Bus Éireann to reinstate service to Limerick estate after outcry

At the start of this year, the semi-state provider increased its frequency on the 303 line – connecting Moyross and Southill via the city centre – to every 15 minutes.

While it also announced plans to extend the route to the Old Cork Road and the Georgian Village, there was anger after it emerged that Carew Park was no longer being served.

However, following a campaign by metropolitan district leader Sarah Kiely and her Fine Gael colleague Kieran O’Donnell, who chairs the Oireachtas transport committee, the bus company has confirmed it will once more serve the vast estate.

In a letter, its chief executive Stephen Kent said having “reviewed all feedback” and following talks with the National Transport Authority, buses will once again call around Carew Park.

“It is proposed that services operating outbound from the city centre to the new terminus at Georgian Village will be re-routed via Carew Park serving all stops in the estate. Inbound services to the city centre will depart from the Georgian Village via O'Malley Park and serve Carew Park via the stops in Rathbane Terrace,” he confirmed.

There will also be new bus stops at the top of Roches Street in-bound to the city, and close to the junction of Upper Gerald Griffin Street and Sexton Street. New bus stops will be built close to the junction of Childers Road and the connecting road to the N20 to provide a direct link for shoppers to the Roxboro Shopping Centre.

And following concerns at access for students to city centre schools, a small number of trips will operate a revised route to serve Sexton Street directly, the chief executive added.

There is no timeframe on the changes, but they are expected happen soon, said Cllr Kiely, who received the confirmation this morning.

She added: “This is what makes this job worthwhile. This kind of positivity will help the community. We need to get serious about transport in Limerick city. We need to make sure communities are connected, that children and young people are connected to education. If we don’t do this, we are at nothing. We can come up with all the transport strategies we like, but if we don’t address the basic needs of the community, we might as well give in.”

“I met a lady in Tesco yesterday who told me she hadn’t gone into the city centre since the bus was taken away from Carew Park. She could not afford a taxi, she doesn’t feel safe in a taxi. This is vital for our city centre as well,” added the Limerick City East councillor.

A number of other people had campaigned for the restoration of the link to Carew Park, including the new chief executive of the LEDP Niall O’Callaghan.