BusConnects Dublin - Big changes to Bus Network

p_haugh

Dub13 wrote: »

Was was the new 6 not called the H something..? seems silly to go away from numbers to add a new number route.

I suppose because the "spines" are formed of routes which combine together for the core section with integrated timetables - with the radial routes working off their own timetable and may divert of the path of the spine corridor to serve various areas not served by the spine. Now, granted, they could have potentially given the radial routes a designation like "R6" if they were to keep the formatting similar.

d51984

Stance Inspectors out last night (On a Sunday) fookers must be on a fortune!

Citrus_8

Dub13 wrote: »

Was was the new 6 not called the H something..? seems silly to go away from numbers to add a new number route.

Spines are the most frequent direct services for radial routes which have integrates timetables for all same spine routes, while numbers are for indirect and less frequent radial routes with independent timetables. Everything is very well explained on the BusConnects website.
Spines are from A to H. Bus route O will be both directs orbital. There will be more orbital routes, with starting letter N or S.
P will be peak hours. X will be express peak hours skipping some stops. L will be local.
Number 6 isn't a spine route.

devnull

Posts relating to the proposed Dublin Bus pay deal have been moved to their own thread, as they are off-topic for this thread.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058200860/dublin-bus-tables-conditional-pay-offer-of-12

Moderator.

machaseh

Busconnects is absolute shayte.

Was after catching the h2 bus from portmarnock to the city center last week during the hot weather. I waited for the bus and the bus was FULL. And there's only like 2 buses an hour? On one of the hottest weekends of the entire year at a location right near one of the best beaches ?! It's appalling, the transit system here in Ireland is so bad even when they attempt to improve it it's still bad.

Had to walk all the way to the DART.

L1011

The H2 has more than two an hour. Additionally, Portmarnock is also served by the 42 which is not BusConnects and also has more than two an hour.

Overcrowding on busy weekends has been an issue forever and is not related to BusConnects. 75% capacity currently is going to have added to it.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117672271#Comment_117672271

H2 and H3 are scheduled at 30 minute intervals.

xper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117542733#Comment_117542733

A month later and the new routes are still not included on the "Search by route number" dropdown on the Timetable page. They are included on the static list below that but seperated from the other timetables for some reason.

Meanwhile, the new H routes are listed on the "Search by Route" dropdown on the Real Time information page, but with lowercase "h" for more unexplained reasons ... along with a handful of routes with "l" and "p" prefixes which have no associated search results.

Poor effort.

BonnieSituation

Are you using the Dublin Bus app or the NTA Real Time app?

I think it's high time you jumped ship at this point.

thomasj

I see that in the OPW report on the Phoenix Park out this week , their plan is to have a bus running through the Park , connecting Heuston Station with Broombridge station.

Would be curious to know if this is the planned N2 route or is there a separate plan the OPW is looking at.

Peregrine

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117693437#Comment_117693437

Yeah, it's the N2

StreetLight

There was a plan some years ago to have a Dublin Bus route 90Z running between Tara Street and into the Phoenix Park at the Zoo. Conyngham Road Garage were to operate it, using buses saved from the 76 transfer to Go Ahead. Schedules were drawn up and bus destination signs were updated ready to display the new route. However, the OPW themselves shot it down as they didn't want bus stops installed on Chesterfield Avenue.

StreetLight

Spotted a Go Ahead bus displaying Route Testing recently, turning right from the Ballymun Road into Balbutcher Lane South. This would coincide with the planned N6 orbital.

thomasj

Will the N8 be launching at the same time as the N4 ? Any idea ?

machaseh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117672271#Comment_117672271

This was on a Sunday.

There should be more flexibility, for example using a Saturday schedule on a very sunny weather Sunday. Or drive the route with two buses that directly follow each other. It's a beach area and beaches have days with peak traffic.

L1011

There should be, but there isn't and wasn't pre-BusConnects either so its not related to it.

Peregrine

Planning applications delayed from September and October to October and November. The drawings for Kimmage and Lucan are online as part of the EIA screening report.

Dear Community Forum Member, 

We hope you are keeping well and safe.This email is a further status update in relation to the BusConnects Dublin Core Bus Corridors.

 

Current Status

As you will all be aware, the NTA completed its third round of non-statutory public consultation on the Core Bus Corridor projects in December 2020. Since then, we have reviewed and considered all submissions and are currently finalising the preliminary design of each of the Core Bus Corridor schemes. In addition, Environmental Impact Assessment Reports, inclusive of traffic impact analyses, are being prepared for each scheme. Once finished, these reports will be the basis for our applications to An Bord Pleanála, together with the Compulsory Purchase Order Schedules and Maps, with specific details of lands which are proposed to be acquired.

During May and June a pre-application consultation process was undertaken with An Bord Pleanála in accordance with the relevant legislation. This was an advance consultation procedure which precedes the submission of the intended applications for the Schemes.

 

Preliminary Business Case

A Preliminary Business Case for the overall BusConnects Dublin programme has been submitted to the Department of Transport for its review and for Government decision in accordance with the Public Spending Code governing capital projects.

Under the Public Spending Code, Government approval of the Preliminary Business Case is required prior to the submission of the applications for approval pursuant to section 51 of the Roads Act 1993 (as amended) to An Bord Pleanála. Accordingly, the timing of the submission of the applications for approval in respect of the individual Core Bus Corridor schemes is linked to the Government’s approval of the business case document.

It is intended that the Preliminary Business Case will be published subsequent to the Government having completed its consideration and issued its determination relating to the document.  

 

Applications to An Bord Pleanála for Approval

Assuming a positive determination of the Preliminary Business Case, it is intended to submit applications for approval to An Bord Pleanála as quickly as is feasible thereafter, most likely during October/November of this year. This triggers a formal statutory public consultation process in respect of each of the stand-alone Core Bus Corridor schemes, with submissions to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála for their consideration.

During this process, the finalised Environmental Impact Assessment Reports, inclusive of traffic impact analyses, will be published and available for inspection (including online) and purchase. The public will then have the formal opportunity to have their views heard and considered by An Bord Pleanála as part of the statutory consultation process to inform An Bord Pleanála’s assessment of each of the stand-alone Core Bus Corridor schemes.

 

Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Reports

The particular characteristics of the Kimmage to City Centre Core Bus Corridor Scheme and the Lucan to City Centre Core Bus Corridor Scheme means that those two schemes don’t automatically trigger the requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment under the Roads Act 1993 (as amended) or under the Roads Regulations 1994 (as amended). However, in line with the relevant legislative provisions, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening Report has been prepared in respect of each of these two schemes. 

The determinations arising from those EIA Screening Reports, have concluded that each of these two schemes are likely to have significant environmental impacts and that, accordingly, an Environmental Impact Assessment Report is required to be prepared for each of the Kimmage to City Centre Core Bus Corridor Scheme and the Lucan to City Centre Core Bus Corridor Scheme and each are to be submitted to An Bord Pleanála for approval under section 51 of the Roads Act 1993 (as amended). 

The EIA Screening Determination and the EIA Screening Report for the Kimmage to City Centre Core Bus Corridor Scheme are available on the BusConnects website at https://busconnects.ie/initiatives/core-bus-corridor/kimmage-to-city-centre/ and copies are available for inspection by members of the public.

In addition, the EIA Screening Determination and the EIA Screening Report for the Lucan to City Centre Core Bus Corridor Scheme are available on the BusConnects website at https://busconnects.ie/initiatives/core-bus-corridor/lucan-to-city-centre/ and copies are available for inspection by members of the public. 

For the avoidance of doubt, Environmental Impact Assessment Reports are automatically required to be prepared in respect of the remaining Core Bus Corridor schemes, which will also be submitted to An Bord Pleanála.

 

Further Updates

It is the NTA’s intention to issue another update prior to submitting planning applications to An Bord Pleanala, which, as advised above, we expect to occur during October / November, assuming Government approval of the Preliminary Business Case for the BusConnects Programme. We will be in contact with you then and update you further at that point.

 

Regards,

BusConnects Team,

National Transport Authority

thomasj

What's the story with the planned Lucan road/Kildare changes?

Will they come in at the same time as the W6/ new Louisa bridge routes

Without them, there's a missing link between Maynooth/Leixlip and celbridge until those routes come in ?

thelord

I find the new H1, H2 very annoying because it keeps stopping to keep the bus on shedule. The Old System/timetable of the 29a and 32 was much better.

This new system was thought up by somebody who never got a Bus to Work.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117774783#Comment_117774783

Or by people who got the bus from stops that weren't the first few on the route and found that the timings were completely unreliable to be unacceptable.

The timetabling may need tweaking but traffic is going to be vastly higher in ten days.

thelord

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117774814#Comment_117774814

The bus would be full of commuters by this stage and would not be stopping anyway

thelord

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117774814#Comment_117774814

May I also ask if you actualy get the bus to work also ?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117774833#Comment_117774833

I have in the past. And, I suspect like you, from the comfort of having got it at the start.

Public transport needs to be reliable to timetable for everyone

rx8

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117774828#Comment_117774828

Oh yes it will!..... The AVL system tracks the bus and tells the driver if it's ahead or behind the scheduled time at each bus stop. If it's ahead, regardless of the loading, the driver will be told by the controller to wait at the next timing point to get the bus back on time.

Peregrine

The people who complain about buses slowing down to keep to its timetable are the same people who complain about buses going past their stop too early or arriving in twos and threes.

It's not even just a H spine thing. This system has been around for a while. My non-BusConnects route does it.

AngryLips

Do people even complain about such things anymore? Who needs a timetable when you have a clockface service and real time information both at the bus stop and on your phone? Timetabling only matters for infrequent services.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117775547#Comment_117775547

If your clockface service doesn't maintain its running timetable, it will bunch and cease to be a clockface service for those at intermediate stops.

AngryLips

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117775576#Comment_117775576

If there's ten minute frequencies, and the service bunches to the point where it becomes 15 minute frequencies ...that's still a clockface service.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117775683#Comment_117775683

That's not how it works. And that would be a significant downgrade in frequency even if it was.

Keeping to timetable instead of running early is the norm and won't be rolled back on now that its started here, 60 years late.

AngryLips

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117775702#Comment_117775702

I'm sorry but it's a totally retrograde step, especially because it only serves to demonstrate how slow the service can be. This is not 20th century where you'd show up to a bus stop and have no idea what time the bus is meant to arrive at bar the timetable on display. Quite why the NTA are moving to this model in the connected age is a complete mystery.