Green Party TD Deputy Steven Matthews welcomes the expanded and improved 885 bus service for West Wicklow. Speaking after the launch of the new service today (Monday November 20th) Deputy Matthews said, “The West Wicklow area has never had good public transport options and I am delighted to see this newly enhanced service from Baltinglass, to Stratford on Slaney, Dunlavin, Brannockstown, Ballymore Eustace, Blessington and on to Naas start today.
“The enhanced route will provide peak-time services and evening services for commuters and will continue to offer improved connectivity from West Wicklow to Sallins Train Station, Naas Hospital and regional bus and rail services.
“I have been pushing the NTA to expand the service to provide better options for residents in West Wicklow, with many residents in Dunlavin stressing the urgent need for a bus service. This improved service will initially run 4 return trips a day, Monday to Sunday with the first bus departing Baltinglass at 07:30 and the last bus arriving back at 23:25.
“This adds to the new 183 service introduced last year which provides a Local Link service east west from Sallins to Arklow. It is one of the longest and most scenic routes across Wicklow but has suffered some punctuality issues due to the length of the route. I have been discussing the 183 bus issue and the introduction of a new Roundwood to Bray bus with the NTA and I hope to see progress on this soon.
“Providing better public transport for Wicklow is a priority for me. There are new Local Link routes for rural Wicklow, new Wicklow Town and Arklow to Bray and Dublin routes and the DART extension to Wicklow Town is progressing well. As long as I remain a public representative, I will continue working to deliver better transport for all of Wicklow,” concluded Deputy Matthews.
