There is a huge deficit in public transport provision in rural Ireland, a report has stated.
According to Social Justice Ireland, the lack of reliable public transport in rural areas means that households are more reliant on their car to access basic services and commute to and from work and school.
Publishing its Social Justice Matters ‘Public Services’ policy brief, it found this reliance is contributing to the State’s carbon footprint, with transport being one of the three main contributing industries.
The report also stated that people in rural Ireland are forced to use their cars due to lack of public transport.
Nearly three quarters of all journeys taken in 2019 were by private car, as driver or passenger, whereas public transport accounted for just 4.8 per cent of all journeys.
The report calls for an increase in the provision of public transport in rural areas and provide greater investment in sustainable transport, biofuels and invest in hard infrastructure for cycle lanes.