The Tipperary Energy Agency has conducted a survey for a local Rural Transport service company, Ring a Link.
Ring a Link is a unique type of public transport service for those living in the rural areas of South Tipperary. It is a cross between a conventional bus service and a taxi. Passengers get picked up at their homes.
(More information on Ring a Link at: 
www.ringalink.ie)
Ring a Link was investigating the possibility of putting in place an extended Bus service to Clonmel (possibly 6 days a week) from December 2006. The aim of the survey was to know whether people in the West-Clonmel area would use the service and how it would work best for them. Ring a Link particularly needed to get information from the persons who would use the service on a work purpose. Today, Ring a Link customers are mostly elderly people and the purpose of the travels are mainly shopping and leisure activities. With its new 6 day service to Clonmel, Ring a Link wants to reach an other type of customers: employed persons who need to go to Clonmel everyday at working hours.
As part of this investigation, the Tipperary Energy Agency was commissioned in November 2006 to carry out a survey in the West Clonmel area, using a questionnaire issued by Ring a Link.
The questionnaire has been circulated in the Clogheen, Ardfinnan, Ballyporeen, Burncourt, Ballylooby area in order to target the potential users of the Clonmel Service. 60 forms have been completed face to face.
The form was also sent by email to all the South Tipperary County staff, but only 10 forms were sent back to the Tipperary Energy Agency. South Tipperary County Council staff had been targeted in order to assess the potential number of people who would use the rural bus service to go to work.
The Tipperary Energy Agency then analysed the results and provided Ring a Link with a report containing the following information:
- characteristics of the interviewees (age category, gender, geographical area)
- interest in the new Clonmel service
- preferred travel days and times
- suggestions
The 6 day week service to Clonmel has commenced, the service started on Monday 18th December 2006. Ring a Link advertised on local radio Tipp FM and also sent out posters to all the Clonmel passengers.
The success of the service will be assessed in september 2007. The Tipperary Energy Agency will calculate the impact of the new service on the environment (reduction of the number of cars, CO2 emissions avoided...).
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