Passenger Road Transport

The Erne Bus Service was based in Enniskillen and was established in 1929 by Maurice F. Cassidy. It operated routine services on the Coothill-Clones- Enniskillen- Bundoran routes and also provided Fermanagh with its first road service to Dublin since Bianconi’s stagecoaches. It was unionized at least partially by the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union.

The Erne bus service like other small operators was taken over by the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in 1957 by compulsory takeover. Ulsterbus subsequently took over the road passenger operations of the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in 1967.

Ulsterbus and its associated companies have retained a very strong union organisation ever since including in the Fermanagh area where the drivers have in the past taken action on behalf of health workers. This photo shows them on the picket at the Enniskillen depot in 2024 with their shop steward, Paddy Love second from the right in this photo holding a Unite the Union flag.