A private bus company, Citylink, has been given a licence to operate between Galway and Cork two years after the Department of Transport turned down its application citing a lack of demand.
Back in 2004 the company publicly expressed its frustration with Government policy on bus competition after it was turned down for the licence.
Now the Department of Transport has issued the licence for the route, which will run between Galway and Cork via Limerick. Citylink claims the route is the second busiest after Dublin to Galway.
Galway-Cork has traditionally been operated only by Bus Éireann and yesterday Citylink said the route was extremely busy because there was no rail link between the two cities. The company is planning 28 daily services between Galway and Cork using 13 coaches.
Citylink is owned by the global transport company Comfort Del Gro, which is headquartered in Singapore. Its managing director, Kua Hong Pak, yesterday welcomed the latest route development. "We are delighted to have been awarded the licence to operate this highly-sought-after route. Having operated the Galway-Dublin route for four years now, we have built a reputation for speed, comfort and reliability."
The company is already operating several services in the Republic, including Galway to Dublin and Galway to Shannon Airport. The company also operates general coach services. It used to operate a bus service between Dublin Airport and the DART, but this has been discontinued.
Like Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann, one of the biggest challenges facing the company is traffic congestion, which is particularly acute on routes into the main cities.
Citylink offers a service to its passengers where they can nominate routes they think the company should serve.
Two years ago a Department letter to Citylink said that, having studied the existing bus and rail options, the service was "not required in the public interest". Citylink said an independent regulator was needed to oversee issuing of licences as part of a tender process.
"The Department of Transport have made the decision that the current level of service is sufficient without detailing any research or criteria they may have used to back up the decision," the company said at the time.
