West Cork Connects say the entire model of their business - connecting people from West Cork to the city and beyond - has been blown up by the Council's decision to relocate bus companies from Patrick's Quay by the end of the month
Aircoach and West Cork Connects will now have to operate at three different nearby locations on Coburg Street, the Lower Glanmire Road, and Anderson's Quay.
The commercial bus companies are being moved off the quay to make room for cycle lanes which is part of the Council's plans to revamp the MacCurtain Street area.
In a statement the Council says the change is part of the Mac Curtain Street scheme and it will mean shorter bus journey times for all bus passengers in Cork city due to an increased network of dedicated bus lanes and bus priority.
Damien Long owner of West Cork Connects - which runs 12 services a day that stop at Patrick's Quay - told RedFM News that the move will be a major loss to connectivity in the city
"Look, it's a crazy decision. It's been done without any thought process here. And we're just being removed off the Quay and being spread out all around the city. It's a major loss of connectivity in Cork city. You're taking 14 bus bays that were all one behind the other, the connectivity was there, get off one bus onto the next bus and moved to four parts of Ireland - wherever you wanted to go north, south, east or west. Now they're spread us around the city takes 10 or 15 minutes of a walk in between the buses now, from what it was so no, it's not going to speed up the bus services and the time"
