BusConnects Dublin - Big changes to Bus Network

d51984

Why are we still allowing cars to be parked up in the phoenix park? A car park for the zoo, thats about it. Bus lane both ways through from bottom to top, make gates wider, electric buses, express buses from city to Blanch and beyond. One person in a car leaving it parked in the park for the day is madness. You drive in to the city you pay for parking.

Make gates wider for buses, express buses every 15 mins from city to Blanch and beyond, 24 hours a day. Coaches to Navan/ Cavan etc up quays bus lane through park and straight out and on to motorway.

Cars have no part in future transport in this city.

Tusky

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120496383#Comment_120496383

London had a metro 60 years ago, and an extensive train network.

AngryLips

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120500885#Comment_120500885

While I think it would be great to have a bus serving the Phoenix Park, I really think using the park as a bus thoroughfare for express services and for every neighbourhood beyond the park is a terrible idea and a complete non-runner.

bk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120502470#Comment_120502470

But that is exactly what motorists from those areas are already doing. Banning all through traffic and all non short term parking, but leaving buses use it, will lead to a massive net decrease in the number of vehicles using the park and thus a vast improvement in the quality of the park. Specially if they allowed only EV buses.

Just think about it, a bus passing through the park say every say 5 minutes, versus the current long queue of cars that is there every morning.

It is absolutely unacceptable in this age, that the parks service allow so many cars into and through the park and have so much parking, but ban buses!

trellheim

Can we please have Phoenix park discussion in its own thread (theres a mighty one over in the D15 forum )

Anyway heres the Rathfarnham-Templeogue updated info thats gone for planning https://templeoguerathfarnhamscheme.ie/

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120502942#Comment_120502942

I posted the CBC link into the BusConnects infrastructure discussion yesterday.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2057859339/dublin-busconnects#latest

This thread is really about the network changes (I started it!).

bk

Errrr... This thread is a merger of two different threads, one that you started and one that I started. The title is actually from my thread.

My thread was very much about all aspects of BusConnects (see the connets of the first post) and not just the network changes. And thus this thread is very much open to infrastructure changes, ticketing, etc.

d51984

Yea folks, sorry about earlier post, I actually posted in wrong thread.

Jayuu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120500885#Comment_120500885

I'm open to being contradicted on this but I would suspect that very few people park in the Phoenix Park for the whole day. The vast amount of people who drive there do so to use the amenity and then leave within a hour or two.

Public transport as the only alternative is simply not an option. If you leave the car park for the Zoo open and remove all other parking options then everybody will simply use the Zoo car park until it's constantly full irrespective of whether those people are actually going to the Zoo or not.

d51984

Well folks, the following post doing the rounds, not good news, not good news at all. Now weather its true or not is a different story.

'' O route has been postponed

There is a new bill for route 16 moving to Broadstone

Electric buses are not entering service until next year due to ESB putting an objection about charging times

Residents objected about Jamestown Road depot

This will mean anything old in the Dublin Bus fleet will more than likely carry on for the moment with having been told more buses are to return from storage. The fleet currently sits at over 1000 buses, with over 1300 needed once bus connects is fully finsihed. ''

Qrt

Family member let me know that there seems to be a new stop going in on Old Bawn Road, opposite Aherne’s and the existing Old Bawn Terrace stop. Nice to see that they’re taking note of the spacing between stops for the new S6/S8 routes, whenever they may come.

mikeybhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120508121#Comment_120508121

Surely it would've made more sense to get the charging infrastructure in place first before procuring the electric buses more NTA stupidity.

dublinbusdude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120513510#Comment_120513510

I've noticed that too plus a new one in between the 2 roadcrossing on Nutgrove Avenue at Nutgrove Shopping Centre opp. the Nutgrove Retail Park where Aldi & Homebase is

cgcsb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120341790#Comment_120341790

Update. I somehow doubt the w5 and w6 are still to be launched by Sunday but perhaps someone local in the know could tell us? I would say the timeline needs to move....again

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120523965#Comment_120523965

You would have got plenty of notice if they were.

Just take any timeline with a grain of salt.

I’ve noticed that GAI are cancelling services again, which is not a good omen.

DB are still way short, with numerous cancellations.

p_haugh

Went to check a-b.ie, on the off chance there was timetables uploaded as they usually appear a week or so before the routes start (spoiler: there isn't), and noticed it's been updated to match the new TFI Live app in terms of the UI. About time that website got some updating done!

Qrt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120523965#Comment_120523965

I read in one of the local papers that they’re due to launch end of May.

cgcsb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120525418#Comment_120525418

Sounds positive. Maybe a relaxed summer schedule will give some slack needed to bring in some south orbitals and the F spine before the start of the academic year in Sept

StreetLight

On the other hand, drivers being forced to take their holidays during summer, when ordinarily they wouldn't have, may lead to even more cancellations.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120526307#Comment_120526307

Certainly that was the case last summer. It was the worst summer that I can ever recall in terms of cancellations.

I would agree with you.

The extra school term departures are far fewer nowadays in number and that really doesn’t bode well.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120524102#Comment_120524102

It doesn’t have pdf timetables any more which is daft.

p_haugh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120526455#Comment_120526455

Ah yeah I didn't notice that, shame they got rid of that option

dublinman1990

The SBP has reported today that they have seen documents from the NTA which have presented some risks that BusConnects come become under severe threat.

https://www.businesspost.ie/news/nta-cites-risks-that-could-put-brakes-on-busconnects-scheme/

The documents that the risks of BusConnects being stalled are due to issues regarding the rising cost of inflation, recruitment of drivers and planning issues which would relate to housing and installation of charging points in bus depots.

Would I be right in saying that this looks really grim if the NTA don't address these issues in the near future?

However would I also be right in saying that even though we recently got a huge returns in corporate tax receipts recently; Would it be a wise move for the Government and the NTA would spend the money to fast-track Busconnects along with other things like Metrolink, DART+ along with Government spending money on building new housing?

bk

“issues regarding the rising cost of inflation, recruitment of drivers and planning issues”

That pretty much describes every infrastructure project in Ireland. And not just transport, building houses, hospitals, schools, fibre broadband, water, electricity generation and distribution, etc. it has all been hit by the same issues (well replace drivers with builders, planners, electricians, etc.).

And it isn’t just an Irish phenomena, it is pretty much happening world wide.

As you mention, at least we still have strong tax receipts which can at least partly cushion the blow and get some infrastructure done. But the employment one is the more difficult issue IMO and planning is a tough one too.

Citrus_8

The reason of the current result is a poor risk management of the projects. To oversee and plan ahead is what this country is simply incapable to do. You add car-centric politics and have exactly what we have now.

Oh well, I shall continue enjoy driving...

AngryLips

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120540832#Comment_120540832

I would say that Bus Connects is already at the point of failure and reputational damage given the pretty disasterous roll-out to date. If you can't get a minor network re-design right, what hope is there for more intensive infrastructure projects? The sad reality is that the only major piece of public transport infrastructure currently in planning is Metrolink and that is already decades overdue in one incarnation or another.

bk

Hard disagree there. The N4 and N6 are big success, the 90 minute ticket, the young persons fare are a big success, the livery and new bus stops and shelters are a big success.

Sure it is no where near where we all wanted it to be at this stage, but I still believe it is very much the right plan and what we need. Even if it takes longer to rollout.

I mean, what is the alternative? Scrap BusConnects and do nothing? Roll out no more orbital routes, no more 24 hours routes, scrap the next gen ticketing, scarp EV buses, don’t expand the fleet, no infrastructure changes?

Obviously that would be incredibly stupid. We just need to stick to the overall plan and keep at it IMO. It would be such an Irish thing to scrap it all and start from scratch again, putting us even more years behind.

I will say that I think they could change the order of the route rollouts. I’d prioritise the orbital routes myself (with driver availability) as I think they are such a game changer to the network. Of course continue on with the core routes, etc. after that.

Jayuu

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120542948#Comment_120542948

The problem here as with so many infrastructure problems is that multiple issues get conflated together and then blamed on one part, ususally the headline part.

So Dublin Bus have issue around driver emplyment and retention. This has nothing directly to do with Bus Connects but yet it seems that Bus Connects gets the bad publicity as if it is the cause of the problem.

There's a similar example in Fairview where the provision of mutiple infrastructure improvement which all take time were initially being blamed on the provision of the cycle lanes. And previous attempts at Metro were all derided about spending billions providing a rail link to the airport when that was only a part of a major infrastructure project for the north of the city.

mikeybhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120543043#Comment_120543043

Bus Connects must be costing an absolute fortune for delivering very little return. I think they made a mistake. They could have implemented something cheaper and more effective but as you say what's done is done so they should probably continue with the trajectory their going starting again would be daft.

They could have brought out more orbital routes without having to do a complete overhaul of the network. Look at Superloop that TFL recently launched orbital routes without having to change every single other route.

90 minute fare could have been brought in. Let's face Bus Connects is just a bunch of buzzwords like next gen ticketing a fancy way of saying contactless payments accepted.

What actual advantages do electric buses actually have over diesel buses for the average user. Absolutely none they both serve the same purpose getting people from point a to point b. Oh their less noisy just get a set of noise cancelling earphones if you can't stand the sound of an engine.

Qrt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120547434#Comment_120547434

With regards to the last part, we have legally binding climate obligations to face. BusConnects is happening whether we like it or not. New routes are going to be introduced. New fares are going to be introduced. New ticketing is going to be introduced. Bus priority measures are only going one way. But yes, BusConnects is a buzzword. It's a buzzword for the inevitable.