The Gowran School Transport Group has written to the Ministers for Education and Public Expenditure to request a meeting with Bus Eireann regarding the restoration of a third public bus service for local secondary school children.
Over 50 people attended a meeting in Gowran Parish Hall on Monday night, including Oireachtas members and County Councillors, in the latest attempt to remedy a years-old deficit which was temporarily addressed in 2024.
It appears that lines of communication between the group and the operator may be about to improve following a meeting where families spoke about the “wall of silence” they said they have faced from Bus Éireann.
In a statement to KCLR News, Bus Éireann said it wished to assure parents in Gowran “that significant efforts have been made to secure a resource to operate this route and efforts are continuing in this regard”.
“As part of the roll out of the recommendation of the departments Review of the School Transport Scheme, a funding allocation was approved to pilot a service between Gowran and Kilkenny,” the statement reads.
“Despite engaging in a number of procurement competitions, Bus Éireann has been unable to secure a contractor vehicle and driver to operate this service to date…
“Bus Éireann is obliged to ensure that it complies with procurement guidelines when securing services to ensure fair and transparent competition and to deliver the best value for money for the Department of Education and Youth.”
As KCLR has previously reported, following representations pursued at Oireachtas level by Deputy John McGuinness (FF), a third secondary school service was provided by Bus Éireann in Gowran on April 11th, 2024.
In a letter to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC, June 20th, 2024), the Secretary General of the Department of Education, Bernie McNally, stated: “Bus Éireann reorganised and increased capacity on the route which meant an additional vehicle was required once a contractor/suitable vehicle was sourced”.
The subsequent procurement process for a contractor for this route “took a considerable amount of time due to the lack of bids received from contractors in the area for that route”.
Ms Mullally’s letter adds: “Bus Éireann has recently confirmed that contractors operated two buses from Gowran area from late April to June 2024 due to reduced service usage. It is recognised that all students issued with tickets will not travel every morning and every evening. In addition, certain after school activities or exam timetables may also result in students not travelling on certain days.”
Speaking to KCLR News, Gowran School Transport Group Chairperson Brendan Hayes said that he was keen to meet with the relevant cabinet and Bus Éireann representatives as soon as possible.
“I don’t think that asking for a bus seat and a bus ticket for every secondary school student in our area, travelling to and from Kilkenny, is an unreasonable request. A host of local parents, long before I was on the scene here, made huge efforts to try and get this third bus issue sorted out and I know all of us in Gowran impacted by this are grateful for their efforts. Hopefully, on the back of what they’ve already done, common sense will prevail here and a third bus will be in place by next September.”
Mr Hayes added: “At the moment, we have 50 parents and guardians, here in Gowran alone, who are spending two hours every day of the school week in a car, driving their children to and from school. Some students are in a car by 6:15am and aren’t home until 5pm. That doesn’t make any sense.
“We are not looking for anything unreasonable here. We want to sit with Bus Éireann representatives and, if possible, the relevant Minister, to calmly discuss a service which we feel the children of this area, as well as in neighbouring Thomastown and Mullinavat deserve. We’re not interested in finger-pointing or any blame-gaming. We just want a common sense solution and I hope that can be achieved sooner rather than later.”
For more, listen here: County Kilkenny community group to contact ministers for Education and Public Expenditure re school bus shortage
Deputies John McGuinness (FF) and Natasha Newsome Drennan (SF) attended Monday night’s meeting, along with Councillors David Fitzgerald (FG) and Pat Fitzpatrick, with each committing to do what they can to see this matter resolved.
Bus Éireann’s statement to KCLR concluded: “(We) already provide transport for 110 children travelling between Gowran and Kilkenny on a daily basis as part of the school transport scheme and (are) happy to engage with parents to respond to any queries accordingly.”
