Safety concerns as half of Galway City bus shelters are unlit
A former Mayor of Galway is concerned about the safety of bus users at night after it was revealed more than half of Galway City’s bus shelters are in darkness.
The recent bus shelter audit carried out by Galway City Council has shown that 69 bus shelters in the city do have lights and 78 do not have lighting.
Galway City Councillor Donal Lyons (Ind) said he had concerns about unlit bus shelters which was deterring people – particularly women – from using public transport at night.
“It is a safety issue. People do not want to use the bus shelters that are not lit up,” said Councillor Lyons.
At the latest City Council meeting in April, Director of Services for Project Development Derek Pender said there was now a ‘dedicated resource’ within City Hall who was hired to work on bus shelters.
Mr Pender said that it was hoped to roll-out more bus shelters, but he said many residents do not want this infrastructure outside their homes, which was “totally understandable”.
Speaking to the Tribune after the meeting, Councillor Lyons said it was a serious safety concern and without lighting people were not willing to use bus shelters and buses.
He said that one of the problems facing the City Council was the cost associated with ESB connections, which involved more expensive 'pillar boxes' rather than direct ESB pole connections for lighting, due to EU rules on safety.
“That's going to put a bigger burden on all local authorities,” he said.