New Laois bus service to start before Christmas

Transport for Ireland Local Link Laois will begin its new bus service between Portarlington and Monasterevin on Monday, December 23. 

The new service will be welcomed by users of the old 816 bus service from Portarlington to Kildare town, which was withdrawn by Dublin Coach on November 30 last. It left commuters in Portarlington with no public bus service between Portarlington and Kildare town and prompted the National Transport Authority(NTA) to conduct a review to determine whether a Public Service Obligation(PSO) existed. 

The NTA found there was a PSO obligation and a route was needed. The NTA found there was a PSO obligation between Portarlington and Monasterevin. 

However, it found “that connectivity between Monasterevin and Kildare town is not as reliant on the 816 with the frequent 726 service operated by Dublin Coach maintaining this connection.”

Now TFI Local Link will introduce a new 806 service on the portion of the route which was served by the 816 between Monasterevin and Kildare. 

This new route is part of the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan which is a major national public transport initiative developed and funded by the NTA as part of the Transport for Ireland  Network.

Route 806 will initially operate seven daily return services from Monday to Sunday including on public holidays, increasing to nine services from Monday, January 6, 2025. The new route will provide peak-time and evening services as well as improved connectivity to regional bus services and to Portarlington and Monasterevin Train Stations.

The route will also offer improved connectivity for Portarlington town with connections at Avondale Estate, Patrick Street, Botley Lane, Whitefields, McCann Park, Canal Road, along with stops in Monasterevin at Drogheda Street and Oldgrange Road.

Speaking ahead of the launch, TFI Local Link Laois Offaly General Manager, Frances Byrne said: “This new service will provide much needed connectivity around the Portarlington town area along with connections to Irish Rail and Monasterevin.  Passengers can avail of the TFI Leap Card and Young Adult Card with fares starting from €1.70.”