BusConnects Dublin - Bus Network Changes Discussion

hfjm20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123451504#Comment_123451504

How long until the high court challenge?

LXFlyer

8 weeks to lodge an application for a JR.

dublinman1990

A revised timetable for the 74 will go live on Sunday the 25th of May.

Revised timetables in place for the 14, 41b, 41c & 44 will also kick on the same date.

https://www.dublinbus.ie/news/revised-times-on-routes-14,-41b,-41c,-44,-74

p_haugh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123452292#Comment_123452292

From what I could tell, it's mainly the same. I did spot that there is an extra 7:15am departure M-F from Dundrum towards town.

Arhanedus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123452292#Comment_123452292

Neat, the 44 now departs DCU on the hour instead of half past. That makes much more sense for students using the bus to commute from uni, although the departures from Enniskerry seem to still depart at the same times as before, so the bus still arrives just 10-20 minutes after the hour.

This also means that for most of the day the buses seem to have a 50 minute layover at the terminus, which is not the most efficient…

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123452692#Comment_123452692

The 74 gets additional 06:10 and 07:15 departures inbound and an additional 07:15 outbound.

One departure on the 14 is dropped (18:00 southbound) - it was superfluous to be honest as it created a 6 min frequency when it really wasn’t needed.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123453238#Comment_123453238

The 44 is effectively getting extra vehicles to deliver a more reliable service.

If you look at the schedules on bustimes, they will have around 40 mins at each terminus, but there have been reliability issues on the route and with a route as long as the 44 you do need wriggle room when traffic intervenes. Efficiency is never going to be ideal for a low frequency long route.

There are potentially running time changes across the other routes that aren’t immediately obvious without sight of the running boards.

The Mathematician

It is disappointing to see that no later 14 departures from town on Saturdays have been added. For some strange reason, the last bus on Saturdays is quite a bit earlier than on every other day.

VG31

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123453238#Comment_123453238

The 44 currently has layover times of only 5-10 minutes. That's clearly nowhere near enough for such a long route. The 44 is frequently cancelled for half the route. It's one of the most unreliable bus routes in Dublin.

I noticed the 19 has some long layovers at the airport, up to 45 minutes. That seems excessive to me. 20-30 minutes would be enough.

cgcsb

I'm assuming it's either O or F that's next. Maybe we can expect them around September time if anyone knows anything?

Certainly it seems like it's still 0% progress on sorting out the signalling issue at Heuston Bridge so the O might remain impossible for some time yet.

Also the green shoots we had heard of regarding camera enforcement seem to have gone completely quiet.

AX636

London type electric in Summerhill this morning

BeerNut

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123453991#Comment_123453991

See the phasing thread for that sort of thing.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123343743#Comment_123343743

LXFlyer

As has been posted several times now, F-Spine is scheduled for September.

Buses are now being withdrawn for transfer to GAI in preparation for the 73 being operated by them (in place of the DB 123).

D-Spine is likely to be next but I suspect not until Spring 2026.

As for the O - it will need a huge recruitment of drivers to operate it and they will need far more chargers installed so other routes can continue to be electric bus operated.

Personally I think that it looks as if they will focus on the two Spines for now.

I don’t think that the O will happen until 2026 sometime.

VG31

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123453991#Comment_123453991

O start date is unknown and definitely won't be before the F spine.

The F spine is due to start at the end of September. But considering how many delays there were with the E spine, I'd take that with a pinch of salt.

dublinman1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123454112#Comment_123454112

How long is that bus staying in Dublin?

AX636

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123454385#Comment_123454385

Think it's a flying visit

bk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123454318#Comment_123454318

Buses are now being withdrawn for transfer to GAI in preparation for the 73 being operated by them (in place of the DB 123).

I'll cry when the 123 swaps from mostly EW operation to SG's, etc. Such a pity to see them go. And using Gardiner Street will suck!

LXFlyer

Route 197 switching into zone 1 and 90 minute fare will apply from Sunday 18th May:

https://www.goaheadireland.ie/route-197-update

Route 197 Update

2 days ago Wed 14th May 2025

Upcoming Changes to Route 197: Swords to Ashbourne

Effective May 18th

We are excited to announce some upcoming changes to Route 197, which serves the Swords to Ashbourne route. These changes will be effective starting May 18th 2025.

Good News for Route 197 Customers!

Route 197 customers can now avail of the Transport For Ireland (TFI) 90 Minute Fare. Please note that the timetable will remain the same. 

New TFI Leap Zonal Fare Structure

Route 197 is now part of the new TFI Leap Zonal fare structure. This means that, along with some fare changes, Route 197 customers can enjoy the TFI 90 Minute Fare at the following rates:

€2 for Adult

€1 for Young Adult/Student

€0.65 for Child Leap Card users

The TFI 90 Minute Fare allows free interchange between eligible TFI services in Zone 1, making your travel more convenient and cost-effective.

Exact Fare Only - No Change Provided

We would like to note that from the 18th May, 197 services will only accept exact fare only - no change provided. Please ensure you have the exact fare ready when boarding the bus to avoid any inconvenience. For information on fares, please see here.

We hope these changes will enhance your travel experience on Route 197.

A2000

With today's announcement of an emerging preferred route for the luas to lucan via ballyfermot back on the table will they seriously build a bus corridor in ballyfermot and then tear it up to put down luas lines?

bk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123454986#Comment_123454986

In general the BusConnects corridors will lay the ground work for future Luas lines. Keep in mind a lot of BusConnects is about creating the space for dedicated bus lanes and cycle lanes, which would be needed for Luas anyway.

BusConencts will involve lots of expensive CPOing. Once that is done laying tracks on the bus lane should be more affordable.

Of course that is assuming they even use LRT rather then perhaps ART! Yes I know controversial take.

ITV2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123454112#Comment_123454112

It's there for a few days.

Burt Renaults

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123454704#Comment_123454704

The lack of physical mirrors would be useful around Marino. It'll be a (literal) car crash if Go Ahead end up sending new drivers onto that route. And they will, because anyone who wants to drive through town won't be too keen on doing so on Go Ahead wages.

hfjm20

Are the harristown chargers going to be operational within the next few months. Will we see E2 priority?

mikeybhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123455641#Comment_123455641

All comes down to poor training should be able to take a bus anywhere it'll fit with a full D. People also forget GAI already run routes in Dublin city centre.

p_haugh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123457038#Comment_123457038

They run commuter routes through the city centre, but those drivers are a seperate garage. The N2 goes from Heuston, but it doesn't really go near to the city centre itself. But yes, with proper training it shouldn't really be an issue.

Burt Renaults

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123457038#Comment_123457038

Nothing to do with poor training whatsoever. In my experience, anyone who goes into the job with the attitude that passing a test makes them a good driver inevitably learns the hard way that they're a long way from being good. New drivers will make mistakes, and mirrors are a foregone conclusion. Especially if they're put onto unforgiving routes like the 123. There's a reason why Dublin Bus has "nursery routes". Any driver who tells you that they made no mistakes at the beginning of their driving career is a liar.

mikeybhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123458482#Comment_123458482

A DB driver told me that lots of GAI drivers fail the driving assessment for DB and those who do get the job often end up requiring retraining. This is not me having a go at drivers all I'm saying is GAIs training is not of the same standard as DB which it should be it's the same job at the end of the day.

Burt Renaults

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123458763#Comment_123458763

Drivers say loads of things, usually based on crap they've heard in the canteen. Very, very few Go Ahead drivers fail the assessment. If they do, it's usually because bad habits have crept in and they lacked the common sense to address them beforehand. What Go Ahead doesn't have is any sort of periodic driver training or assessment. So unless you have an accident or receive driving-related complaints, you'll be largely left to your own devices, potentially for years. Which brings us back to bad habits. Every D licence driver who arrives into DB is given retraining, regardless of where they got that licence.

But back on the topic of potentially sending new drivers through the grounds of St James' Hospital or Marino, training isn't enough. Roads like that require experience.

mikeybhoy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123458986#Comment_123458986

Well that's true regarding experience. But you could put a driver with 10 years experience on the 123 for the first time and they'd struggle but a driver with 10 months experience could have no bother if they drive the route regularly. It really does depend on what your used to.

I've heard that GAI put drivers through the test with 20 hours of training whereas DB do at least 40 hours before a test. You've already said GAI don't do refreshers with drivers unless they've been in an accident or had a complaint so that tells me the standard is lower.

I'd say the biggest factor in bus accidents is driver fatigue. GAI drivers do longer hours than DB so it would be a bigger issue with them.

Burt Renaults

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123459549#Comment_123459549

It varies, in both companies, whether you sit the test after twenty, forty or even eighty hours of training. I remember hearing of drivers in both companies being given up to 100 hours of training (and many hours after the test in some cases). Everyone learns at a different rate. The worst student for any instructor is someone who already knows it all.

Experience is important on tricky routes. A driver with no experience may well have no technical difficulty negotiating their way through St James's or Marino, but they're far more likely to bump into things, panic, fail to plan ahead, get themselves into tricky situations, etc. That's where experience is important - I've seen so many cases where inexperienced drivers have felt under immense pressure to extricate themselves from tight spots, or squeeze through gaps, which ultimately resulted in scraped bodywork, broken bollards, cracked mirrors, etc. An experienced driver will know that the handbrake is sometimes the safest option.

Go Ahead drivers do slightly longer hours, but on easier routes. If their accident rate is higher (and I've no idea whether that's the case nowadays), that's more to do with the fact that they've always had a far higher amount of inexperienced drivers. And fatigue is also a far bigger factor when you lack experience.

AX636

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123455464#Comment_123455464

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123455464#Comment_123455464

Was in Broadstone with management shown them the new GSR equipment. No unfortunately not was only getting a charge, it was heading to Germany after that