The town is set to lose its only direct connection to Cork or Dublin if Bus Éireann closes the X8 route as planned in the new year.
It was announced in September that Bus Éireann is to axe a number of routes including Cork-Dublin and Limerick-Dublin.
Bus Éireann's Expressway routes between Cork-Dublin and Limerick-Dublin are to cease, the firm said, and the Dublin to Galway route is also being axed.
The firm was projecting €20m in losses over the next three years if the routes were continued.
The loss of thousands of students and airport passengers in recent months, as well as capacity restrictions on buses, are among the reasons for the stark projections.
Cashel Chamber of Commerce has launched a petition aiming to gather a thousand signatures by early next week calling for the X8 route to be maintained.
Chamber President Martin Lynch said it will stop tourists returning to the town and leave students commuting for college stuck.
Public support
“We’re actually getting more calls from parents saying my son and daughter have decided we’re going to college in Cork or going to college in Dublin and we don’t need accommodation.
“We were relying on this bus service to get them to college.”
Mr Lynch said that will end “come January or February when Bus Éireann decides when they are going to remove it.”
He said that the parents “will have to now start looking at either trying to get accommodation or possibly putting a car on the road for their child to drive up and down to college.”
In the petition, Mr Lynch said: “The removal of the X8 Bus route is short sighted, flawed and a kick in the teeth for Cashel and Cahir.
“We need the public's support on this and I'm asking everyone to sign this petition calling on Bus Éireann to urgently reviewed and reversed this nonsensically decision.”
Cllr Andy Moloney added: “Cahir is the crossroads of Munster and the X8 is an essential link for connecting buses from limerick to Waterford and Dublin and Cork.
“We cannot allow for this service to be removed and I urge you to sign this petition to have this decision reversed.”
