New Kilkenny bus service to link 41 parts of the city

By COLIN BARTLEY

FORTY-one locations in Kilkenny will be serviced by the new city bus service and buses will run every half-hour.

The new bus service will be ready for November after Kilkenny  County Council confirmed it has chosen the preferred operator – Galway-based City Direct – to run the service.

Kilkenny Councillor Andrew McGuinness welcomed the announcement today.

“I’m delighted to see the service come into effect, it’s been a long time coming and there have been a few delays,” Cllr McGuinness told KilkennyNow.ie.

“To coincide with the announcement that City Direct has won the contract to provide the service, Kilkenny Council has been installing the bus stops throughout the city for the two bus routes.

“Over the next two weeks, we will see an advertising and marketing campaign telling us about the routes, where the stops will be and the timetable.”

The service will have 41 stops on two routes, the red and green route. The two routes will run East to West (Green Route) and North to South (Red Route) and will connect St Luke’s Hospital and the Freshford Road to the Dublin Road, and the Castlecomer Road to the Bohernatounish Road (business park).

Both routes will cross in the city centre and continue out to the Ring road.

“People in the city, particularly the elderly, are crying out for a service like this,” Cllr McGuinness added. “It will be particularly beneficial for the local economy, as it brings a flow of people in and out of the city centre.”

The Fianna Fáil councillor said parts of the city will not be serviced by the two routes, but if the bus service proves popular, the council will in the future look to expand the service.

“There are a number of areas that would want a bus stop in the city not included in the service yet, but this is a brand new service. It’s the first time Kilkenny will have such an extensive bus service,” Cllr McGuinness (pictured below) added.

“People are going to have to use it in order to make it work and as it works our intention would be to expand it.”