Wicklow students still have no access to school bus
Councillor Melanie Corrigan is calling again for a communal bus service to connect the children in Kilmacanogue with the three schools that they are attending in Greystones. This, she said, would help those children who can't attend the nearest schools in Bray due to a shortage of spaces, to access their schools in Greystones more easily.
Last year, the community in Kilmacanogue launched a petition which received over 160 signatories seeking a better service, which was sent in to the National Transport Authority.
Cllr Corrigan said currently the students are either being driven or have to get two buses and she is urging the Department of Transport's school transport system to facilitate this change.
In previous years, when parents applied under the Bus Eireann school transport scheme, they were told that the children were not attending the nearest schools so therefore did not qualify. Under the school transport scheme review, Cllr Corrigan said an expansion of the current eligibility criteria was recommended which would allow the children in Kilmacanogue to qualify.
A phased implementation of the plan commenced in 2024 between the Department of Education and the Department of Transport with a view to expanding the provision of transport and reduce the reliance over time on individual car trips for school journeys.
Cllr Corrigan believes this approach, and the provision of a school bus service from Kilmacanogue to access the three schools in Greystones, would significantly improve the daily commute for these students, making their journey to school more manageable and convenient, and taking cars off an already busy road.
Cllr Corrigan has been working with a group of parents in Kilmacanogue to raise this issue and get a bus service. She said this is part of a wider campaign to get a public bus service from Kilmacanogue to Greystones.
In 2024, a petition was set up with over 250 supporters looking for such a bus service. A lot of people from Kilmacanogue, a growing village, work, go to appointments, socialise and shop in Greystones and a bus service connecting the two areas is something the community wants.
Cllr Corrigan said she has written to the Education Minister, Tánaiste Simon Harris and Wicklow TD Edward Timmons to seek support for this issue.
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