Green TD Steven Matthews has welcomed the record in passenger numbers for 5 local Connecting Ireland routes in Wicklow. Each of these routes has either been newly established or has received significant investment in the last 4 years. These statistics were provided to Deputy Matthews following engagement with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and covered 5 Connecting Ireland Routes and showed the increased in passenger use in recent years. Discussing the figures, Deputy Matthews said:
“The very positive passenger numbers provided to me by the NTA shows clearly that if a reliable and affordable public transport option is made available, it will be used. The figures speak from themselves and is testament to the ongoing commitment in Government, secured by the Green Party, to prioritise public transport investment. All of the routes in question either didn’t exist prior to 2020 or in recent years have received significant investment and improvements.
CI Routes - Patronage (2020-2023) | Operator | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
183 Sallins - Arklow | LL CKW | 7,706 | 7,531 | 18,550 | 42,916 |
800 Carlow - Arklow | LL CKW | 126 | 11,329 | 34,144 | 48,289 |
885 Baltinglass - Sallins | LL CKW (KSD) | 0 | 1,498 | 7,975 | 13,774 |
131 Wicklow - Bray | BÉ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 110,925 |
133 Wicklow - Dublin | BÉ | 209,872 | 236,377 | 423,051 | 490,785 |
Total | 217,704 | 256,735 | 483,720 | 706,689 |
“These are journeys that otherwise would have been in cars or may not have been taken at all. Providing local routes like this is so important to give people, particularly who don’t live in major towns, the option of taking an affordable and reliable public transport service. The huge growth in passenger numbers shows the demand is there and the onus is on maintaining and improving existing routes while also providing new routes elsewhere to meet the demand for high quality public transport.
“I will continue to push for more routes in County Wicklow including Roundwood to Bray, which I am in ongoing negotiations with the NTA about, but I am open to considering and supporting any suggestions and pushing the NTA to conduct viability studies on any proposed route. If anyone group wants to discuss a potential route option, I am more than happy to meet with them, concluded Deputy Matthews.
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