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Tag Archives: Local Link

New bus routes to boost tourism in East Clare

FÁILTE Ireland is set to support an approved Local Link bus service for East Clare, boosting public transport facilities for visitors and residents alike. News of the development was secured by Deputy Cathal Crowe who said additional routes will be added as part of the Shannon Tourism Masterplan, which was unveiled last week. The Fianna Fáil TD said that the planned investment will play a major role in rejuvenating the entire east of the county. “There is huge untapped potential in terms of Lough Derg and East Clare’s tourism product,” said Deputy Crowe. “For many decades, the entire focus has been on developing the Cliffs of Moher and West Clare’s tourism offering and while this has been great, it has led to an imbalance of tourism development within our county and there has been a neglect of the Lough Derg-Lower Shannon area for too long.” Deputy Crowe also noted the importance of the new routes in the context of the …

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New bus service to give added connectivity to West Clare residents

TFI Local Link Limerick Clare has today announced the expansion of its services in Clare, including the first rural regular services that will run five to seven days a week. Launching on Monday, March 1, the new Local Link route 337 will showcase the Shannon Estuary Way and will serve Labasheeda, Kildysart, Ballynacally, Kilmurry McMahon, Knock, Killimer, the ferry terminal, and world famous fishing sites three times a day from Monday to Saturday with a reduced timetable on Sundays. Local Link will provide access to these areas for staycations and tourists as well as facilitating local resident’s transportation needs, providing connectivity between Kilrush and Ennis. The need for the expansion of Local Link services was voiced by the local communities, community groups, Clare County Council and Elected Representatives during a period of public consultation in February 2020. Working with the NTA’s Connecting Ireland Team, Local Link Limerick Clare focused on merging the Bus Éireann rural services in Clare that were …

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Clare Bus Hope Covid Restrictions Won’t Impact on Tender Plans

LIMITS on the number of passengers who can safely use public transport could have implications for the ability of Clare Bus to tender for nine local transport routes. Earlier this month, the National Transport Authority (NTA) sought Expressions of Interest for the routes, which had been operated by Clare Bus until the end of March. Due to a funding dispute, the Feakle-based accessible transport service lost a total of 12 routes and is hopeful of being able to tender again for nine of them. The chairperson of Clare Accessible Transport (CAT), which trades as Clare Bus, told The Champion the board would have to examine the tender documents in detail before making an application. “We have expressed our interest and the next step is that the NTA will issue nine individual tender calls,” he said. “We expect to receive those this week, but until we look at them, we don’t know exactly what will be required. Once the management team …

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Plea for mediator in Clare Bus dispute with NTA

THE operators of Clare Bus are making a last-ditch effort to keep the company alive and have called on the National Transport Authority (NTA) to enter into mediation with a view to restoring its routes. At the end of March, following a dispute over funding, the NTA unveiled two new operators on 12 county-wide Local Link routes. Since then, Clare Bus has parked up its fleet and is using the government’s pandemic wage subsidy scheme to pay staff. Chairperson Ger Hoey described Clare Bus as being “cocooned” at the moment, but on stand-by to assist the East Clare Covid-19 Community Response. In a four-page letter to the NTA, seen by The Clare Champion, the board of Clare Accessible Transport (CAT) has asked NTA CEO Anne Graham for more time to sort out the financing row and has proposed that at mediator be appointed. The letter raises issues about financial arrears, the contractual framework and the accessibility of buses currently service …

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