BusConnects Dublin - Bus Network Changes Discussion

john boye

I know that poor communication from the NTA is par for the course but they really should be making an effort to explain why routes are being moved away from College Green when these changes are being made.

rx8

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123998800#Comment_123998800

Exactly that.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123998778#Comment_123998778

The RTPI can be adjusted to miss the first few stops, and the rest would show the bus on the screens to show it's on route.

BlueSkyDreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123998926#Comment_123998926

Thanks.

A situation where the bus can skip stops routinely, or even a series of stops, means the service is completely unreliable.

If i waited for a train and it flew through my stop because it was late or for any other reason, i wouldnt be long driving instead next time.

We cant fairly criticise people for driving when the bus service operates this way.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123998986#Comment_123998986

In many cases, though, the traffic is the problem because it is slowing the bus service up and we are at the point where additional buses are being used to deliver the same level of timetable because the buses need additional running time to get from one terminus to another.

That’s not sustainable in the long run.

PlatformNine

https://busconnects.ie/cities/dublin/new-dublin-area-bus-network/

It seems there was another update to the frequency tables towards the end of October, although I've only just noticed them now and I haven't seen any posts about it. For the most part it seems like some general formatting changes, fixing the scale, changing the colour/frequency scaling, and overall making it look much better and easier to read. However there are a few frequency changes, some are corrections for existing routes but others may actually indicate changes for upcoming routes. That said there are some errors with the colour/frequency gradient.

Though, there are three general problems I have noticed with the tables. First is that it seems they combined the docs from the old 2020 tables and the recent update, but forgot to update many times, I'll do my best to point these out. Second is they really messed up the peak services table, its almost unreadable but I'll explain any changes/problems below. Then lastly, they are inconsistent about whether short services are counted in main table or in the peak table (assuming if it wasn't messed up). The E-spine doesn't include them but the F-spine does, so I will point out where its relevant.

Here are all the changes I have noticed:

• Spines:
  • A1 has is increased to 6-min freq (from 12-min) during peak hour. However keep in mind what I said above, these may just be short services.
    • Though if they aren't shorts A-spine frequency during peak hour is now 25bph or every 2.5 minutes
  • C-spine freq both corrected and messed up. Peak hour frequency is correct but early morning frequency is wrong now
  • G-spine was given the old peak time freq (12-min) instead of the current 10-min freq
• Orbitals:
  • mostly fine, but are missing the early morning departures for the S8, W2, and W4.
• Radials:
  • 19, 52, 60, and 74 were missing early departures that are now added
  • 48 now only starts from 7:00, though I suspect given a few routes are missing early freqs it may be an error
  • 60 is missing its half-hour peak freq
  • 97 ends much earlier in the day, however this is more in line with the 53. This change makes sense given the 57/58 changes
• Locals:
  • L1 and L3 were missing early departures that are now added
  • L55 was missing a late departure that is now added
  • L56 was readded, this is an error as it was replaced by the 57. Even if they were introducing a local route it would more than likely be renamed to the L57 for consistency
  • L80 has its old frequency back, 20-min peak and 40-min/60-min off-peak. I am not sure if this is an error or not, as it and the L56 would be the only error in the locals
• X and P routes:
  • The P and X table is now organised just number, not by P then by X… not sure how I feel about this
  • The colours are all wrong which makes it hard to read
  • They have also readded the "similar route" column, and its a bit more accurate, showing a few more routes being replaced like the 47 and 70
  • P18 has its 2x departure times tweaked
  • X25 departure times corrected
  • P44 back to one departure
  • X56 is back, but like the L56 I suspect this is wrong as if it were coming back it would probably be as the X57
  • X58 is showing 2x departures again, not sure if this was accidently copied from the old tables or if this is now planned
  • P66 is not new this time, but I missed it last time so I wanted to point it out. It's a more direct replacement for the 38s going through Ballycoolin. Despite this it was missing from the new map.
  • X76 is back and X85 is gone, I suspect this is an error as it should more than likely will launch as the X85
  • X79 has one less departure
• Spine/Radial shorts:
  • So they forgot to add the actual departures in, but there are some interesting changes with the routes
  • However given how badly this was done, I wouldn't treat any of this too seriously
  • Also for context, the first updated timetable had completely changed these from the original, with only four routes: A1 south, E1 south, F1 north, and 19 short.
  • The E1 short and 19 short are still there, but the A1 short and F1 short are gone. Though with the F1 its because its included in the main spine section (which it shouldn't be)
  • the A9 and D9 have returned and there is now a B9
  • There are new D2, D4, and 20 shorts (though the D4 and 20 may have their destinations swapped)

Arhanedus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123999531#Comment_123999531

They even messed up the spine destinations - it shows the E2 and F1 terminating in Charlestown, which hasn't been the plan since at least 2 years ago (although it was back in 2020).

As you said, it seems like they copied the old 2020 tables and tried to update the data with the current plans, but made an utter mess along the way… I hope in another month or two we get another "silent update" where they fix it up and actually provide accurate information.

Rather surprised they managed to include the old A9 and D9 though, given that they are now in that new shorts section, separate from the P/X departures. Either they are planning to bring them back, or they copied them from the peak hours table with zero proofreading (well, they clearly didn't proofread considering the frequencies are completely empty).

I suspect that the Walkinstown short is the 71, as that's what was listed in the old frequency tables, but how they managed to put it down route 20 for it is beyond me.

thenuisance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123998824#Comment_123998824

I guess it's because if you're a regular bus user you'll know why