Belfast councillor repeats call for reduced fares
The figures are in for the new late night transport services in Belfast, and it appears the pilot has been a wild success.
Translink has confirmed there were around 30,000 journeys on late-night festive train and bus services this year, an increase of over 70 percent. Late-night bus services in Belfast accounted for over 7,000 of these journeys.
The new late timetable was introduced in November, for Friday and Saturday nights only.
In September Belfast Council agreed to co-fund with Stormont the extended late night public transport pilot, after years of pressure and lobbying on the matter from City Hall.
In a letter from Minister for Infrastructure Liz Kimmins and Minister for the Economy Caoimhe Archibald to Belfast Council, it was proposed that six Stormont departments each pay between £92.4K and £94.9 towards the pilot, while Belfast Council would pay £92.3K, for a 12 month period.
The letter stated: “Providing this extended late-night weekend public transport service will provide a range of both economic and societal benefits, including improved connectivity to communities outside of the city centre, facilitating people to get home safely, and improved access to cultural activities in the city centre.
“(It will also) reduce potential for public order issues in the city centre on Friday and Saturday evenings, leading to reduced policing costs and reduced pressure on health services. (It will also) reduce potential for violence against women and girls.”
At the Belfast full council meeting on Thursday (January 8), SDLP Councillor Séamas de Faoite, who led the charge at City Hall for an extended night service, welcomed the success of the pilot so far.
He said: “It is important to remind ourselves that the council does do good things, and there are examples of this place being able to work, and deliver for the city.
“And when it comes to night time transport, our involvement in bringing forward night buses in Belfast meant that over the December period we saw a 70 percent increase in the number of people using public transport, with 7,000 individuals using the metro bus night services, and that is just the buses. A huge number of people used the train services as well.”
He said before the meeting: “The Infrastructure Minister and her department must now work with Translink to build on this success and improve our public transport offering to meet demand. This should include enhanced timetables, additional routes where possible and the exploration of lowering fares, as backed by Belfast City Council through my recent proposal.
“These late-night services will have a huge benefit for our economy, supporting hospitality and retail businesses and their staff, whilst improving public safety. They will also reduce congestion to encourage more people to visit our city and support local businesses.
“We should be doing everything we can to encourage people to use public transport and to leave their cars and other vehicles at home. This will also contribute to lowering emissions that harm our environment and encourage healthier, more active lifestyles among the public.”
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