New bus service for Portlaoise town begins on Sunday morning

THE first bus on the long-awaited dedicated bus service for Portlaoise town will begin at 4.50am this coming Sunday 23 February.

The Transport Planner at the National Transport Authority (NTA) Mairead Cantwell and its Head of Transport Services Planning John Nott spoke at the launch of the service when they attended this morning’s meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District Council.

The council’s director of services Simon Walton described the launch of the bus service as a “milestone for Portlaoise.” 

He said: “This represents a significant step forward for Portlaoise. It also acknowledges the growth of Portlaoise over the past 20-years. In 2002 the population of the town was 12,000. In the 2022 census it was 24,000 people and growing since then. It’s wholly appropriate that a town bus service would be introduced to provide the citizens of Portlaoise with an alternate means of transport.” 

Mr Walton said the NTA will run, fund and oversee the operation of the service.

Mr Nott said that it has a fleet of six buses for the Portlaoise service with four being operational at all times and that 24 bus drivers as well as a number of administrative staff will be employed to operate the service. 

He said it is anticipated that journeys on the two routes, with a total of 77 stops, should take in the region of half-an-hour. The single deck buses are wheelchair accessible and can accommodate up to 75 passengers.

Ms Cantwell said that two routes will operate 18 hours a day seven days a week and will be operated through the NTA by City Direct for a five-year initial period.

The first route PL1 will operate from Woodgrove taking in the Mountmellick Road, Portlaoise Train Station, James Fintan Lalor Avenue, Borris Road, Colliers Lane and back along the same route with dedicated stops along the way.

PL2 route will operate between Bellingham along the Mountrath Road to Kilminchy and will travel by the IDA Business Park, Harpur’s Lane, Portlaoise Train Station, James Fintan Lalor Avenue, Saint Fintan’s Hospital, Portlaoise Hospital, Kilminchy and again with stops along the route.

PL1 route begins at 5am to midnight Monday to Saturday and from 8am to 11.30pm on Sundays.

The PL2 route begins at 4.50am each morning, Monday to Saturday to 11.50pm and on Sundays from 7.50am to11.30pm.

The fee for those using TFI Leap or TFI Go app is €1.50 per adult. 75c for young adult/student and 65c for a child. 

Those paying by cash will be charged €2 per adult and 90c per child. Free travel passes are accepted on the two routes. 

Passengers can transfer from one route to another, for free, if done within a 90 minutes period.

Mr Nott said that all children under the age of 9 years, “travel for free.” 

He said: “It’s not the end of the project. We have a five-year contract with City Direct and we will be watching the service, looking at passenger numbers and making sure that it’s working for the people of Portlaoise.” 

Cathaoirleach of the district council cllr Paddy Buggy thanked all who were involved over the years for their efforts in seeing the project through to fruition.

Welcoming the service cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley said: “I wish you luck trying to get around the town within half an hour. That will be a challenge. With traffic congestion in the town, at the minuet, it takes 45 to 50 minutes to get from one end of the town to the other. I hope people take this up because it will alleviate some of the congestion. I say, along the Borris Road you are going to be met with school traffic. I hope that we can go back to the drawing board and look to roll out the service in other areas that are not presently included in the routes. For example the Stradbally Road out by Summerhill. That’s where most of the schools are located and that area is chocker-blocked. There’s another school going out there with up to 1,000 students.” 

Cllr John Joe Fennelly said “This is going to be a great service. Seven years ago we got a presentation from the NTA and at that time it was said that such a service was going to make Portlaoise. I think that day has come. This will alleviate traffic congestion. I am delighted to see that everybody, including wheelchair users, will be accommodated.” 

He went on to ask could a bus terminal be considered to accommodate other bus companies that currently stop their buses outside the Laois Shopping Centre?

He said: “I get a lot of complaints about the buses parked outside the shopping centre and about stuff (oil dripping) out of the buses. If we had a bus terminal just outside of the town, the green buses could park there and comes back into town and picks up their passengers and then go.” 

He also said that the bus shelter that is on James Fintan Lalor Avenue, “is really only a sun canopy. If it’s lashing rain, it doesn’t matter where you stand the wind and rain absolutely soak you.” 

Cllr Marie Tuohy described the launch of the service as a great day for Portlaoise.

Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald said: “It’s good news and a great day for Portlaoise. Hopefully this will be attractive for more retailers to come into Portlaoise.” 

Cllr Tommy Mulligan said: “For me this has ticked all the boxes. Delighted to see that wheelchair uses, those with disabilities and the elderly, who are a huge part of our population, will be able to use the service. I think the fares are very reasonable. There is potential to explore a few extra stops down the line.” 

Mr Nott said: “We think this will start to turn the ship on congestion. We’re not saying that we’re going to get every car out of Portlaoise, and we don’t want to, but it’s giving people the opportunity to maybe get rid of their second car. We hope people come out and give it a try.” 

He said that it’s estimated that 80% of the population of Portlaoise town are within 400 meters of one of the bus stops.

Mr Walton said the service will be very attractive to older people in the community. 

He said: “They will have the opportunity to come into the town centre to avail of entertainment or services in the knowledge that they can safely return home on the bus.” 

Deputy Brian Stanley who was present at the meeting said: “This is something that we have been looking for, for a long time. It’s long-awaited. But, we need to get small low-cost bus shelters in place. I have no doubt that there will be a demand for more bus stops and for more routes. But this is great news.” 

Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald said: “The Abbeyleix Road is not on either of the routes. In time I hope it will come on a route.” 

Councillors were then invited on to one of the buses that was parked outside County Hall and taken on a short bus journey around the town.