New town bus to be operated by Local Link Tipperary will 'really change Clonmel'

Clonmel’s new town bus service will begin on the week of Monday, December 4.

District Mayor Cllr Richie Molloy has said that this is something they had been looking for in the town for years and he predicts that it will “really change Clonmel”.

He said that fares for those under the age of 26 would cost just 55 cents and €1.10 for adults.

“That’s incredible,” he stated.

The Mayor said at a meeting of Clonmel Borough District that the service would make a big difference to the town centre, and especially for elderly people who didn’t have their own transport.

The new service will run from 6am to midnight seven days a week.

The town bus was also welcomed by Cllr Siobhán Ambrose.

However, Cllr Niall Dennehy said that a town the size of Clonmel needs a proper taxi service as well.

When he was told by District Administrator Carol Creighton that there were four hackney operators in the town, he described the figure as “annihilation”.

Cllr Dennehy said there had been something like sixty hackney operators in Clonmel back in the day and if something was reduced from sixty to four there was an issue.

However, Cllr Pat English said the business wasn’t there at night any more for taxis and hackneys. In the same period that Cllr Dennehy had referred to, the number of pubs in the town had also been reduced.

District Manager Sinead Carr said that the issue of hackneys and taxis needed policy assessment and she would speak to the director of services about this.

The town bus will be operated by Transport for Ireland (TFI) Local Link Tipperary.