26 February 2016
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
In 2012 Bus Éireann, in conjunction with the National Transport Authority, carried out a review of public transport services along the Blarney – City Centre – Mahon Point Corridor. As a result, Route 215: Blarney – City Centre – Mahon Point was introduced in January 2013. Following a significant increase in customer usage, Bus Éireann is doubling the frequency of services between the City Centre and Mahon Point with the introduction of Route 215A which will operate via Boreenmanna Road.
Additionally, Route 208 from Mayfield via the City Centre to Bishopstown/Curraheen is being extended to Ashmount.
These service improvements will be introduced from Sunday 28th February 2016 in tandem with a small number of minor improvements to Route 215.
Route 215A (City Centre – Boreenmanna Road – Mahon Point/Jacobs Island) timetable features include:
· A service every 30 minutes from approximately 06:30 to 18:30 Monday to Friday;
· This service will operate from South Mall via Boreenmanna and Skehard Rd to Mahon Point Shopping Centre /Jacobs Island;
· Serving all of Boreenmanna Road, including Ashton School, Elderwood, and Páirc Uí Rinn;
· Combined with Route 215 there will be a departure every 15 minutes from South Mall to Mahon Point and return, Monday to Friday, from approximately 06:30 to 18:30.
Route 215 (Blarney – City Centre – Ballinlough Road – Mahon Point) timetable features include:
· Additional morning services from Cork City to Mahon Point at 06:30 Monday to Friday, and at 06:35 on Saturday to facilitate earlier arrivals for customers travelling to Mahon Point;
· On Saturdays, the 12:00 ex Cloghroe will now depart at 11:45;
· On Sundays, between 13:00 and 16:00, departure times from Cloghroe/Blarney to City Centre have been adjusted by approximately 15 minutes to provide an improved service.
Features of the change to Route 208 (Bishopstown – City Centre – Mayfield/Lotabeg) timetable are:
All services from Bishopstown to Lotabeg will be extended to serve Ashmount. This will result in slight departure time adjustments at all stops along the route;
In the Bishopstown area all services will now operate a more direct routing along the Curraheen Road in both directions as far as the Bishopstown Bar.
As a result of the routing changes, a number of stops will no longer be served on Route 208, while several new stops will be added. Route 215 and Route 208 changes and the introduction of Route 215A have been approved by the National Transport Authority. The timetables for all routes are available at: www.buseireann.ie
Speaking about the services change, Martin Walsh Bus Éireann Regional Manager, Cork said: “These service enhancements have been designed to further grow public transport usage in Cork City, and will also improve the reliability of the service provided to our customers.”
