THIS WEEK, THE National Transport Authority unveiled the radical redesign for the Dublin Bus route network.
The planned change, which if all goes to plan would take effect in 2020, would entirely transform the network, replacing many of the numbers with letters, and adding orbital routes so that people can avoid the city centre if they’re travelling across Dublin.
The theory behind it is that you may have to change your bus on the way into town, but by prioritising the key “spines”, it should actually get you into town faster.
An example given at the press conference was a commuter from Dunboyne.
The current 70 bus – which goes from Dunboyne through Blanchardstown into the city centre – is every half hour during rush hour but buses are around an hour apart thereafter.
The new 264 bus would link Dunboyne and Clonee to main spine in Blanchardstown every 20-25 minutes during weekdays. It would stop at Blanchardstown Shopping Centre and allow travellers to change onto the more frequent spine route, which is planned to run every five minutes.
It’s all not set in stone yet, of course. A public consultation will get under way next week to gauge the public’s views on the plans.
And, even if those plans are left unchanged after the consultation, Dublin Bus will need to sort out the issue of increasing its fleet and staff size, and amend driver schedules to meet the new running of the network.
Here is a breakdown of how the planned new Dublin Bus network would change your route:
So long the 16 (and the 27b and the 33, and the 41(c)) and hello to A
So, currently, the 16 bus runs every ten minutes during rush hour. It travels from Dublin Airport, through Santry, Drumcondra and the city centre, before going to Harold’s Cross, Terenure and ending up in Ballinteer.
The 16 is joined by a number of other buses along the route, but that would be replaced by the A spine.
The A bus would run every five minutes during a normal weekday. Its main spine would run from Whitehall to Terenure.
Separate to that will be a number of branches of the A that would be scheduled to run every six to seven minutes during the week which link up with the main A spine.
The A1 would carry on from Terenure into Templeogue and Knocklyon. The A2 would carry on through Templeogue onto Tallaght. A3 and A4 carry onto Rathfarnham with the former circling around Ballinteer Avenue, Dundrum and Nutgrove.
To the north the A4 would continue onto Swords, while the A2 would terminate at Dublin Airport. The A3 would terminate at DCU while the A1 would go all the way to Clongriffin.
39/a, 38 be gone and welcome the B
Currently the 39a goes from Blanchardstown all the way to UCD, with a number of other buses on that route . The new B spine will go to UCD but shake up how the various nearby areas access town.
The spine will have a main terminus at the shopping centre, from which no fewer than 10 routes will link to.
The B2 – which will run every seven minutes or so – will link the main spine with Clonsilla and Ongar.
It would then go the same route into the city, before going through Baggot Street and Ballsbridge on the way to UCD.
Nice to C you
Now, there’s a number of buses that go through Lucan, including the 25a, 25b, 66 and 67.
That would be replaced by the C that would begin just before the turn off the N4 for Lucan village. So, for those coming from the direction of the city centre, they would change here depending on their onward journey.
It would go through Palmerstown and straight into the city centre. Most of these routes currently go through Chapelizod but that would be replaced by the 14 bus which would run every half hour.
Further afield, a number of C routes, running every 20-25 minutes would link Lucan the spine with Lucan village, Celbridge, Adamstown and Maynooth.
A new orbital route the W4 that intersects the spine would link Lucan with Blanchardstown and Tallaght.
D replacing 15 and 27
The 15 and 27 routes are two busy routes that travel from the north of the city past Clontarf, and through Donnycarney, Artane and Coolock.
The new D spine would begin on the northside at Balgirffin, with the D1 linking it with Malahide and D2, D3 and D4 providing links to nearby Clongriffin.
Orbital routes cutting the D spine include the N8 (from Kilbarrack to Charlestown Shopping Centre) and the N6 (linking Howth to DCU).
Getting on the N6 in Howth for example, would allow someone to get to the city centre by changing onto a D bus when you reach that spine.
When the D spine splits off in Crumlin, the D2 provides a link to Tallaght while the D3 provides a link to Milltown.
The demise of the 46a… and the 13.
When Shane Ross was asked about what constituents might think of the end of the 46a, he laughed. But that’s exactly what the new E spine would do, running from just outside Cornelscourt to Ballymun.
The spine – in the south – would link with the E1 and 32.
The E2 travels to Dun Laoghaire, and is served by a number of orbital routes, including the 221 to Killiney, the 229 to Bride’s Glen.
The E1 goes to Bray and Ballywaltrim, and south Dublin into Wicklow is served by a number of routes that connect with the E1 at Bray.
The buses that goes furthest south are the 201 and 202, that reach Delgany, Kilpedder, Kilcoole and Newcastle.
In terms of north Dublin, the E2 will link Ballymun with Charlestown shopping centre.
The N4 bus will cut the E spine just outside Ballymun, providing a link to Blanchardstown, Donnycarney, Killester and the Docklands.
F spine
The F spine is one of the shorter ones.
It starts at Harold’s Cross and ends up just outside Finglas, replacing one half of the 40 bus route.
One it reaches Finglas it branches off into the F1, 2 and 3 which takes separate routes on its way to Charlestown Shopping Centre.
To the south, those buses branch off into Perrystown and Cherryfield.
No more 40 or 79 with the G
The G spine links Ballyfermot and Inchicore with the city.
It follows the half of the route the 40 does with the G1 branching off from Ballyfermot Road and terminating past Park West.
The G2 will go to Liffey Valley where it can link up with the C spine.
The S4 meanwhile will travel through Ballyfermot, and link it with Bluebell, Crumlin, Terenure and Clonskeagh before terminating at UCD.
You can look at the complete map for the new Dublin Bus plan here.
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