By Eve Lonergan
Changes to the Carrigaline/Crosshaven 220 bus route have been published today by Bus Éireann, following a recent review.
The 24-hour service will change from its current schedule of running every 15 minutes to now every 20 minutes.
The number of buses on the 220 route will be reduced by 32 buses Monday to Friday, with a reduction of 14 on Saturday. Sunday will remain unchanged.
These changes are due to come into effect from October 20th, and are intended to be temporary, as Bus Éireann struggles amid a driver shortage.
Bus Éireann said these changes will "improve reliability and punctuality", as they announce reductions to five of Cork's most frequent bus routes, including the 202, 202a, 205 and the 208.
In total, the changes will see 872 fewer bus journeys each week in Cork City under the new timetables.
The 220 bus route currently runs from Ovens to Fort Camden via Carrigaline, and is relied on by many in the surrounding areas.
Concerns from passengers relying on this vital service have grown in recent weeks, particularly in regard to 'disappearing' buses, in which scheduled buses have not shown up at bus stops, leaving passengers waiting for long periods of time uncertain of when the next bus will appear.
The ongoing issues with driver recruitment has resulted in Bus Éireann spending over €0.5m on hiring private coaches in Cork in the previous 12 months.
Though these temporary changes aim to alleviate the pressure placed on key routes, Bus Éireann are still undertaking a recruitment drive and hope to return service frequency to the current timetable as soon as possible.
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