Plans for the development of a permanent rural public transport system to remote areas will be launched by the Department of Transport tomorrow.
The Rural Transport Initiative (RTI) launched by Mary O'Rourke, then minister for transport in 2001, is in its final year of operation as a pilot scheme.
A discussion document, to be launched by Minister of State for Transport Pat the Cope Gallagher tomorrow, is the first step towards putting the RTI on a permanent footing from next year.
The RTI allows communities to develop their own transport networks in areas not served by standard public transport, ie Bus Éireann or Iarnród Éireann, or by private transport routes.
Around 20,000 people use the service every week to travel from their homes to their local towns at least once a week.
Grants to develop a service are available from the Department of Transport through Area Development Management (ADM), which manages the scheme on the department's behalf.
An annual budget of €3 million was allocated to the scheme in 2002, 2003 and 2004. This was increased to €4.5 million in 2005, and €5.1 million is due to be spent this year. The allocation for 2007, the first year the scheme will be permanent, will not be finalised until the completion of the consultation process.
The RTI currently operates in 34 isolated or socially-disadvantaged areas around the State. The services are usually minibuses operating between one and six days a week, depending on need and level of funding.
Older people and the mobility- impaired are the main beneficiaries of these services. However, young people living in remote areas and families who cannot afford to run a car are also regular users. The service is often free, but in areas of high frequency a small fare is sometimes charged.
From tomorrow interest groups, such as those representing older people and people with mobility and sensory impairments and individuals using or hoping to use the service, will be asked to make submissions to the consultation process.
Those already involved in operating the pilot phase will also be asked how best to operate the scheme from 2007.
Groups or individuals wishing to establish a service can make applications through a two-tiered process: a pre-development stage for those who have identified a transport need but who need time and funding to develop the project, and an operations stage for those either already providing some services or who have a developed action plan.
