NTA unveil draft new bus network for Limerick which will see services increase by seventy percent

THE NATIONAL Transport Authority (NTA) held an unveiling of its draft new bus network for Limerick which involves a 70% increase in bus services around the city.

Enhanced frequency of services, including the weekend and the first 24-hour bus service for Limerick city will also be introduced.

Also announced at the unveiling, Limerick is set to become the first regional city in Ireland to operate a fully electric fleet of double-decker buses which will be introduced this year.

Under the draft plan, 61% of people in Limerick city would be located within a 400-metre walk of a bus stop, up from 53%.

The redesign of the bus network is one of the nine key elements of BusConnects Limerick that aims to transform the city’s bus system, making public transport more useful to more people.

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CEO of the NTA Anne Graham was at the unveiling of the draft.

“As the third largest city in the state, Limerick is the economic engine of the Mid-West and has an exciting future ahead. Public transport can play a pivotal role in transforming the city.

“Through BusConnects Limerick, we want to make it easier for people to get around by reducing congestion, and to make this place more attractive for people who live here, work here, or who want to visit here.

Ms Graham mentioned that increased security and policing on the new 24-hour bus route is an option the NTA can look at if needed.

“Where we have seen 24-hour bus services in operation, at times there may be some anti-social behaviour associated with that and we would work closely with the operator for them to plan whether there is any additional security or whether there is any need for an enhanced relationship with An Garda Síochána for those services.

“What we’ve seen is where those services have been delivered, they are very popular, people use them and they are very happy to use them, so they feel safe on public transport even at night time…” Ms Graham added

The new 24-hour bus service would operate between the University Hospital Limerick, the city centre and the University of Limerick. Four proposed routes would operate every 15 minutes or better until 8pm, seven days a week.

The added service levels will be enabled by the extension of bus services to new areas, more routes with frequent services, an enhanced Sunday timetable and a new 24-hour route.

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All routes in the draft new bus network would serve the city centre with the main point of interchange located at O’Connell Street, William Street and Roches Street. This will facilitate cross-city commuting.

Consultation on the draft new network launched today will run for 6 weeks.

Public information events will take place from 12pm – 7pm from Tuesday, 7 to Thursday, 9 of March (inclusive) while an online consultation process will allow members of the public to provide their feedback on the proposals.

The redesign will be finalised in the coming months and the new network will be rolled out from 2025.