A local councillor has raised her concerns over public transport from Clones to Monaghan via Smithboro. At last week's sitting of the Ballybay-Clones MD, Cllr Sinead Flynn said she was "delighted" that the transportation survey regarding a local link service from Ballybay to Carrickmacross via Lough Egish has gone live. Despite this, Cllr Flynn enquired about a survey on the requirement for public transport from Clones to Monaghan via Smithboro.
She noted that this route was covered under the National Transport Authority and stated that the current service offered in Smithboro "isn't sufficient." According to Cllr Flynn, the service does not run frequently and is not suitable for those persons going to work or school in Monaghan Town. As a result, she asked the MD to contact the NTA and to continue to press the importance of public transport in our towns and villages. Cllr Flynn also requested a review to the frequency of services to ensure that we have an affordable, safe and more accessible public transport service available as soon as possible:
Cllr Flynn continued; "At a time when the government have agreed to increase carbon taxes year on year therefore increasing the price of diesel and petrol but yet don't have an adequate public transport service in place is astonishing. A cohort of people are being locked out of availing of services in local towns and villages due to lack of public transport and this isn't acceptable, it is my opinion that the government cannot increase taxes on fuel without ensuring we have an effective public transport system in place. I want to see more public transport services throughout all of our towns and villages in the county. I am also asking for the villages of Smithboro and Rockcorry to be urgently added to the TFI local link service."
