An Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there was “no shortage of resources” for more buses to serve Bearna and Conamara.

The Fianna Fáil leader said he does not understand why Bus Éireann and the National Transport Authority (NTA) do not provide additional capacity on the 424-route from Galway, which serves Carna via Bearna.

“There is substantial money for public transport if the need and demand is there,” he said in the Dáil.

“I cannot look over every bus route in the country but there is no shortage of resources being allocated,” the Cork TD added.

Galway West TD Mairéad Farrell (SF) who raised the matter said the 424 service was “still leaving passengers at the side of the road” every day.

“The bus serves Conamara, from Lettermullen and Carna into Galway city, but once it gets to Bearna, it is full, leaving commuters on the side of the road without a bus service.

“This is a ludicrous situation, with approximately 2,000 people living in the Bearna area and especially when Galway city’s traffic is constantly at a standstill and we desperately need better public transport options,” she said. Deputy Farrell wants Bearna included in the new network for Galway city and increased capacity immediately on the 424 service.

Double decker buses allocated to the route in 2024 are understood to be off the road again, which has added to overcrowding. One Bearna bus user described the service as “hopelessly over-subscribed, leaving would-be passengers on the side of the road”.

“Nobody can rely on the buses, cycling is dangerous, so they have to clog up the roads instead. Oranmore is served on the city bus route, Bearna wants the same. Other communities further back in Conamara are affected, but not as badly. The service is not fit for purpose,” they said.

Another Tribune reader in Conamara, Máirtín Ó Tuairisg, who has been driving the R336 from Indreabhán to the city for 29 years, said there has been little improvement in public transport since 1996.

In a letter copied to elected representatives in Galway, he outlined that his car was out of action last week, and he got the bus from An Poitín Stil to Spanish Arch by 424 bus – a journey that took 90 minutes during morning traffic.

“The bus arrived at Coill Bhearna at 8.08am and it took 45 minutes to travel 6.2 kilometres to Spanish Arch,” he said.

“Year on year the traffic is getting worse with more and more houses and apartments being built with no thought of transport infrastructure,” Mr Ó Tuairisg said.

He said the long-awaited ring road was not a ‘silver bullet’ and pointed to the need for bus lanes, cycle lanes, GLUAS and other long-term public transport plans for west of the city.

“The answer is to get people out of their cars, leave them at home or in park and ride outside the city. You will not get people, including myself, out of their cars when buses are congested in traffic and with no other alternative method of transport. Most people using bus services have no alternative,” Mr Ó Tuairisg said.

He added that Galway was a lovely city that was “absolutely strangled with traffic”.

“I have mixed feelings of anger, stress, disgust and sadness that this is the level of transport infrastructure the next generation will inherit and deal with. They will be asking the questions, who were in governments and councils during decades of ‘prosperity’?”

Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien said BusConnects Galway – a redesign of the bus network – would make public transport more attractive.

“This new bus network will enable more people to avail of public transport, resulting in increased access to a greater number of schools and workplaces across Galway City, Bearna and Oranmore. Once this network is implemented, circa 67% of residents will live within 400 metres of a high frequency bus route, running 15 minutes or better,” he said.

Minister O’Brien said the NTA planned to commence the implementation of the new Galway bus network “in the coming years, subject to funding and operational readiness”.

Pictured: Full house…another bus passing through Bearna without stopping.