‘Buses disappear in our towns in the evenings’

“I honestly can’t remember ever seeing a bus in my area after five o’clock,” said 17-year-old Pauric. He lives in the village of Clonoe, about a mile southeast of Coalisland in County Tyrone. He believes there are huge gaps in rural transport and he’s not alone.

Government figures show that only 20% of rural residents in Northern Ireland live within a three-minute walk of the nearest bus stop, compared to 40% of those in urban areas. Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Travel Survey shows that almost 70% of urban households reported a bus service frequency of at least once an hour, compared to 20% of those who live in rural locations. Katie Clifford is director of the Rural Community Network and says that public transport virtually disappears after six o’clock in most rural towns.

“The inter-connectivity between regional towns just isn’t there when it comes to public transport, especially in the evenings," she said. “What you end up seeing is an over-reliance on cars in rural areas and that is especially impacting our younger people.” BBC News NI spoke to a group of 17-year-olds from St Patrick’s Academy in Dungannon who are currently studying for their A-levels.

Annie is from the rural village of Donaghmore, about three miles northwest of Dungannon and is studying accountancy and business studies. “We have lots of engineering firms in this area, and not having consistent public transport is bad for business," she said. “If their employees don’t have a.