Some Kildare students "left on the side of the road" because buses are full - Senator

A Kildare Senator has called for better transport links for some towns in the county. 

Senator Mark Wall told the Seanad that some students "have been left on the side of the road" because some bus services are full.  

Speaking on Thursday last, Senator Wall said he has been contacted about the issue by a growing number of parents in Castledermot whose children are attending secondary school as well as a third level college in nearby Carlow.

He said: "Not for the first time, these students have been left on the side of the road because the scheduled bus is full and cannot take them or any more passengers when it reaches the town.

"On Monday last, seven students were left standing on the side of the road in the town. What is all the more frustrating for them and for their parents is that all of these students had purchased tickets in advance, yet when they rang the operator they were told that the operator could not take any further passengers."

He added: "Towns like Castledermot in south Kildare are crying out for more transport."

Senator Wall also said that Kildare students who cannot get accommodation in Dublin are forced to take the train but stations like Portarlington, Monasterevin, Athy, Kildare town and Newbridge are outside the Short Hop zone and the students cannot use their Leap cards.

He explained: "In one such example, a young student from Monasterevin should be paying €27 per week with his Leap card and instead is paying €100 per week, so he might as well be staying in Dublin.

"We need to look at a mechanism where these students who are staying at home can use their Leap cards and are not forced to pay the full fare."

The politician also said extending the Leap card would help reduce the carbon footprint of those commuters who are getting into their cars every morning in Newbridge and travelling to Sallins because of the Short Hop fare.

He added: "Wee need to have a debate on rural transport and to protect those students who cannot find accommodation in Dublin but yet are paying such high costs in trying to travel up and down there each day."