Sean Abeyta from GLAS Civil Engineering with Cllr Mary Howard and Senior Engineer Ennis Municipal District Hugh McGrath at the site of one of the new bus stops. Photograph: Eamon Ward.
ENNIS’ long-awaited town-bus service is to launch in September.
National Transport Authority management confirmed at Wednesday’s meeting of the Oireachtas Transport Committee that the town bus service which was first raised at local government level in 2004 is set to move into gear this September.
Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF) sought clarity on the timelines for the roll-out of the service at the meeting.
Jeremy Ryan, Director of Public Transport Services at the National Transport Authority confirmed that a contractor has been appointed, that the project is on-track and it is due to launch in September. The service will run seven days a week for eighteen hours daily. The NTA have said that seven out of ten Ennis residents will be situated within 400m of a bus stop with nine out of ten residents being within 800m of a bus stop.
There will be two routes, one from the Tulla Road to Shanaway Road, and a second from Ballymaley to Clarecastle, both services be via a town centre terminus at Friar’s Walk, with scope for the development of an additional route from Doora Industrial Estate to and from the town centre.
Clare County Council had intended to have the service operational for the beginning of 2025 but this was pushed back to the summer of 2026 and in April of this year, the local authority confirmed the start date would be the autumn at the earliest.
Deputy Crowe stated, “Ennis is one of Ireland’s largest towns and very much deserves this service. We have seen how well a dedicated bus service has served towns like Athlone and Sligo and now Ennis will benefit in similar ways. The service will be transformational and allow people who live in the outskirt parts of Ennis to leave their car at home and take the bus to work or school. This will have the dual benefit of saving money for many households and also reducing congestion on the streets of Ennis”.
Meelick native Crowe added, “I live quite close to a stop of the 301 bus service that operates between South-East Clare and Limerick City. It’s wonderful and has given thousands of people the chance to change how they commute. I have also seen first-hand how people who have free travel passes, particularly older and disabled people, have used this service so effectively”.
Residents of Ennis must utilise the service to keep it, Deputy Crowe stressed. “When Ennis town gets its own dedicated bus service this autumn it’s imperative that residents seize the opportunity that it presents as the more the service is used, the more likely it is that its routing and hours or operation will be extended in the future”.
