Bus Éireann announce increased services in Dundalk, Ardee and Drogheda

Dundalk, Ardee and Drogheda are all to see an increase in services under the new Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, announced yesterday by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton, the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Bus Éireann.

According to yesterday's announcement, there will be a trebling and doubling of service frequencies and new regional connections between the Midlands and Northeast regions linking Dundalk and Ardee, Drogheda and Trim and Athlone to Longford.

As part of the new plan, from 23 October, the Route 167 Mullingar to Dundalk service will be replaced by a new longer route running between Mullingar, Kells, Ardee and Dundalk, every three hours Monday to Sunday. Additional short services will also be added to provide an hourly service between Ardee and Dundalk, which will be a 133% increase in service levels, from 84 trips per week Monday to Saturday to 196 trips per week Monday to Sunday.

This will provide a new regional connection between the midlands and the northeast. This service will provide a consistent level of service in both directions for a range of trips and later in the evening. The timetable for the Route 167 Mullingar to Dundalk service can be found here

Also beginning on 23 October, the Route 190 Athlone to Drogheda service will see every second service on the existing Route 190 service being extended via Mullingar to Athlone, to provide a two-hourly service between Athlone and Drogheda, while maintaining the current hourly frequency between Trim and Drogheda. This will provide a new regional connection between the midlands and the northeast. This service will also provide a consistent level of service in both directions for a range of trips and later in the evening. The timetable for Route 190 Athlone to Drogheda service can be found here. 

The Route 466 Athlone-Longford-Cavan service from the 23 of October will see a substantial increase on this corridor. The Route 466 will provide peak time services in both directions i.e. towards Cavan, Longford or Athlone that does not currently exist. In addition there are multiple off peak and evening services which do not currently exist for passengers. The timetable for Route 466 Athlone-Longford-Cavan service can be found here.

Speaking from the launch in Limerick yesterday, where the start of four new and improved routes linking Limerick to its hinterland and nationally was also announced, Minister Hildegarde Naughton said: “We are very much facing the unknown as we enter a winter of uncertainty presented to us from the global energy crisis. We in Government are committed to doing absolutely everything in our power to support households and businesses through what are incredibly turbulent times.

"The delivery of 1.7 million new kilometres of bus services being announced today provides a choice for people living and working in the Mid-West and the North-East regions. They now have the choice of public transport that was previously not available to them; they now have the choice to keep more of their own money by using less energy through opting for public transport.”

CEO of the National Transport Authority, Anne Graham, said “the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan which has been developed by the NTA aims to increase public transport connectivity, particularly for people living outside major cities and towns.  With the launch of four new routes linking locations across Limerick and its hinterland and three enhanced services in the northeast people in more towns and villages have the option of using public transport services which are now more frequent and reliable.”

“We at Bus Éireann are delighted to introduce these new and improved services from Sunday 23 October, significantly increasing access to public transport,” said Stephen Kent, Chief Executive Officer, Bus Éireann. “Thanks to the National Transport Authority, through the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan we are creating almost 50 new jobs. Demand for our services is higher now than pre-pandemic, and these new routes and services enable us to connect more people with who and what matters to them.  We will continue to work together with the NTA to enhance connectivity across the country, delivering an affordable, reliable and sustainable bus service for communities throughout Ireland.”