Public transport boosted by €7million stimulus investment

Public Transport Minister, Alan Kelly, has today announced details of a €7million investment programme for public transport improvements.

The funding will be used to refurbish buses, add additional Real-Time passenger information signs for public transport users and include a major investment programme in bus shelters across the country. It will also see improvements to cycling infrastructure and the commencement of construction of a public plaza for Colbert station, Limerick.

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The bus shelter programme will see investment of €1.5 million providing an estimated 40 additional shelters and will be specifically targeted for rural areas.

Announcing the news, Minister Alan Kelly said the funding will assist the Government target of increasing public transport passenger journeys this year by 5 million.

“This funding will provide both employment and a boost to the public transport system. It forms part of the Government’s €200 million stimulus package. As a Government, we are targeting an increase in public transport patronage this year and the funding will assist with that. There are a number of measures from bus shelter provision, bus refurbishment to speeding up the roll-out of the Leap Card to cities outside Dublin. All of these, while small, will be used to make improvements in the public transport system while assisting with additional employment measures,” stated Minister Kelly.

Other measures include additional hand-straps for the DART, improvement works at Busáras station, Dublin and the purchasing of ticketing equipment to speed-up roll out of the Leap Card to cities outside Dublin. €1million will also be made available for walking/cycling improvements across Dublin and other cities while there will be further investment in the rural transport programme’s dispatch system.

“The winter storms recently demonstrated the shortage of bus shelters in many rural areas. As a Government, we have introduced various measures to improve the public transport system with the Leap Card, real-time passenger information signs and various apps to improve access and connections to public transport and this funding builds on those improvements.”