30 October 2017
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
A new, high frequency privately run coach service, ‘Cobh Connect’, has been announced. This much-needed and long-awaited service will make travelling more accessible for Cobh and Great Island residents. Despite being Cork’s largest commuter town, there is no public bus service at present to transport people to and from Cork City. However, as the Cobh Connect bus gets in gear for its maiden voyage on Tuesday October 31st, this will change.
Until now Cobh locals and tourists to the town have been restricted when it comes to their transport options and have had to choose between driving themselves, calling a taxi, or boarding a train to Cork City. When considering the substantial geographical area Cobh covers, and the number of students and working professionals who travel this route on a daily basis, there was a huge gap in the market for a public bus service. Cobh Connect, Your Connection to Cork, is a practical and welcome approach to an issue locals’ have been facing for years and will add significantly to their travel options. Along with students and working professionals, tourism in Cobh should benefit significantly also. For top tourism attractions such as the Titanic Experience and Spike Island Tours, which already draw the attention of many visitors, this service will be a welcome additional transportation method.
Cobh Connect services Cork City but also Cobh itself. Journeys between different parts of the town which without a public bus service would have taken locals over an hour to walk are now serviced by the Cobh Connect route.
Sidebar: Cobh has has a train station since 1862, and perhaps because of that it has not enjoyed a Bus Eireann service. Now a private operator has stepped in the fill the gap in the market.
Cobh Connect, is an Irish owned company which will operate six days a week and have multiple designated pick up and drop off points strategically located around the town on its journey to Cork City. Beginning at 7.15 in the morning, the bus will journey to Cork City finishing at Patricks Quay and continue into the evening, with the last pick-up from Cork City Centre at 6.45pm. All buses are state of the art, executive coaches which offer free 4G WiFi, charging points, air conditioning and reclining seats as standard. The fleet of modern, high capacity buses aim to make the daily commute for all passengers including secondary school students and students of colleges such as UCC, CIT and the College of Commerce, more flexible, reliable and affordable.
Michael O Longaigh, Chief Operations Officer for Cobh Connect commented at the launch of this new service; “For years now Cobh locals have struggled to commute both around their town of Cobh but also to the city. Many parts of Cobh are quite rural and currently inaccessible to public transport, so this service will now connect residents from the like of O’Neills Place to Passage West Ferry via Rushbrooke and Ballynoe Park. For students, working professionals, and patients of the city hospitals the options of train, taxi or facing into the expense of driving and then parking is simply not always realistic or practical, but they’ve had no other choice. Since we announced the implementation of the new public bus service locally we have been overwhelmed with the positive response we have received. This service is long overdue and we are excited to get the Cobh Connect fleet on the roads!”
Fares for the Cobh Connect include adult single (€4) and adult day return (€6), a student single rate (€2.50) and student return (€4), 10 journey ticket (€22 adult, €18 student), and Cobh Bus run (internally within Cobh only) (€1.50).
To find out more about the Cobh Connect Coach Service visit www.cobhconnect.ie or keep up to date on Facebook/cobhconnect or Twitter @CobhConnect
