TFI Local Link, or simply Local Link, is a set of local bus services in the Republic of Ireland which provide local public transport in rural areas, typically linking villages to local towns. As well as scheduled services, Local Link provides bookable door-to-door services for those with reduced mobility. [1] [2] Managed by Transport for Ireland (TFI), the services are publicly subsidised.
A 2002 pilot project "Rural Transport Initiative" was started to look into unaddressed transport needs, giving rise to a "Rural Transport Programme". Services were originally managed locally by voluntary groups. A 2013 restructuring of management reduced the large number of local groups to a number of "Transport Co-ordination Units" (subsequently branded as "Local Link offices"). Funding is from the government's Public Service Obligation via the National Transport Authority (NTA) under its Transport for Ireland (TFI) brand. In February 2023, the government proposed a large expansion of Local Link services. [3]
Bus services are managed by TFI and operated by a large number of local operators (400 as at 2021). [1] As of 2023, Local Link services were managed by 15 local offices. These offices cover:
Most of the transport system in Ireland is in public hands, either side of the Irish border. The Irish road network has evolved separately in the two jurisdictions into which Ireland is divided, while the Irish rail network was mostly created prior to the partition of Ireland.
The history of public transport authorities in London details the various organisations that have been responsible for the public transport network in and around London, England - including buses, coaches, trams, trolleybuses, Docklands Light Railway, and the London Underground.
The Dublin Area Rapid Transit system is an electrified commuter rail railway network serving the coastline and city of Dublin, Ireland. The service makes up the core of Dublin's suburban railway network, stretching from Greystones, County Wicklow, in the south to Howth and Malahide in north County Dublin. The DART serves 31 stations and consists of 53 route kilometres of electrified railway, and carries in the region of 20 million passengers per year. In a similar manner to the Berlin S-Bahn, the DART blends elements of a commuter rail service and a rapid transit system.
Local government in Northern Ireland is divided among 11 districts. Councils in Northern Ireland do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the United Kingdom; for example they have no responsibility for education, road-building or housing. Their functions include planning, waste and recycling services, leisure and community services, building control and local economic and cultural development. The collection of rates is handled centrally by the Land and Property Services agency of the Northern Ireland Executive.
The 2004 election to the post of Mayor of London took place on 10 June 2004. It was being held on the same day as other local elections and the UK part of the 2004 European Parliament elections, so Londoners had a total of five votes on three ballot papers. Polling opened at 07:00 local time, and closed at 22:00. See: 2004 UK elections. The Supplementary Vote system was used.
Córas Iompair Éireann, or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of the Republic of Ireland, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport within the Republic and jointly with its Northern Ireland counterpart, the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, for the railway service between Dublin and Belfast, via Drogheda, Dundalk and Newry. The company is headquartered at Heuston Station, Dublin. It is a statutory corporation whose members are appointed by the Minister for Transport.
Dublin Bus is an Irish state-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 145 million passengers in 2023. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann.
Bus deregulation in Great Britain involved the abolition of Road Service Licensing for bus services outside of Greater London. It began in 1980 with long-distance bus services and was extended to local bus services in 1986 under the Transport Act 1985. The abolition of Road Service Licensing removed the public sector's role in fare-setting, routes, and bus frequencies and returned those powers to bus operators.
Metro is the passenger information brand used by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in England. It was formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE), at the same time as the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire. The Metro brand has been used from the outset and, since the formal abolition of the WYPTE on 1 April 2014, it has remained the brand name of public transport in the region, overseen by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which is also responsible for the delivery of transport policies.
The transport system in Scotland is generally well-developed. The Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament has control over most elements of transport policy within Scotland, with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition holding portfolio responsibility within the Scottish Government. Transport Scotland is the Executive Agency responsible for the Scottish transport network.
This article deals with transport in the Greater Dublin Area centred on the city of Dublin in Ireland.
Public transport in Christchurch, New Zealand, consists of bus services operated by two bus companies supported by a ferry, all jointly marketed as Metro, a division of Environment Canterbury (ECan).
Buses are the most widespread and most commonly used form of public transport in the United Kingdom. In Great Britain, bus transport is owned and governed by private sector companies, except in Greater London. If a socially desirable service cannot be economically operated without a subsidy, then local councils can support bus companies to provide the service, often after an open competitive tendering exercise. In Northern Ireland, bus services are publicly owned, governed and delivered, as is the case in the Republic of Ireland.
Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service, Dial-a-Ride transit, flexible transport services, Microtransit, Non-Emergency Medical Transport (NEMT), Carpool or On-demand bus service is a form of shared private or quasi-public transport for groups traveling where vehicles alter their routes each journey based on particular transport demand without using a fixed route or timetabled journeys. These vehicles typically pick-up and drop-off passengers in locations according to passengers needs and can include taxis, buses or other vehicles. Passengers can typically summon the service with a mobile phone app or by telephone; telephone is particularly relevant to older users who may not be conversant with technology.
The National Transport Authority or NTA is the transport authority for Greater Dublin and the public transport licensing agency for the Republic of Ireland. It was established under the provisions of the Dublin Transport Authority Act (2008) and the Public Transport Regulation Act (2009), on 1 December 2009.
Public transport in Ireland exists in many of the Ireland's urban areas and rural areas, and takes a number of forms. Bus transport is the main form of public transport and is common in all cities. The cities, Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick and Galway all have their own suburban rail networks, although Dublin is the only to have its own tram line, in the form of the Luas. Ireland has a population of 5 million people.
The Transport Act 1985 was an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It introduced privatised and deregulated bus services throughout Great Britain and came into effect in October 1986.
In Queensland, Australia, public bus services are coordinated by the Queensland Government's Department of Transport and Main Roads and provided by over 1000 operators. The coordination of public bus transport generally falls under three schemes: Translink services, QConnect services and the remaining rural/regional school services. Some operators also provide entirely private bus services in Queensland which are not subject to the same route and ticketing regulation as the public route providers, or segments thereof, are.
Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria. It was previously the trading name of the Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authority in Victoria, responsible for providing, coordinating, and promoting public transport.
Great British Railways (GBR) is a proposed state-owned public body that is to oversee rail transport in Great Britain except for Transport for London, Merseytravel, light rail and tram services. It is to assume most rail functions of the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Rail Delivery Group, including procuring services and setting fares. In addition, it is to absorb Network Rail to become the operator of most rail infrastructure across Great Britain. It will not affect the existing powers of the UK's devolved administrations in their areas.