No end in sight for Galway City bus service crux

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – The suspension of bus routes that serve up to 30,000 people on the western side of the city looks set to continue, with National Transport Authority (NTA) licences ‘pulled’ while discussions around financing are ongoing.

City Direct, the private operator which runs bus services on four routes to the city centre from Barna, Cappagh Road, the Western Distributor Road and Westside, is engaged in discussions with the NTA about keeping the routes financially viable while adhering to Covid-19-related restrictions.

General Manager of City Direct, Gerard Bartley, told the Galway City Tribune that everything remained “up in the air” while those negotiations were in progress, and while it had been their hope to recommence services by the end of July, this had not happened.

He said their objective now was to ensure they were operational before schools return in September, but nothing is certain.

“The only services we’re operating at the moment is the Park and Ride between UHG and Merlin Park hospitals because that’s a private contract with the HSE,” said Mr Bartley.

The four routes operated by City Direct do not fall under the Public Service Obligation (PSO) – which would be subvented by the State in recognition of their necessity – and so they need to be profitable in order to keep them going, continued Mr Bartley.

“Everything is just uncertain – we’re uncertain as to when we can come back and uncertain about what sort of service we can operate when we do come back.

“It’s very frustrating for our staff too – we’ve had to lay off over 20 people and obviously they’re anxious to get back,” he explained.

Meanwhile, privately-operated intercity buses have also been out of action since the outbreak of Covid-19.

Jim Burke of GoBus told the Galway City Tribune that they were working with the Department of Transport and the NTA to find a solution, but due to the decrease in capacity as a result of social distancing and up to 50% of GoBus routes serving Dublin Airport, it was a particularly difficult task to get back in operation.
This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read it in full, see this week’s Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.