Mayo councillor urges council to develop more bus shelters
Killala-based councillor Jarlath Munnelly says that the Council has to focus on practical measures to encourage use of public transport
Mayo County Council have been urged to develop bus shelters around the county to help encourage more people to use public transport.
The monthly meeting of Mayo County Council heard calls from Killala-based councillor Jarlath Munnelly to develop infrastructure in the county to incentivise people to use public transport in favour of their own car.
The Fine Gael councillor was speaking following a presentation by Laura Dixon, Mayo County Council's Climate Change Officer who gave an update on the Council's Climate Action Plan.
Cllr Munnelly said that the number of buses and transport routes around the county was increasing and the Council should focus on practical measures such as the provision of bus shelters.
“If we want to make it more compelling an attraction for people to use public transport we have to look to build bus shelters. There are a lot of locations across this county where they don't exist,” he said.
“We need to think about the users who will use these buses and make it easier for them. We need to have these provisions so the person waiting for the bus can stand in and get shelter. They are the things I would like to see us focus on,” he said.
Cllr Munnelly added that there were never as many people using buses in Mayo but added that there were still parts of the county where 'public transport is pathetic'.
A number of councillors praised the work of the Local Link service in Mayo which is providing a bus service to rural communities.
Erris-based councillor Gerry Coyle felt that it was becoming too successful as it was taking people from small villages into larger towns and he feared that it may affect services in these communities. He said that the post office in his home village of Geesala is to close soon and warned that unless people use these services they will be lost.
Ballinrobe-based councillor Michael Burke described the Local Link service as a 'fantastic asset to real rural Ireland' and said that one person told him he now has 13 buses passing his door every day. He also supported Cllr Munnelly's proposal for more bus shelters in the county.