Capacity issues continue on local bus routes

Issues over of lack of capacity on the 109 and 109x bus service between Cavan and Dublin have been raised with the Minister for Transport and the National Transport Authority by local Sinn Féin TD, Pauline Tully.

The local Oireachtas member said that she had been contacted by a number of constituents, including one person who told her how approximately 20 people were “left at a stop” due to the bus being full.

Another case involved an 87-year-old man left waiting hours for a lift.

“This is a long-standing issue, which really should have been resolved by now,” said Deputy Tully. “The number of passengers using this route increased by approximately 32% from the first half of 2022 to the same period in 2023.

“People are being left waiting for long periods, in some cases with no bus shelter, in all types of weather.

“Many older people use this service to access Connolly Hospital and in one case that I know of an 87-year-old man was left waiting hours with buses full to capacity driving right by him. With evenings getting darker and colder as we move into Autumn this needs to be resolved as soon as possible.”