Minister for Education asked to intervene in Maynooth 'transport crisis'

There has been a call for the Minister for Education to intervene quickly in what has been described as a “transport crisis” in Maynooth, Co Kildare after a private school transport service operator announced they will cease operation on Friday, December 19.

Deputy Aidan Farrelly (Social Democrats) said that approximately 100 parents with children attending Maynooth Post Primary School and Maynooth Community College were told that running the service is no longer financially viable to the private operator.

According to Deputy Farrelly, a “very significant number” of students will be left without a reliable way to travel to school from next week and into the new year.

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“Maynooth is already heavily congested at peak times and the loss of this service risks placing up to 100 additional cars on the roads each morning and afternoon”, Deputy Farrelly said this week.

“This will be a transport crisis for the affected families – and the town of Maynooth. While Dublin Bus services pass through Maynooth, these buses are frequently full by the time they reach the town, largely due to third-level students and other commuters.

“In practice, this means school students are often unable to board and cannot rely on this service to get to school on time. The students now face daily uncertainty in getting to school, with many of them living at least 4kms from school.”

Deputy Farrelly said he has written to the Minister for Education, Hildegarde Naughton to intervene quickly and to find a resolution before the children start back in school in January.

“The Minister has inherited a chaotic transport system that is not serving Kildare families well. Since the middle of the summer, my office has been inundated with parents and students who have been let down by the service”, he added.

Meanwhile, local Maynooth Social Democrats county councillor Peter Melrose remarked that “the reliance on the private sector to provide public services has again been exposed.”

“This systematic approach by successive governments has created innumerable problems across all sectors, and this is just another example”, he said.

“The minister must engage with local stakeholders as a matter of urgency to resolve this. Our local public buses like the W6 and 115 must turn up, run on time, and send extra buses where needed.”