In January 2019, the Transport Minister announced a three-month extension of the Local Link evening service in rural areas to March 2019.
In his report, Minister Shane Ross said “Tackling rural isolation and providing the means for people to meet, socialise and attend events is extremely important,” and “I would encourage people to use their Local Links as much as possible so we can continue to provide, and hopefully increase, this very useful service.”
The pilot launched in the summer of 2018 by the National Transport Authority saw existing Local Link bus services extended to provide additional services in the evenings. The initiative was focused on addressing social isolation and unmet transport needs in rural areas during evening/night-time hours.
In its initial review the NTA found that the majority of the services are performing well, particularly as it took time for some of these new services to be developed. Also, it was felt that a six month pilot was a relatively short period within which to gauge passenger usage and trends.
The NTA will carry out a review in March 2019 after which a decision will be made on whether the services should continue to be funded and more rolled out.
Local Link Laois Offaly operates the following evening services
- 4728 Mountrath, Ballyfin, Castletown and surrounds (Friday & Saturday)
- 4729 Emo & Surrounds (Friday & Saturday)
- 4730 Kinnitty & Surrounds (Friday, Saturday & Sunday)
For more information, check out the evening service timetables on our website or at https://locallinklaoisoffaly.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Evening-Service-Timetables.pdf or contact the office on 057 869 2168
