College students and hospital workers facing long wait times and overcrowded buses on the Kinsale to Cork route can breathe a sigh of relief after a private operator announced they're to offer a
direct half hourly service from the New Year
In recent weeks a campaign was launched to improve the 226 service after commuters complained of finding themselves frequently abandoned by full or overbooked buses and waiting for long periods at the unsheltered Clontarf Street city stop
In the last week Bus Éireann ran a double decker on the 226 route addressing some of the capacity issues but still leaving some stranded at bus stops particularly at peak times.
Today West Cork Connects has announced that the 228 service will commence in the mornings and the evenings and operate directly between Kinsale and Bishopstown.
Damien Long from West Cork Connects told RedFM News what the new half hour service will mean to commuters:
"Look, I think the difference in our service: it's the college students and people going to the hospitals. We come in the opposite side of the city from Kinsale. We come in from the Bishopstown now. College students can take an hour and 40 minutes to get to UCC and people going to the hospital, so we'll be able to get them there in 35 to 40 minutes because we'll do a direct route in the opposite direction. So I think it's gonna be a game changer for the people of Kinsale and especially for the students of Kinsale."
