Dublin bus - what routes should they bring back?

thomasj

So Dublin bus have a campaign marking their 30 years in operation.

Over these 30 years they have cancelled routes as well as introducing new routes.

What routes do you think should be brought back?

thomasj

Starting off I think the 45 should be brought back, it would bring a much needed boost to the rock road corridor.

Stephen15

thomasj wrote: »

Starting off I think the 45 should be brought back, it would bring a much needed boost to the rock road corridor.

Nah the 45 was ran into the ground after the 145 was introduced maybe introduce a few peak time only services would make sense but not as a full route. I remember just before they were scrapped seeing an empty 45 bunched behind a 7 and a 4 off peak complete fresh air transport.

It was even crap in its heyday before the 145 and even longer before rtpi I remember using from time to time and waiting for over an hour in the rain for it when it was meant to run every 10 or 15 minutes. At least I was only going to Bray and could use the 46a to go into town.

MGWR

thomasj wrote: »

Starting off I think the 45 should be brought back, it would bring a much needed boost to the rock road corridor.

Yes, including frequent service and a return to the Esplanade. Possibly as a private route. (Anyone think that the Esplanade ought to be made a two-way corridor, BTW?)

Certain outer suburban routes ought to be turned into express-only, with connections to local bus routes at certain locations.

There needs to be a "Busaras" for Dublin Bus routes too, for the purpose of having a common location to lay up and transfer to other routes; the development of radial routes from the city centre was a natural one given the layout of Dublin. Having excessively long cross-city routes like the 13, 15 and 27, whose reliability is troublesome, is conducive only to enticing more cars on the road.

Perhaps the 39 just ought to be extended to Dunboyne? Ongar is just under three miles from the centre of that town.

Definitely need more east-west cross-city routes too. And free or reduced-fare transfers. The purpose here is to cut down on winding radial routes, for example the 27 and 40 around their respective northern termini. (There ought to have been a Griffith Avenue cross-city route, for example, going from Clontarf DART station to Finglas.)

And DB still holds on to hanging alpha suffixes (e.g. 29A, 46A). Just make these route numbers all numeric already. Also, rationalise alpha suffixes, e.g. 41C (which should have been the 41A).

There should be a loosening of regulations too, to allow private bus initiatives to serve estates that the last network "rationalisation" left without service. Routes like the former 51A ought to be permitted a comeback, rather than a discouragement of use by attrition (service reduction) that engineered its cancellation. Also, the route 8 needs this treatment, and not the "limited" comeback the state-run bus company gave it.

Perhaps the 130 ought to be split back up into its former configuration (used to be the 30 and 44A). Going east only to travel west from Blackheath Park and Castle Avenue is inefficient.

Plus, how many bus routes need to terminate at Belfield?

AngryLips

What was that route that ran to the airport? The 767?

Dardania

The cheap route that was super convenient to me

thomasj

AngryLips wrote:

What was that route that ran to the airport? The 767?

The 746?

Was supposed to become 24 hours at one stage as well DOT said no!

LeinsterDub

None. They should scrap em all at start again. Hopefully bus connects delivers this.

WomanSkirtFan8

AngryLips wrote: »

What was that route that ran to the airport? The 767?

Close enough. Think it was the 757 which ran from Dun Laoghaire straight to the airport.

Correction: it was the 746 back in the day.

Stephen15

WomanSkirtFan8 wrote: »

Close enough. Think it was the 757 which ran from Dun Laoghaire straight to the airport.

Correction: it was the 746 back in the day.

Yes the 746 there was also the 46X which ran from DL to The Airport.

Sexual Chocolate

Always thought that the 120 or even the old 121 should of ran up as far as Finglas village or even charlestown instead of ashtown. While a new route should serve ashtown via the navan road.

Open to correction here but there is no bus from O Connell/parnell square street that stops at Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.

Schwanz

The 78A. Always an event or two on that going into town

tabbey

WomanSkirtFan8 wrote: »

AngryLips wrote: »

What was that route that ran to the airport? The 767?

Close enough. Think it was the 757 which ran from Dun Laoghaire straight to the airport.

Correction: it was the 746 back in the day.

The 746 had the potential to be a very useful route, one bus to the airport at a reasonable fare.

The problem was that drivers used to run it as though it was a 46A. Frequently I would stand at a bus stop, a 46A would stop, and be overtaken at the stop by the 746. Consequently it was unreliable for someone who had a plane to catch, as one had to allow sufficient time to change in O'Connell Street from 46A to 16, which itself was and still is prone to severe delays between Collins Avenue and Beaumont.
One time I brought the family on the 746, the start of our journey to Melbourne. The weather was bad and traffic slow. My boys were not overjoyed with their Dublin Bus experience, and expressed their feelings at length. It was more economical than Aircoach, but perhaps not worth the hassle.

tabbey

thomasj wrote: »

S
What routes do you think should be brought back?

The original 8.

Since 1949 when the bus replaced the tram, the 8 was the best bus route in the country. The first bus was 0450 from Dalkey, which incorporated a 0458 from Sallynoggin 7A, helpful for postmen, milkmen etc. It also had a frequent timetable and before traffic became a problem, it was more reliable than 46A.

To completely axe what had been such a busy route was silly.  If economically appropriate, it could have been reduced in frequency over the years.
The later route 8 to Dalkey via UpperGlenageary Road, never took off in public esteem, and with a 45 minute frequency, was probably intended to be a temporary token sop, not a genuine attempt to plan for the future.

The original 8, if reliably operated to a clockface timetable, has the potential to serve the public and contribute to Dublin Bus revenue.This is especially desirable given the inadequate seating on adjacent rail services.

crushproof

tabbey wrote: »

thomasj wrote: »

S
What routes do you think should be brought back?

The original 8.

Since 1949 when the bus replaced the tram, the 8 was the best bus route in the country. The first bus was 0450 from Dalkey, which incorporated a 0458 from Sallynoggin 7A, helpful for postmen, milkmen etc. It also had a frequent timetable and before traffic became a problem, it was more reliable than 46A.

To completely axe what had been such a busy route was silly.  If economically appropriate, it could have been reduced in frequency over the years.
The later route 8 to Dalkey via UpperGlenageary Road, never took off in public esteem, and with a 45 minute frequency, was probably intended to be a temporary token sop, not a genuine attempt to plan for the future.

The original 8, if reliably operated to a clockface timetable, has the potential to serve the public and contribute to Dublin Bus revenue.This is especially desirable given the inadequate seating on adjacent rail services.

Hasn't there been two separate attempted to resurrect the 8 route in recent years that have failed? As far as I recall when the original route was scrapped in the early 2000's the route had very low patronage. I would occasionally get it and it would be run by double deckers that were mostly empty apart from pensioners on their way to Dun Laoghaire.
I honestly think peoples desire to see the return of the 8 is more nostalgia than anything else. It's far from an economically viable route. Money would be wiser spent on increasing frequencies on busier routes in the west of the city.

dfx-

There's all manner of Network Direct 'improvements' to major routes that could be fixed and the old routes brought back and they would be viable again.

I think in terms of otherwise cut routes, a lot of them were infrequent and slowly strangled to death, the 45 being an exception. The 172 used to be reasonably busy on the northside I believe in the boom times.

Stephen15

I saw this online that there's a petition to extend the 84 to Newtownmountkennedy. Its a silly idea IMO given that Newtownmountkennedy is the furtest place on the DB network which already has the 184 and BE route 133. Its Dublin Bus not Wicklow Bus. I suggest setting up an Eastern Region Transport Company which would incoparate BE commuter services and DB outer suburban routes.

http://wicklownews.net/2017/08/campaign-to-extend-dublin-bus-from-kilcoole-to-newtownmountkennedy/

RayM

Stephen15 wrote: »

I saw this online that there's a petition to extend the 84 to Newtownmountkennedy. Its a silly idea IMO given that Newtownmountkennedy is the furtest place on the DB network which already has the 184 and BE route 133. Its Dublin Bus not Wicklow Bus. I suggest setting up an Eastern Region Transport Company which would incoparate BE commuter services and DB outer suburban routes.

http://wicklownews.net/2017/08/campaign-to-extend-dublin-bus-from-kilcoole-to-newtownmountkennedy/

There is some merit in the idea that there should be a direct link between Newtown and Kilcoole, but those Sinn Fein representatives don't seem to have factored Newcastle into the equation. The road between Newcastle and Newtown is unsuitable for double-deckers, so there would be no straightforward way for the 84 to cover the three villages without a lot of tedious backtracking.

Maybe they could increase the frequency of the 84, with the additional buses travelling via Woodstock Road and terminating in Newtown instead of Newcastle. Alternatively, have some 184s going via Kilcoole instead of Delgany/Willow Grove/Kilpedder.

LXFlyer

RayM wrote: »

There is some merit in the idea that there should be a direct link between Newtown and Kilcoole, but those Sinn Fein representatives don't seem to have factored Newcastle into the equation. The road between Newcastle and Newtown is unsuitable for double-deckers, so there would be no straightforward way for the 84 to cover the three villages without a lot of tedious backtracking.

Maybe they could increase the frequency of the 84, with the additional buses travelling via Woodstock Road and terminating in Newtown instead of Newcastle. Alternatively, have some 184s going via Kilcoole instead of Delgany/Willow Grove/Kilpedder.

Since when?

There was at least one regular double deck working along that road Monday to Friday for many years (an afternoon 84 worked from Bray to Newtownmountkennedy via Kilcoole and Newcastle - primarily a schools service).

Banjoxed

Route 86 - but run it as a frequent connection between Brides Glen Luas and Shankill DART.

LXFlyer

tabbey wrote: »

The original 8.

Since 1949 when the bus replaced the tram, the 8 was the best bus route in the country. The first bus was 0450 from Dalkey, which incorporated a 0458 from Sallynoggin 7A, helpful for postmen, milkmen etc. It also had a frequent timetable and before traffic became a problem, it was more reliable than 46A.

To completely axe what had been such a busy route was silly. If economically appropriate, it could have been reduced in frequency over the years.

The later route 8 to Dalkey via UpperGlenageary Road, never took off in public esteem, and with a 45 minute frequency, was probably intended to be a temporary token sop, not a genuine attempt to plan for the future.

The original 8, if reliably operated to a clockface timetable, has the potential to serve the public and contribute to Dublin Bus revenue.This is especially desirable given the inadequate seating on adjacent rail services.

crushproof wrote: »

Hasn't there been two separate attempted to resurrect the 8 route in recent years that have failed? As far as I recall when the original route was scrapped in the early 2000's the route had very low patronage. I would occasionally get it and it would be run by double deckers that were mostly empty apart from pensioners on their way to Dun Laoghaire.
I honestly think peoples desire to see the return of the 8 is more nostalgia than anything else. It's far from an economically viable route. Money would be wiser spent on increasing frequencies on busier routes in the west of the city.

There isn't a hope in hell that the 8 will return - the numbers just aren't there to justify it. The market isn't there to justify it either - most people using the bus service beyond Dun Laoghaire have always been pensioners since the DART arrived.

Given that the DART will increase frequency to every 10 minutes I can see even less justification for the service.

The bus resources are quite rightly focussed on the 7 and 7a, which do have significant usage either side of Dun Laoghaire, with the local Dalkey-Dun Laoghaire market being covered by the 59 and 111.

LXFlyer

Banjoxed wrote: »

Route 86 - but run it as a frequent connection between Brides Glen Luas and Shankill DART.

I'm assuming you mean so that people can transfer from the DART to LUAS?

Encouraging people to use one mode is hard enough, and getting them to transfer once is doable, but more than that and you are fighting an uphill struggle.

That's even before you have the issue of people having to pay three separate fares - DART fare, bus fare and LUAS fare.

Banjoxed

LXFlyer wrote: »

I'm assuming you mean so that people can transfer from the DART to LUAS?

Encouraging people to use one mode is hard enough, and getting them to transfer once is doable, but more than that and you are fighting an uphill struggle.

That's even before you have the issue of people having to pay three separate fares - DART fare, bus fare and LUAS fare.

Well extend the line to Bray then. Simples.

LXFlyer

Banjoxed wrote: »

Well extend the line to Bray then. Simples.

That's a waste of a resource - the 145 already offers a high frequency service along the N11 corridor.

It already links into the 75 at Foxrock Church which covers the connection to the single biggest traffic generator along the LUAS line (Dundrum).

Given that the 84 already links Bray & Cherrywood every 30 minutes at peak - the solution would surely be to to extend it to serve the LUAS stop and perhaps add some extra departures on it.

I'm not sure where all these people are going to come from for this service that you're proposing that would make it viable to be honest.

Stephen15

There's no bus thats worth bringing back. Nearly all routes that have been done away with over years were gotten rid of with good reason due to route mergers, route duplication or lack of users. Theres still plenty of potential new routes but nothing worth bringing back.

StreetLight

Residents in the Bawnogue area of Clondalkin have been campaigning recently for a return of a link to Tallaght and Liffey Valley since the 210 was scrapped and the 76 re-routed.

Schwanz

Living in Clondalkin myself near Liffey Valley & no way to the Luas by bus from here seems mental

RayM

LXFlyer wrote: »

Since when?

There was at least one regular double deck working along that road Monday to Friday for many years (an afternoon 84 worked from Bray to Newtownmountkennedy via Kilcoole and Newcastle - primarily a schools service).

https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.0748442,-6.0795091,3a,75y,141.49h,81.75t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srw9ixZzP6e7oPbj41psTKQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

I've seen the odd out-of-service bus using it as a shortcut to the N11, but it's not a great road.

RobbingBandit

Number 10 loved getting it to go to the zoo.

Finglas south needs a better service than the 40 too, very badly impacted by going all the way to Liffey Valley from Charlestown, 78a was a legend of a service again replaced by the 40 now.

Banjoxed

LXFlyer wrote: »

[Snip]
Given that the 84 already links Bray & Cherrywood every 30 minutes at peak - the solution would surely be to to extend it to serve the LUAS stop and perhaps add some extra departures on it.

[/snip]

This is the bit of your post I agree with. The State and private money has invested in Luas to Brides Glen/Cherrywood, while the mid points of the line at Sandyford and Dundrum would justify better North Wicklow and other southern connections than the unfit for purpose 75.

r93kaey5p2izun

I would love to see Kilcock serviced by DB again.