BUS ÉIREANN will today start two new bus services in Cork in a €10 million investment in services in the city this year as part of Transport 21.
The injection of funds comes about as the carrier attempts to meet growing local suburban demand for extra capacity.
Chairman of Bus Éireann Dr John Lynch will be joined this morning by Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Donal Counihan to launch the new 10A and number 16 routes. These will serve Jacob's Island near Mahon Point and Mount Oval village in Rochestown.
Dr Lynch explained that the new routes are part of a €10 million expansion of the Cork fleet and will result in the recruitment of some 20 additional drivers this year to operate the new routes.
"Under Transport 21, Bus Éireann is introducing 30 vehicles into the Cork fleet in 2008, a combination of additional and replacement city buses, single-deck coaches and double-deck coaches," said Dr Lynch.
"All vehicles are low-floor and wheelchair accessible and the addition of these new buses to the fleet in Cork means that the city service fleet is now 100 per cent fully accessible," said Dr Lynch, adding that the buses have been manufactured by Wright's in Ballymena.
The Bus Éireann regional manager south, Joe Fitzgerald, said the new services were in response to growing demand for expanded routes in both the Mahon and Blackrock areas as well as in Rochestown and Douglas, all on the southside of the city.
The company operates a fleet of more than 230 buses in Cork, employing 560 people in city and country.
It carries some 12.5 million people annually on city and suburban services, said Mr Fitzgerald.