All ends well for bus shelter that arrives at the wrong destination

IT was a case of all’s well that ends well this week as the promise of one bus shelter turned into two at Mungret Community College.

Students, teachers and local representatives were left scratching their heads after an eagerly-awaited bus shelter appeared to have taken the scenic route to its end destination.

Local Fine Gael councillor, Daniel Butler, pointed to this curious “plot twist” on social media.

“It appears to have landed on the outbound side rather than the inbound side,” he posted.

The City West representative quickly followed up on the mysterious bus shelter “that appeared to be on the wrong side of the road”. But, thankfully, he was able to sigh a breath of relief as the riddle was quickly solved.

“There was, understandably, some confusion when the first shelter appeared on the outbound side rather than the inbound side. However, rather than simply highlighting the problem, I wanted to work towards a practical solution. The commitment to a second shelter is welcome news, and I will continue to follow up on the remaining details,” he told the Limerick Post.

“ This is a positive step forward for students, parents and the wider Mungret community. I have been working on a number of measures to improve bus services to Mungret Community College, and securing the bus services themselves was an important first step,” he explained.

“I subsequently raised the need for proper bus shelters so that students have a more suitable place to wait for their buses. I am pleased that a commitment has now been given to provide a second shelter, which will deliver a better long-term arrangement for the area.”

While welcoming progress on the shelters, Cllr Butler went onto stress that the work to improve school transport is not finished. He is currently awaiting a review by the National Transport Authority (NTA) of the morning bus schedule, following concerns that the existing timings do not get pupils to Mungret Community College in time for the start of the school day.

“ Getting a bus service in place is important, but it is equally important that the service works for the students who depend on it. If the morning bus does not get pupils to school on time, then the timetable needs to be examined. As a parent of a child attending the school, I understand how important reliable transport is to the school community,” he concluded.