£4.5m To Be Invested In 23 Interurban Coaches

Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy has officially announced a £4.5m investment in 23 new interurban coaches for use on key Ulsterbus routes.

Speaking at the Europa Bus centre in Belfast where he viewed one of the new coaches, Mr Kennedy said: "My Department has provided funding in excess of £4.5million which has allowed Translink to purchase 23 new Interurban Coaches. The buses are being introduced to passenger services this month on key Ulsterbus routes across Northern Ireland.

"The new coaches meet high standards in terms of comfortable seating, modern interior design, wheelchair accessibility and they comply with European emission standards (Euro v).

"A key objective in investing in public transport is to encourage commuters and other travellers to use public transport for their journeys instead of the private car. These buses which offer a modern attractive transport option will contribute to that goal.

"My Department continues to invest in the purchase of new buses to help Translink upgrade its fleet. Since 2005, over a thousand Metro, Ulsterbus and Goldline buses have been purchased improving fleet age and accessibility. The investment has helped to ensure bus passenger numbers continue to grow with close to 70 million passenger journeys last year. This year to date, Metro and Ulsterbus have both seen an increase in passengers (Metro 123,000 and Ulsterbus 102,000) and NI Rail has seen an increase in passengers of 653,000."

Catherine Mason, Translink Group Chief Executive said: "This is the first time we have operated these kind of buses on interurban services and we are already getting some great feedback from our customers who are enjoying the enhanced levels of quality and comfort on board.

"Their introduction will no doubt help to make bus travel even more attractive to those people who want to access their local town or city to work, shop or study. As such we hope many more people give their local bus service a try and ultimately make it their preferred way to travel.

"We have seen much investment in our fleet over the last year with the introduction of our new Goldline coaches for express services, Metro buses in Belfast and now this investment in Ulsterbus interurban services. We thank the Minister and his Department for their on-going support in this area."

(CD/JP)