas. The NTA is continually working with Bus Éireann to provide improvements on its contracted services, including improvements to many non-urnban services made last year with more changes planned for this year. The increased funding has also enabled the introduction of 66 new commuter services into the Local Link network, operating five, six or seven days per week, as well as demand-responsive services. Key features of these new services include greater integration with existing public transport services and better linkage of services between and within towns and villages.

As the Deputy will be aware, I tasked the NTA to examine the potential to extend existing Local Link services into the evening. Subsequently, the NTA approved funding for 65 new pilot evening and late night Local Link services, operating across all 26 counties, to run on a pilot basis for 6 months to end December last. Following a review of the services by the NTA, the pilot was extended until end quarter 1 2019, to allow the NTA to conduct a further review of the performance of the services.