Call for bus service

Over 140 residents from Drumglass, Rowan Manor and Rowan Park have signed a petition for a bus service to be reinstated along the Tullygally Road.

There are two shelters for bus stops along the road and Translink said the bus route was withdrawn around 20 years ago because of a lack of demand.

However, since then a number of new housing developments have sprung up in the area.

Geraldine O'Kane said a bus service would be a blessing for her, "I have four teenage children and I am constantly running to the shopping centre, Lurgan or Portadown.

"There are children that have to go to school and have to walk for miles to get to the nearest stop."

"A bus service would mean I would get my Saturday afternoon's back."

Brendan Blaney said the re-introduction of the service was essential: "The nearest stop is across in Pinebank and you would not want young ones to be walking across late at night.

"But for the likes of me, with a bus pass, in the winter it is not nice to have to walk for ages to get a bus - and you don't want to get a car."

John O'Dowd supported the residents campaign, he said: "I would like to congratulate the local residents group who organised a petition in the area, and were successful in collecting 141 names in support of their proposal for the reactivation of the bus route.

“This area is quite heavily populated and the road also caters for those attending two schools, St Anthony’s Primary and Brownlow Integrated College, as well as the doctors’ surgery and pharmacy in the nearby Legahory shopping centre.

"The area requires a bus service and a service will become even more essential when the proposed development at the old Rathmore site is completed. The local residents have my full backing and I have written a letter of support to Translink calling for the service to be restored.”

A Translink spokeswoman said: "We will continue to monitor the market and where there is sustainable demand we will review the level of service provided.

"We must make the best use of the resources we have available in order to continue to provide better services overall for our passengers."