In a survey of Malahide residents carried out by Malahide Community Forum in 2008, with the support of Fingal County Council, 1 in 8 households took part – an exceptionally high response.  Among their unprompted “dislikes” about Malahide were traffic congestion (20% of respondents) and lack of parking (19%).  In that survey, 85% of respondents said they would welcome a shuttle bus.

In 2009 a consortium was formed to work on a shuttle project for Malahide.  The consortium consisted of Malahide Community Forum, Malahide Chamber of Commerce, and the Transportation Department of Fingal County Council.  The purpose of this project is to establish a shuttle bus service, operating at frequent intervals and reliably enough for use by residents of outlying areas.  This would provide the following advantages:

·        Reduce the need for additional parking spaces.

·        Encourage shoppers previously deterred by the parking problems to come to Malahide.

·        Reduce traffic congestion, especially at peak times.

Initial research showed that the keys to a commercially viable service were the morning and evening commuter peaks.  1500 people leave Malahide each morning by train, but relatively few travel to the station by bus, and a much larger number get there by car. In recent interviews of commuters at Malahide station, only 7% had arrived by bus compared with 45% by car.

After a competitive tendering process, Malahide Coaches was invited by the consortium to apply for a licence to operate the service.  The original application for a licence was made in October 2009.  After refusal by the Department of Trasnport, and refusal of the appeal, Bus licensing passed to the National Trasnport Authority, to whom an application was made in December 2010.

The Malahide Shuttle Project Group initiated the Project for setting up a Shuttle service, in response to the survey results reported above.  The Group has set up this website and will actively support the launch of the service on behalf of the Community, to make sure that it is successful.  But the operation of the service wil be carried out by Malahide Coaches.