Swinford – Galway bus route not fit for purpose

MAYO Fianna Fáil TD Lisa Chambers has called on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to address the serious issues surrounding the Bus Éireann Galway routes that service Swinford, Kiltimagh and Claremorris.

Deputy Chambers has had several constituents contact her office regarding their experience of the service. “What has been relayed to me is not only shocking but it describes the service as not fit for purpose,” she said.

“Concerns have been relayed to me that the bus travelling from Galway, which has to meet a connecting bus in Claremorris to service the Swinford and Kiltimagh areas, is often late and the connecting bus in Claremorris does not wait for the Galway bus to arrive. These are issues that I predicted would occur when these changes were made.

“Another issue with the service is that often the bus from Galway that arrives in Claremorris is already full to capacity and cannot service the people who are waiting in Claremorris to travel on to the Swinford, Kiltimagh areas. Clearly, this is totally unacceptable and it cannot be a Russian roulette situation whether people can get a seat on the bus or not. This effectively is no service at all.”

She continued: “These issues leave people, most of whom are elderly, stranded on the side of the road with little or no option but to rely on taxis to make their journey. Many of these people are trying to get to hospital appointments in Galway and they need a reliable and timely service.

“Earlier in the year, Bus Éireann along with Transport Authority Ireland announced major changes to the routes that service these areas with literally a few days’ notice to passengers. Despite concerns being raised by myself and many people in the wider Co. Mayo area, people who actually use the service, the changes were made nonetheless. Now with the benefit of time we have seen the impact of these changes and they are clearly not working.

“This situation is completely unacceptable and shows that the current service in place is not fit for purpose.

“I have written to the minister asking him to investigate the matter and revert back with the plans he intends to take in order to make sure this service is fit for purpose because clearly it is not.”