Written answer
Bus Services
338. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Transport his plans for the roll out of BusConnects in Limerick; his views on the benefits of this to people living in the Limerick city west area including the areas of Patrickswell, Ballybrown-Clarina, Mungret, Raheen and Dooradoyle, and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61138/26]
Comment on this
As Minister for Transport I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including the implementation of the Limerick BusConnects programme. Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a direct reply. Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.
Pending this detailed response, I note that BusConnects is a transformative programme of investment in the bus system, providing better bus services across our cities. It is the largest investment in the bus system in the history of the State. In Limerick the redesign of the bus network is one of the nine key elements that aims to transform the city’s bus system, making public transport more useful to more people. Overall, 41% of residents will live within 400 metres of a high frequency bus route, running every 15 minutes or better.
Limerick is the first city in Ireland with a fully electrified bus service, with two phases of charger installation works coming on-stream at Roxboro bus depot during 2024 and 61 zero-emission buses in active passenger service today.
Regarding future phases of BusConnects Limerick, the NTA will publish its detailed National Development Plan implementation plan later this year, which will set out the elements of the programme to be progressed in the coming years within available funding to 2030. This follows on from the publication of the NDP Sectoral Investment Plan by the Department of Transport last November, and the publication of the NDP Review last July.