'A bitter blow': Kildare councillor angrily responds to suspension of bus services between Kilcullen and Newbridge

A Kildare councillor has voiced his frustration over the recently announced suspension of bus services between Kilcullen and Newbridge.

Notice of the termination of the route first appeared on the official JJ Kavanagh Facebook page on Monday at 5.16pm, with the cancellation to begin this coming Friday.

JJ Kavanagh & Sons said in a statement it had to make the difficult decision to suspend some routes due to the low patronage: "Since returning to full operations, the passenger numbers have not returned to the expected levels as previously seen prior to the Covid-19 pandemic," a member of JJ Kavanagh's customer service team said.

The group said that the 737 Naas – Dublin City/Dublin Airport, 873 Carlow – Bagenalstown – Kilkenny, 846 Clane – Naas and 129 Newbridge – Kilcullen, will be suspended from July 1, 2022.

It added that the 825 Portlaoise – Carlow will be suspended during the Summer period and will recommence in September when colleges/schools reopen.

"On behalf of all of us in JJ Kavanagh & Sons, we are truly sorry for any inconvenience these service updates may be cause you and your family," the statement concluded.

An Bord Pleanála consents to order over Kildare wind farm

€70m

'VITAL SERVICE'

Social Democrats Cllr Chris Pender said that the announcement of the termination of the JJ Kavanagh service between Kilcullen and Newbridge was 'a bitter blow'.

The Newbridge representative said: "People genuinely rely upon this service to get to work, to get their kids to school, to do simple shopping.

"I am angry that a vital transportation service can just be abandoned without any consultation with public representatives or service users."

PHOTO GALLERY: The Blizzards play open-air concert live in Kildare town

Speaking of the disruption the cancellation is going to cause to residents in the affected areas, Cllr Pender elaborated: "I have been contacted by so many people over the weekend on this issue, who are absolutely furious that this vital service has been withdrawn: they are asking me how they are meant to commute. The 129 service is a necessary route and commuters haven’t even been given a week’s notice to find alternative options.

"There are residential/day support services like The Bridge in Kilcullen, whose clients actively use these buses and it is more than unfair to just pull the routes."

Cllr Pender further questioned the environmental impact that this decision will have, and whether 'anyone was looking at the bigger picture' in terms of transport in the county.

In this week's Leinster Leader Sport

'ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS'

"It is hard to see how we expect our small towns and villages to move forward environmentally away from private car usage if this is the future for many of them."

He also made a promise to do 'everything in his power' to retain these services for Kilcullen and Newbridge: "I've been engaging with JJ Kavanagh and the National Transport Authority (NTA) since I found out and it's absolutely ridiculous that a service like this that so many people are dependent upon is ceasing to exist. 

"I am awaiting a formal response from the NTA and will write to the Minister for Transport to call for a full restoration of this service: you can see from the strength of anger on my social media sites, just how important these routes are to people and I would encourage the Minister to listen to the residents."

In addition, a spokesperson for the NTA also responded to the announcement.

They said "Disappointingly, NTA was only made aware of the operator’s decision to suspend this service in recent days.

"We are examining options at the moment, to see what can be done to maintain connectivity in this area."