Cork North West Fine Gael TD John Paul O’Shea met with the National Transport Authority (NTA) this morning in Dublin where he had a really good engagement on the Bus Eireann Service 243 Route – Newmarket to Cork city – which travels via Kanturk, Mallow, Dromahane, Bweeng & Grenagh. The NTA have now confirmed the new and enhanced service will commence in late April / early May 2025.
The enhancement of Route 243 is part of the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, which is a major initiative developed and funded by the NTA as part of the Transport for Ireland (TFI) Network.
Deputy John Paul O’Shea met with Interim CEO of the NTA, Hugh Creegan in Dublin this week to discuss the enhanced Bus Eireann service Route 243. The NTA have now confirmed the new and enhanced service will commence in late April / early May 2025.
Deputy O’Shea said “I believe we are finally over the line with this new service. It is a long time coming as there was delays with driver availability etc, but the new timetable – which will be published shortly – will allow for a much-improved level of service and hours of operation on the route along the corridor between Newmarket and Cork City. The new timetable will include the addition of later evening weekday services, an improvement of weekend services, the development of connections with rail services in Mallow and a significant increase in bus services operating in rural settlements along the route going through the villages of Dromahane, Bweeng & Grenagh on the way to Cork city”.
The new service will operate four times per day on the Newmarket, Kanturk, Mallow, Dromahane, Bweeng, Grenagh, Sluggera Cross and Cork City alignment Monday to Sunday. Additional feeder services will operate five times per day Monday to Sunday from Newmarket to Mallow and there will be nine services per day between Newmarket and Mallow running from early morning to late evening.
“We have seen in other rural area like Charleville (Route 521) and Macroom – Millstreet (Route 257) where enhanced services are a real success. I am really looking forward to this new service commencing as it will be a game changer in public transport services for the towns of Newmarket and Kanturk and the rural catchment areas around it. I support this service whole heartedly and look forward to seeing these new buses on our roads over the coming weeks”.
