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Cllr Jackie Healy Rae
A KERRY county councillor has hit out at the cost of public transport for Kerry customers, especially with regard to travelling to Dublin this weekend for the Kerry v Tyrone game.
Cllr Jackie Healy Rae described the costs for some bus and rail services from Kerry to Dublin this weekend as “astronomical”.
“With return Irish Rail trains from Tralee to Dublin Heuston costing €84.98 for an eight-hour round trip and Bus Eireann fares costing €58.00 for a journey that forces customers to change in Cork for a trip that takes over seven hours, I find it beyond belief that people can fly return to and from Dublin for just under €50 in a journey time that takes just under an hour,” said Cllr Healy-Rae.
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“I’m not sure who is trying to kid who when it comes to transport but a bus trip from Kerry to Dublin that takes longer than an airfare from Dublin to New York is beyond infuriating,” he added.
“How a train fare that costs almost double an airfare [from Kerry to Dublin] in this day and age when all the Government talk about is lessening the Carbon footprint is something that needs to be explained, why in God’s name would I bother taking a train or bus over driving my own car or even taking a flight when both are cheaper and more time efficient”.
Cllr Healy Rae spent the afternoon traversing the online sites to get transport and felt that “interacting with the website for the bus services is shocking, absolutely sickening. As someone who is good with computers my head was fried from trying to navigate it. What would it be like for a customer who is still only coming to terms with online bookings or for tourists getting around the country. It is not designed to be user friendly, that is for sure.”
Cllr Healy Rae has said that he will be calling both Bus Eireann and Irish Rail to meet with county councillors before a full meeting of the Council before years end to explain the service and costs that Kerry customers face.
