Who suffers as a result of NTA's lack of ambition and foresight ...Meath commuters of course
Thursday 15th January 2026, 14:29pm
Feeder buses to serve rail users in Dunboyne and Navan areexactlythe kind of practical, low-cost, high-impact intervention that should be put on to facilitate commuters but the NTA ( National Transport Authority) is clearlynotprioritising them.
That’s according to Aontú Cllr Emer Tóibín who says
“It’s quite amazing how simple measures that have the potential to greatly enhance the lives of commutersare not on the NRA’s radar.
Back in November (2025), I emailed the NTA asking if a Navan–Dunboyne rail feeder bus service could be put in place.
Disappointingly, I received a non-committal reply today to the effect that it is “actively considering options of this nature, subject to availability of resources and funding.''
What does this classic ‘institutional holding language’ really mean in plain terms?
Essentially it means that while they accept the idea makes sense,but they neither have the ambition or foresight to expedite it
It’s hard to reach another conclusion as if services like this were real priorities it would be forced into action.
Feeder services that reduce Dublin-bound bus journeys would be a gamechanger for many as it would reduce congestion, improve punctuality, increase rail usage and cost less to operate.
Unfortunately, this is exactly the kind of vague, non-committal response that Meath commuters have become accustomed to.
“It is deeply unfair that commuters in Meath, one of the closest counties to Dublin and one of the fastest growing are expected to toleratesubstandard public transport year after year.
Meath has been stuck in transport limbo for far too long,
Rail is always promised ‘down the line’, so bus services are never properly optimised in the meantime.The result is the worst of both worlds. The Navan–Dunboyne feeder bus would be a low-cost, high-impact measure that could be introduced as a pilot and would immediately improve reliability across the network.
This is not a radical proposal, it’s how public transport works properly in other countries.
What’s missing here isnot feasibility, but political will”.
