Navan town bus cancellations leave elderly stranded in bitter cold

A number of pensioners in Navan were left standing in the bitter cold and frost this week, due to cancellations in the town bus service.

The service has been subject to numerous cancellations over the past four weeks, according to the Mayor of Navan, Cllr Eddie Fennessy, who said "the service at the minute is on it's knees. This morning whilst waiting for a bus I spoke with a number of OAP's who missed buses due to cancellations all week. They are not tech savvy so don't have access to the TFI Live app. In all cases they were left waiting for up to and over an hour in the bitter cold and frost."

He said that over the past four weeks he has been inundated with complaints from constituents regarding the Navan Local Bus Service.

"I don't drive myself and have used the service almost every day since it was launched in early 2020. I have watched the service grow massively over the years and speaking as the Mayor of Navan I express the appreciation of a community who benefit for its provision.

"The service is a crucial part of the local transport infrastructure. Students and workers really depend on the bus service to take them safely in and out of town each morning. However, reliability and frequency over the past four weeks have become a huge problem. Services are cancelled daily, particularly in the morning and there is massive unrest growing amongst the commuters who use the service regularly."

Cllr Fennessy said six buses are required in order for the service to operate reliably.

"Five on the road at all times and a spare bus in the depot to cover breakdowns. I am informed that we had three buses in Navan on Friday and this has been the case on most days since last December. I am also informed that buses used in Navan are redeployed to Sligo and other towns.

"The people of Navan are dependent on the service. I am frequently asked to contact the NTA to request management improvements."

Cllr Fennessy has written to the National Transport Authority asking what measures are in place to bring the service back to full capacity and when that capacity will be delivered.