Extra Portlaoise bus stop requested for elderly neighbourhood

An extra stop on the Portlaoise town bus service is wanted to serve elderly people living in a retirement village.

The residents had assumed they were getting a stop and are "very disappointed" says Cllr Paddy Buggy.

He tabled a motion to the March meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District, asking Laois County Council to draw up a plan to install an extra bus stop at the retirement village in Kilminchy, "to facilitate those elderly people living there".

There are already bus stops at the entrance to the large Kilminchy estate, on the Dublin Road.

"There is an incline to the existing stop but it is quite steep if you are using a walking frame or a wheelchair," Cllr Buggy explained.

Cllr Barry Walsh seconded the motion, and Cllr Tommy Mulligan supported it.

The council will now request the stop from the National Transport Authority who installed and fund the bus service.

All you need to know about Portlaoise Town Service.

Portlaoise town bus service launched in February, with 21 stops across the growing town, running daily on the half hour from dawn to midnight. The service was installed as part of a plan to make Portlaoise a Low Carbon Eco friendly town.