Dublin Bus route 46A to Dun Laoghaire

Pines

Anyone able to give me a rough idea of the normal range of times for getting to and from Dun Laoghaire on the 46A from Leeson St bridge, travelling out in the morning (to get to DL by 9 am) and leaving DL at 5 pm to travel back in towards the city centre?

Thanks in advance.

eclectichoney

Tbh I'd walk to GCD and get the DART (about 18 mins to DL)

I sometimes get the 46a from DL to UCD and it's about 40 mins most times (off peak) then add another 15 mins or so to get to Leeson Street - maybe more in peak time.

Like I said, I'd go for the DART every time unless your destination in DL is not close to the DART station.

KC61

Both directions - 35/45 mins.

Pines

eclectichoney wrote: »

Like I said, I'd go for the DART every time unless your destination in DL is not close to the DART station.

The destination in DL isn't the problem - it's the fact that I am coming from west of Leeson St along the canal ... so it's already a walk to get to the 46A, but a walk to the DART would take too long. The DART would be great if it was an option.

Aquavid

Factor in the time to walk from Leeson St bridge and the often horrendous gaps in service on the DART line, and the super-frequent 46A is the better option by miles.

Aquavid

Heart

Also, if your not paying cash and have a day ticket, take a 145 if it comes first, hop off at Foxrock Church, you can then grab a 46A (after you've avoided Stillorgan Village, it hasn't) or even better a 75 to Dún Laoghaire from here.

H

Cuddlesworth

Heart wrote: »

Also, if your not paying cash and have a day ticket, take a 145 if it comes first, hop off at Foxrock Church, you can then grab a 46A (after you've avoided Stillorgan Village, it hasn't) or even better a 75 to Dún Laoghaire from here.

H

I hate you. The 46A comes every five minutes, the 145 maybe once every half an hour. What you do means when I want to get a bus home I have to walk half way across the city just so I can get on the bus home. Otherwise it fills and doesn't take on any more passengers, leaving people standing waiting for the next half an hour while watching numerous 46A's half empty go by.

Cuddlesworth

KC61 wrote: »

Both directions - 35/45 mins.

Sometimes bordering on 50-55.

KC61

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Sometimes bordering on 50-55.

The OP is travelling outbound against the traffic flow in the morning and inbound in the evening, so I would think that 45 minutes is fairly reasonable from Leeson Street bridge.

KC61

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I hate you. The 46A comes every five minutes, the 145 maybe once every half an hour. What you do means when I want to get a bus home I have to walk half way across the city just so I can get on the bus home. Otherwise it fills and doesn't take on any more passengers, leaving people standing waiting for the next half an hour while watching numerous 46A's half empty go by.

You must be looking at the wrong timetable. The 145 operates every 10-15 minutes as per the timetable below. However, problems do arise inbound when some buses divert via Bray Station thus causing a longer gap in services.

http://www.dublinbus.ie/your_journey/viewer.asp?route=145

MiniD

Another option is to get the green line Luas from Charlemount to Dundrum. This takes about 10 minutes, then walk for about 3 minutes and transfer to the 75 which is every 20/30 minutes at peak times.

This might work better on your return journey where you can time the 75 more acurately from the Dun Laoghaire terminus.

bazzer

People seem to forget that the 46A is not the only bus to Dun Laoghaire. Believe it or not, the 7 and 7A can beat the 46A most times.

KC61

In this case the 46A is handier for the OP.

I'd agree that the 7/7a would be faster than the 46A in general.

Agent Smith

KC61 wrote: »

In this case the 46A is handier for the OP.

I'd agree that the 7/7a would be faster than the 46A in general.

coming from town? Yeah, i'd believe that

Cookie_Monster

KC61 wrote: »

In this case the 46A is handier for the OP.

I'd agree that the 7/7a would be faster than the 46A in general.

I would say always, without fail. The 46a is a very slow bus in general. It takes an unnesiccary turn through Stillorgan village and is also quite slow from Foxrock church to DL.

If 7 is not an option I would second getting the 145 to Foxrock then 46a/75 from there, it should save you 10/15 mins at least.

Cuddlesworth

KC61 wrote: »

The OP is travelling outbound against the traffic flow in the morning and inbound in the evening, so I would think that 45 minutes is fairly reasonable from Leeson Street bridge.

Good point, missed that.

KC61 wrote: »

You must be looking at the wrong timetable. The 145 operates every 10-15 minutes as per the timetable below. However, problems do arise inbound when some buses divert via Bray Station thus causing a longer gap in services.

http://www.dublinbus.ie/your_journey/viewer.asp?route=145

Not a chance, due to the length of the route and traffic congestion on it during rush hour gaps between buses range from 20 to 40 minutes. I have been waiting for that bus for two years and timing myself accordingly to the possible delays.

Around half of all 145's during Rush hour are full at Trinity leaving plenty waiting at bus stops. If I haven't seen a 46A for around 10 minutes then any 145 will be full, leaving me waiting up to a hour.

The 46A has no such problems and is much more frequent at rush hour. But I don't care at this as a bought a motorbike since it was annoying me so much.

MiniD

bazzer wrote: »

People seem to forget that the 46A is not the only bus to Dun Laoghaire. Believe it or not, the 7 and 7A can beat the 46A most times.

Considering the OP wasn't willing to walk to Grand Canal Dock for a DART, they're not going to get a bus from that area. The 7/7A is of no real benefit to the OP.

Pines

Thanks everyone for the replies, and for the suggestions for the other options like 7, 145 and switching to the 75.