BusConnects my hole, it cannot happen for years :
Bus Éireann has gone out to tender on a new €10m temporary bus depot in the Tivoli Docks.
The former Tata Steel site is set to be a standalone maintenance depot, which will also accommodate daily servicing and parking of up to 150 buses and coaches on the five-acre site, the company said.
The facilities for almost 400 drivers will be built to help start the rollout of the multi-million euro
BusConnects project.
BusConnects Cork sets out to deliver an overall increase of 53% in bus services in the city, with two 24-hour bus services, seven all-day frequency bus routes running every 15 minutes or more, and the expansion of bus services to previously unserved areas such as Upper Glanmire, Waterfall, and Kerry Pike.
But the city’s over-capacity Capwell depot, which was designed for 100 buses, is now struggling to cope with about 130, and cannot cater for the additional buses proposed under BusConnects.
Capwell will continue to operate once the temporary depot at Tivoli becomes operational in 2025 for the overnight parking and maintenance of buses in the city’s expanded bus fleet.
McCutcheon Halley planners, on behalf of Bus Éireann, had scoured the city to establish the feasibility of 12 proposed sites for the depot and shortlisted nine of them.
Tivoli was chosen as the preferred location because of its suitable size and good existing road network. Planners said the traffic generated by the bus depot would be less than the previous volume of HGV traffic in the area.
They said:
Overall, the proposed development will provide a crucial temporary phase of the roll-out of the BusConnects Cork initiative, facilitating necessary capacity for a growing bus fleet.
Cork City Council granted planning permission for the project in November, after having originally requested further information on the proposals, which were lodged last June.
At the time, a spokesperson for Bus Éireann welcomed the decision.
“The new depot is required to facilitate the significant growth in
public transport services in Cork and will operate alongside the current Capwell depot, which is at capacity."
Bus Éireann said it had carried 15 million passengers in Cork so far this year — a 25% increase on last year.
“But we know there is more to do to improve the reliability of our services by supporting on-street bus prioritisation in the city and county," the spokesperson said.
The company is continuing a parallel project to identify a site for a permanent second depot. But it said site selection, planning consent and construction will take several more years and it could be 2030 before the permanent depot is operational.
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