Kilkenny's Lingaun Loop 'showcased the importance of access and connectivity'

Improving rural transport services is not just about enhancing connectivity. It’s about improving the lives of local people, reducing car dependency and carbon emissions, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, and the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Jerry Buttimer TD said.

His comments came as Minister Buttimer addressed ‘The Bus is Coming’, a Transport Seminar organised by Kilkenny LEADER Partnership just weeks after the landmark Lingaun Loop pilot bus service it funded ended.

The rural transport initiative provided a much-appreciated form of local transport, as well as an orbital service between sites of historical importance and amenity value on the Kilkenny/Tipperary border.

“The Lingaun Loop showcased the importance of access and connectivity, and your action research report is very honest,” Minister Buttimer said. “It will help inform the future direction of local travel. This project also highlights the importance of investment in rural transport in partnership with local authorities and existing transport providers.

“This government is committed to investing in rural Ireland and enhancing rural transport is a key part of this. We continue to invest in the local link services in our communities. Rural people are important and everything we do is about people,” Minister Buttimer vowed.

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Minister Buttimer joined a host of representatives from rural tourism and transport organisations such as Failte Ireland, Ring a Link and Local Link as well as community activists, rural business owners, local TDs and councillors.

Minister Buttimer also commended local TDs and councillors in the Carlow/Kilkenny area who have made several representations to him on the need to expand and improve local transport links.

Declan Rice, Kilkenny LEADER Partnership CEO, said: "Rural public transport and connectivity with other transport services is crucial to allowing people live, work and thrive in rural Ireland. There are knock-on benefits to tourism and an alleviation of traffic both on small country roads and in busy town centres.

“I'm delighted that the minister with responsibility for rural transport is attending our seminar to hear about local initiatives, such as the Lingaun Loop, which aim to improve rural public transport across Ireland."

Brendan Finn, Independent Transport Consultant, said research into the Lingaun Loop showed it was very successful, but a bit rushed. Visitors to the area needed to know more about what they were seeing, where the bus was stopping, as opposed to just being driven around. Research also showed that stops with places to eat and meet were most popular, a finding that will be useful for others bidding to set up a similar service.

“This action research project showed that there is clear interest and potential for a service like the Lingaun Loop. Learnings are that the target audience needs to be clearly defined. The service needs to be more relaxed – maybe not five loops a day.

“Information is also key and the community volunteers in the Lingaun Valley were vital and key to its success. Improvements could include making the schedule less pressurised for drivers, providing guides to explain what people are seeing and developing activity plans for each stop. Greater engagement from local tourism and hospitality providers would also help enhance such services elsewhere,” Mr Finn added.

Over the 129 days on which the free minibus service orbited the Lingaun Valley five times daily, 700 people used the service. 70 per cent were locals. The motivation behind the Lingaun Loop Research Action Project was twofold. It showcased that you could successfully operate an orbital bus service that would link up with other conventional, fixed services, and that you could do it in a rural area and help rural tourism and rural mobility.