BNS Rural Development LEADER+ 'other projects'

Other Programmes

Home Page | WRITE Project | CAIT 2 Project | Ring a Link Workshop | Savour Carlow Kilkenny food guide

BNS has been to the fore in the drive to address the issue of inadequate public transport in rural areas of its catchment area. The company was the lead agency in the establishment of the Carlow,Kilkenny and Tipperary South Riding Rural Transport Company Ltd. This company was founded in September 2001 to facilitate a joint application to the 'Rural Transport Initiative' for the operation of a series of pilot rural transport initiatives in the three-county area. The company's application was successful to the tune of €311,000.

The basis of the group's application was based on the provision of a flexible bus, minibus or taxi/hackney service which will be available to rural dwellers on a 'demand response' basis. This
means that a central coordination office will take customer calls and divert vehicles to pickup customers. It is proposed that the service can be integrated with the existing public transport in the region to provide a more comprehensive service to the rural community. A number of prospective pilot demand responsive transport (DRT) routes in the three-county area have been identified and the Board of Directors and manager of the company propose to begin the piloting in some of these areas in the spring of 2002.

A A central dispatcher coordinates rural transport

BNS through its LEADER + funding has pledged to support the new company in any appropriate manner. Other funders of the company include FÁS and the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs (DSCFA).

Other statutory bodies, such as the South Eastern Health Board have also indicated their willingness to support the initiative.