TFI Local Link

Last updated
TFI Local Link
Tfi-local-link-General-Logo-24.png
Parent Transport For Ireland
Founded2002
Service areaIreland
Service typeBus & coach services
Alliance Bus Éireann
Website https://www.transportforireland.ie/tfi-local-link/

TFI Local Link, or simply Local Link, is a set of local bus services in 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.

Contents

History

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] 65 new or improved services were started in 2023, with a 36% increase in the number of passengers compared with the previous year. [4]

On 15 July 2025, TFI Local Link launched TFI Anseo on Achill Island. It is accompanied by a mobile app passengers can use to book buses between two locations in served zones, acting as a hybrid between a share taxi and a rideshare service. It later began service in Killarney and north-east Limerick City as part of the one year trial period. Within four months, the service had already moved 20,000 passengers in Killarney. [5] [6]

Services

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:

References

  1. ↑ "Bus services". Citizens Information. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Freiberg, Rubina (17 February 2023). "Over 60 additional rural bus services proposed across Ireland". Agriland. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  3. ↑ Phelan, Dean; Gan, Madeleine; McArdle, Rachel; Hosseini, Keyvan; Caulfield, Brian; Moore-Cherry, Niamh (30 July 2024). "How to design a transport plan for Enniscorthy and other Irish towns". RTÉ Brainstorm . Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  4. ↑ Collins, Proinsias (2025-07-14). "Minister Calleary and NTA launch Ireland's first Smart Demand-Responsive Transport pilot in Achill". Transport for Ireland. Retrieved 2026-01-03.
  5. ↑ Collins, Proinsias (2025-12-19). "All aboard TFI Anseo as pilot connects 20,000 passengers in just four months". Transport for Ireland. Retrieved 2026-01-03.
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