Speaking at the recent meeting of Comeragh Municipal District Council, four councillors highlighted issues with the Local Link bus service around the Dunhill area.
The issue was first raised by Councillor Liam Brazil, who said the stops were simply too far away for elderly people.
“Local Link seems to be having problems in the Dunhill area. I know obviously the bus can’t stop everywhere, but would it be possible to put in a few more bus stops in the mid-Waterford area for Local Link, seemingly there could be 7 or 8 Kilometres between bus stops and for an elderly person to get to that stop,” he said.
“If we could put in more bus stops in suitable positions it would be better for the people there.”
In reply to this Cllr. Seanie Power, asked: “What’s stopping them picking people up close enough to their homes? It makes a big difference to an elderly person when they can get picked up and dropped off close to their homes, rather than going to a pick up point.
“Some of them have to walk to a pickup point, and more of them have to drive, and sometimes it’s not suitable to leave cars at the pickup point. It’s becoming a bit of an issue down there now,” he added.
Cllr. John O’Leary offered his support saying drivers can no longer accommodate older passengers like they once did.
“It has become a major issue,” he said. “The difficulty with it is when it started out first the drivers and the service acted in a very amenable way to passengers, particularly elderly passengers.
“This all seemed to change, to the disappointment of Waterford people,” he continued. “I know an elderly man in the area who relies totally on it, but the stop is going out between Annestown and Fenor. And that’s a distance of about two miles, and he lives right in between, so it is of no benefit to that individual if the bus won’t pick him up along the way. It’s certainly something that needs to be looked at.”
Speaking on behalf of the Council, Senior Engineer for Roads, Maria Goff, said: “I wasn’t aware of that [informal pick-ups] being stopped. There is probably a reason for it so I will follow up,” she said.
The Munster Express contacted Local Link for a comment but had not received a reply by time of publication.
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