The expansion of the current Kilkenny City bus service from one vehicle to a four bus shuttle service could provide a viable alternative to commuters in Kilkenny and to paying car parking charges. It could also have the potential to remove a significant number of cars from the city’s roads, thus reducing CO² emissions and making the streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
Cllr Malcolm Noonan who is currently looking at options for a city bus service within the context of the draft mobility plan for the city stated that members of the public should make their views known to Kilkenny Local Authorities if they feel that they would like such a service.
‘I think a city bus service, subsidised from on street parking charges could be viable and would enhance business and commercial activity and free up congestion at peak times, particularly school runs. I have been in discussion with the operators of the current city service and they are of the same opinion’, he stated. ‘I hope that Kilkenny Local Authorities will look on any proposals favourably in light of emerging national policy where bus transport is now being seen as the most environmentally friendly form of transport in towns and cities’.
Cllr Noonan also outlined the commitment made by Kilkenny Borough Council in 2004 under the Aalborg Charter for Sustainable Towns and Cities to reduce car dependency and offer alternatives to the public.
‘Obviously a proposal such as this requires public support to make it viable for the operators, but I think a timetabled route with signage, a number of shelters and a buy in from the city’s big employers and schools in Kilkenny could give a city bus service the critical mass it needs’.
Cllr Noonan believes that Kilkenny’s current street and road layout is well structured and that other proposals in the Draft Mobility Plan, particularly the roll out of further cycle lane networks would compliment such a service. He also stated that population bases of 20,000 people or more are widely regarded in the EU as being viable for public transport and that Kilkenny’s population exceeded this.
