THREE NORTH-WEST towns will get a new late night bus service over the upcoming bank holiday weekends in a bid to increase nightlife activity in the areas.

Culture Minister Patrick O’Donvan today launched ‘The One @ One’, a new pilot scheme in Sligo, Buncrana and Longford.

The One @ One aims to address the lack of transport options for people traveling out of each of these rural towns after hours.

The new 1am service will operate on several busy weekends throughout the year, giving people more ways to travel safely after a night out.

A Department spokesperson said the trial periods will help stakeholders to understand demand, monitor usage, and shape future late-night transport options for rural communities across the country.

The pilot dates are the May, June, August and October Bank Holiday weekends, as well as Culture Night on Friday, 18 September.

Minister O’Donovan said he is “very aware that rural areas can face greater challenges than larger urban centres when it comes to transport and accessing night-time activities”.

He also praised the “strong collaboration between the three counties and their local authorities in working together to address shared needs.”

The pilot initiative is a partnership between the Department of Culture, the National Transport Authority, and Local Link, delivered in collaboration with the three respective county councils, as well as Sligo BID.

The 1am bus service will be operated by Local Link and run on the following routes:

• Buncrana – Route 959: Buncrana to Greencastle via Carndonagh
• Sligo – Route 981: Markievicz Road to Rockfield
• Longford – Route 865: Longford Centre to Granard

A Department spokesperson said the pilot “will help ensure that more people can enjoy what their towns have to offer, confident that they have a safe way to get home at the end of the night”.

The chief executives of the three respective county councils involved in the pilot remarked that access to late-night transport has consistently been highlighted as a key challenge and that the pilot scheme is a “very practical response to a real issue”.

“The One @ One service supports our local night-time economy, gives people more confidence to go out locally, and reduces the need to rely on private cars,” said Paddy Mahon, the chief executive of Longford County Council.

Galway Local Link

Meanwhile, tap payment services will be rolled out on TFI Local Link services across Galway by the end of June, and should be in place across the country by the end of the year.

Sinn Féin’s Galway West by-election candidate Mark Lohan said it is welcome news and that it will improve the accessibility of public transport.

He noted that it is an issue that his party colleague Mairéad Farrell “has been pursuing since 2022 and it is good to finally see action in Galway”.

Lohan also called for Next Generation Ticketing to be rolled out as soon as possible.

Next Generation Ticketing will allow for passengers to pay for the bus, Luas and train by tapping their bank card, phone or other smart device.

This is currently being developed for the Greater Dublin Area and will then be rolled out nationwide.

In response to a question tabled by Farrell, the NTA said the time for the implementation of this nationwide is “not yet available and will be subject to the requisite approvals and funding”.