The number of buses travelling through Naas is expected to rise significantly, with an additional 72 daily bus services planned as part of a major new housing development in the town's Northwest Quadrant.
Independent councillor Seamie Moore said the increase will be driven by the proposed development in the Millennium Park area and has called on Kildare County Council to carry out a full assessment of bus movements in and out of the town centre.
Moore believes the review should examine the total number of buses currently operating through Naas, including school transport, airport services, tourism coaches, rail station connections, special needs transport and local bus services.
He said buses are already using the town centre "in ever increasing numbers" and warned that there will be "a further 72 daily bus arrivals from the proposed new housing development in the Northwest Quadrant."
The councillor said understanding the scale of existing and future bus traffic is important to help the council plan for growing demand and ensure the town's transport infrastructure can accommodate the expected increase in services.
In other news, TFI Local Link Kildare South Dublin has become the latest service in the country to introduce contactless card payments, giving passengers a faster and more convenient way to pay for their journeys.
Customers can now pay for single fares by simply tapping their debit or credit card when boarding, while mobile payment options including Apple Pay and Google Pay are also accepted.
The new system is designed to make boarding quicker and provide greater flexibility for passengers travelling across the network.
The rollout means the national programme to introduce contactless payments across TFI Local Link services has now passed the halfway mark.
It follows successful launches in Cavan and Monaghan and several other Local Link services as part of the National Transport Authority's (NTA) wider plans to modernise fare payment systems, particularly in rural and regional communities.
While contactless payment is currently available for single journeys only, passengers can continue to use TFI Leap Cards, Free Travel Cards and cash.
Daily and weekly fare products also remain available through the Leap website and the TFI Leap Top Up App. Welcoming the move, Alan Kerry, General Manager of TFI Local Link Kildare South Dublin, described the introduction of contactless payments as "a very positive development" for passengers using the service.
