No guarantees that NTA will extend Portlaoise bus route
The Portlaoise Town Bus Service plays a vital role to commuters in some parts of the town Photo: Michael Scully
THERE are no guarantees that the NTA will move to extend the existing bus route through Portlaoise to include unserviced areas.
The latest meeting of the Portlaoise Municipal District heard that the possibility of an extension to the existing bus route – which runs between Colliers Lane and Woodgrove and between Kilminchy and Belingham – is something that remains up in the air.
The motion was brought forward by cllr Catherine Ftzgerald, who was full of praise for the existing bus service: ‘‘It’s been a huge addition to the town and, you know, a huge help with the traffic."
That being said, she also highlighted the fact that when these bus routes were introduced – in February 2025 – the council was told the route would be developed further. It had been widely hoped that the Abbeyleix Road, the Ridge Road and the Ballyfin Road especially, given the sheer volume of services and amenities that ran along that stretch of the Mountmellick Road, including Moore Park, SuperValu, the rugby club and the N17 National Enterprise Park.
"We have young people working in the Plaza. People want to go out and visit the Plaza. People want to go out into the rugby club … we have a new housing estate going up on the road and there are elderly on the road." Cllr Fitzgerald expressed disappointment in the official response and how the attitude seemed to be very much, you have what you have. She proposed that they send a delegation to meet with the NTA.
"One of the great successes of the community," was how Caroline Dwayne Stanley, who supported the motion, described the bus routes. However, she added that any additional bus stops along the Mountmellick Road would require the introduction of a roundabout to the junction.
At the junction at the end: "No bus would be able to get round that junction without a roundabout there."
Another councillor suggested devising an arrangement whereby the council engage with the NTA every six months about public transportation in the area.
