I was delighted to secure a change to the 139 bus route which will provide Clane commuters with a new public transport link to Sallins train station. I recently wrote to the NTA suggesting that the 139 route should be allowed to be used for short hop journeys between Clane, Sallins and Naas, therefore providing support to the train service. The NTA has agreed to these changes and they informed me that they were effective from August 2019.

I am delighted that the NTA has agreed to implement my suggestions. The severe pressure on parking facilities at Sallins train station is well recorded. While there is work underway to provide a second carpark it has always seemed to me that more public transport links to the station was an obvious solution to the dependency on parking spaces. The 139 was introduced a cross county route and it was a positive development, however the prohibition on short hop journeys meant that it offered little support to commuter rail services. I am pleased that this has now changed, and I am hopeful that this, along with the eventual opening of the new carpark, will soon lead to an improvement in the current situation.

I also raised the need for bike storage and parking facilities at Sallins station with the NTA and they have committed to providing more bike stands while also looking into the option of more secure bike lockers if there is sufficient demand for them. Additional facilities for cyclists are a crucial part of the solution to the parking shortage at the station. While better cycle lanes and safer roads are also needed, more bike storage facilities are something which can offer an improvement to the commuter experience in the short term.