Big changes coming to Dublin Bus
Dec | April 22, 2010It looks like there are big changes coming to the Dublin Bus route network over the next few months.
Dublin Bus plans to “increase efficiency and frequency, with a five-minute waiting time between services”. Good, though my bus is scheduled to run every 20 minutes and in the evening waits of an hour to an hour and a half would not be uncommon. There is a big difference between aiming to run a bus every 5 minutes and achieving it in Dublin traffic. I fear that the solution Dublin bus will opt for in some areas is to avoid traffic bottle necks completely which would remove the current bus service from many parts of Dublin. I’d rather have a bus that serves my area every 30 or 40 minutes than a bus every 5 minutes but with the bus stop miles away on the N11.
“The overall number of routes is to be increased, but some existing routes will be straightened out with fewer diversions off quality bus corridors, while others will be combined.” Sounds good again in theory but as with my previous point does this mean that many busses will run on main routes only and will not divert into housing estates or down side roads as they do at the moment? That actually reduces the service for many people especially the elderly or those with mobility difficulties.
Finally “A real-time passenger information service will also be rolled-out later this year”. Very good and I hope Dublin Bus have the sense to make this freely available online and to open up the API so that developers writing applications for iPhones and other smartphones will be able to write apps to allow consumers to look up the location and timing of different busses at home and on mobile phones without having to go to bus stops.
I read this announcement about Dublin Bus with DREAD this morning. Christ on a bike, they’re going to ‘do more with less buses’. HOW!?!
Like you said it’ll mean moving bus stops, cutting the ends of routes, not going into housing estates etc. And buses every five minutes? My eye!
My route is the 67/a which you might remember was the cause of some controversy with the Morton’s private bus company, which had been trying to run a service out to Celbridge. They claimed Dublin Bus put on loads more buses to put them out of business and they eventually withdrew from the route. But as a regular bus user, I didn’t see ANY evidence of any extra buses! I was STILL waiting an hour for a bus, sometimes even at peak times. So this ‘bus every five minutes’ thing doesn’t fill me with confidence cos I know well it won’t be on my route.
It’ll only be on the sexy routes like the 46a or the 10 and the ordinary suburban dweller (very bloody suburban, I’m in Kildare) will be left in the cold. Again.
Dublin Bus rep on The Last Word. Routes will be straightened and will run more frequently with less busses. She also claimed that no one will be more than a 10 minute walk from a bus stop. Matt Cooper responded saying Dublin Bus was trying to achieve the miracle of the loaves and fishes.
The more I hear of this the less sense it makes but we have to wait and see the final plan before we can make sense of what they are saying.
Hi Karen as a commuter from the celbridge area on dublin bus i could not agree with you more you would nearly be in another country with the time it takes some of buses to get into the city centre, and the times in between the buses is ridiculous it can take 30 minutes for a bus to get from maynooth to celbridge and if they extend the 67 into maynooth as planned it will longer waiting times for buses if they turn up! There is very little information on the dublin bus website re the changes to the 67 route I am afraid it does not look promising for a better service for the commuters on dublin bus in the celbridge area.