Councillor seeks expansion of Local Link bus service to several Mayo villages

A councillor has called for the expansion of an existing Local Link service to include an area of south Mayo where there is a “void” of public transport options, writes Paul O'Malley.

Independent Cllr Patsy O’Brien called on Mayo County Council to forward an application to the Department of Transport to include a Local Link route to serve communities in Shrule, Kilmaine and Roundfort.

Cllr O'Brien told last week's meeting of Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District that a route serving these areas in south Mayo could interconnect with the existing 431 route from Carraroe in southwest Galway to Claremorris, which includes stops in Hollymount, Ballinrobe, The Neale and Cong.

“There would be renewed interest to then open up a bus route to Galway City where people could go for the day and get their shopping done,” the Robeen-based councillor said. “I welcome all the Local Link services but there is a void in this area.”

Cllr O’Brien suggested inviting Sarah Togher, who is the manager of Local Link Mayo, to a future meeting of municipal district councillors to discuss route selections.

Cllr Michael Burke voiced support for the proposal to extend the Local Link route but said he found it unlikely the change will occur as Local Link wants to minimise the number of stops it makes during a journey.

Cllr Richard Finn said he understood that Transport for Ireland (TFI), which funds and operates the Local Link service, does not wish to compete with existing routes that are provided by other transport companies such as Bus Éireann and GoBus.