24 July 2003: A Naas councillor has expressed his 'bitter disappointment' that the Kavanagh Town Link bus that serviced Kill and Naas housing estates for almost five years has ceased, apparently because of lack of support from local authorities in the area.
The service was terminated three weeks ago by operator J J Kavanagh of Urlingford, who told KNN that as far as he could see, Kildare County Council and Naas Town Council 'couldn't be bothered' about helping the service, which was well used by local people but had never shown a profit since it was inaugurated in August 1998.
"I'm tired of going into those councils and getting nowhere," he said. "At least the councillors in Newbridge gave us some support with the Kilcullen-Newbridge Link, by putting up the signs. But there was nothing from the others."
And he noted the difference between the Kildare county's authorities with those in Carlow town, who provide a financial subvention for what is an important community service.
Last evening, Cllr Charlie Byrne of Naas Town Council expressed his amazement that any approach had been made to the council, because such a matter had never come before any councillors as far as he could recall.
"I only heard that the service was gone this morning when I got a call from an elderly person who used it," he said. "And she told me that 'you councillors got rid of it'."
Far from getting rid of it, Cllr Byrne says that if any request for support for the service had been put before councillors, every one of them would have been in favour of helping maintain the link.
"If we never got to hear of any such request, then it is a bloody scandal," he added. "This was a town link service, but somewhere it seems there's a link missing, if Mr Kavanagh was looking for help and we never heard about it."
He said Naas UDC at the time of the inaugural service had nothing to do with getting it for the town, as the Government had given the Kavanagh group their licence to run the service, 'and we simply had to take it in Naas'. "But people have since told me it was the best thing that ever happened, and it was a Godsend to people who haven't the wherewithall for private cars or taxis."
And he added that he would be hoping the council could go to the operator and ask him to 'come back in'.
Last night, J J Kavanagh - until recently the chairman of a national transport association that represents the operators of more than 8,500 private buses - said the Naas situation mirrored a national attitude by the authorities to private operators, who were conducting their business against a heavily subsidised state bus company.
He said the Clane-Sallins-Naas bus service is still operational, and that the Kilcullen-Newbridge service was 'OK' at the moment.
