The Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan (the Plan) is an initiative by the NTA to improve connectivity and mobility in rural areas through the development of new and enhanced public transport services.
Connecting Ireland Implementation Phase 3 report
This report is a review of the implementation of Phase 3 of the Connecting Ireland (CI) Plan in 2024. This report summarises the objectives and definitions of the Plan, including summary highlights of the new and enhanced services, a review of patronage levels on Connecting Ireland services during 2024 and a look ahead to what is planned for the next phase.
45 new and enhanced bus services, improved connectivity for 54 towns
In Phase 3, forty-five new and enhanced bus services were introduced via the Connecting Ireland Plan. Over 120,000 weekly vehicle kilometres were added to the public transport network as a result of the 17 new services and 28 frequency enhancements and route extensions that were introduced. 54 new towns and villages have been consequently connected to the TFI public transport network.
Almost 8 million passenger journeys
Almost 8 million passenger journeys were recorded across Connecting Ireland services in 2024, with 1.2m passenger journeys recorded from the time the Phase 3 implementations were introduced. Connecting Ireland services continue to see an increase in patronage, up by 165% at the end of 2024 compared to the beginning of 2019. Where Connecting Ireland services have been implemented patronage has increased 38% from 2023 to 2024.
Phase 4 underway in 2025
The Connecting Ireland programme is multi-phase plan with Phase 4 underway in 2025.
