A fifth of Limerick towns and villages have no public transport available
Co Deprived Limerick Found Kilfinane, To Be Was Transport
A fifth of towns and villages in Co Limerick are suffering transport deprivation, with no public transport available, while a similar percentage of settlements in the county have a "very low level of public transport provision".
The findings are contained in a new study, to be presented this week at a national transport conference, and which recommends a revamped bus service that would allow for an "every village, every hour" service to every census settlement in Co Limerick.
In the research, to be presented at the Irish Transport Research Conference, Thomas Bibby of the School of Transport Engineering at TU Dublin examined demographic data from 45 out of 46 census settlements in Limerick, excluding Limerick City, according to mobility factors, such as the percentage of households that do not own a car.
The population of the settlements ranged from 144 in Tournafulla to 6,619 in Newcastle West. The timetables of all 33 route variations were used to calculate the average number of services per day, and the journey time by bus to Limerick City.
According to the study: "The analysis of the bus network in Co Limerick showed that a total of nine settlements (20%) in Co Limerick are not served by any timetabled public transport whatsoever, and a further nine are served by an average of four or fewer services in any direction per day, defined as a very low level of public transport provision."
One example was Athea, where almost a quarter of households in the village of 369 people don't own a car and there is no bus service. An area with a very low level of public transport provision was Kilfinane, population 789, and where almost a fifth of households do not have a car, but which is served by an average of 3.4 transport services a day.
The various areas were checked as to whether it would be possible for someone to access either a job in Limerick or be in time for a hospital appointment in the city, if depending on public transport, as well as the option of having a bus home after 6pm. While 60% of households would make the work start time, an average of just 29% would likely make the hospital appointment and just 22% had the option of an evening bus.
Mr Bibby developed a public transport network and timetable which he suggested would alleviate those problems.
Meanwhile, the same transport conference will hear new research indicates that 21,031 AUD (alcohol use disorder) treatment episodes were needed for motorists in 2019, but "there is no provision in Irish law for managing DUI using rehabilitative/therapeutic approaches or alcohol interlocks".
That study, called 'Managing Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol using Driver Rehabilitation and Alcohol Ignition Interlock Systems' and carried out by researchers at the National Office for Traffic Medicine and the School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, concluded: "There is clear evidential support for a multi-component approach for DUI offenders combining diagnostic/therapeutic and educational components and linked to Alcohol Interlock Intervention Programmes."