Number of customers using TFI Local Link services in Cork quadruple in recent years

Journey numbers have reached a record high, with people now using TFI Local Link bus services more than 100,000 times a week across rural Ireland.

This figures includes 5,365 passengers in Cork.

These bus services are provided for the National Transport Authority (NTA) by 15 Local Link offices around the country.

There were 105,986 passenger journeys on TFI Local Link services in the week ending October 13 2024.

This represents a more-than five-fold increase compared to January 2022, when weekly passenger numbers were at 19,982.

In Cork alone, passenger numbers have more than quadrupled, driven by the introduction or enhancement of four key routes.

These include: Route 523: Mitchelstown to Mallow, Route 232: Allihies to Kilcrohane and Route 522: Charleville to Mallow.

From a national perspective passenger journey numbers have been increasing consistently for over three years now.

The weekly national average was 16,745 in 2021; 36,664 in 2022; and 78,892 in 2023.

It has now surged to 100,000 which is a new high.

This dramatic increase in numbers coincides with the rollout of the NTA's Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, from January 2022.

Since then, over 110 new and enhanced TFI Local Link routes have been introduced under the plan, covering every county.

Some 60% of the proposed services are now in place, with the remainder to be introduced in the coming years.

The new and enhanced services are proving to be very attractive to a new set of customers in rural Ireland, who are choosing TFI Local Link services to get to work, education, healthcare, and social activities.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan acknowledged the efforts behind the scenes, stating: "We have seen a transformation in public transport across rural Ireland. We need to have buses cris-crossing this country and reaching into towns and villages everywhere. We are building not just a better-connected Ireland, but a more sustainable, equitable, and vibrant one."

Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority (NTA), expressed her gratitude for the collective effort: "Reaching 100,000 passengers per week would not have been possible without the incredible commitment of the Local Link Offices and their staff as well as the drivers and the local bus operators. I'm completely blown away by the success story that it has become across the country. We're not finished yet!" TFI Local Link Cork Manager David O'Brien said: "We are delighted to be a part of this ongoing increase of people using Local Link Services. Local Link Cork are planning for further route development under the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan in association with the National Transport Authority."