Bus Stop Of The Month

Csalem

This month we are visiting bus stop 2827 in Dundrum. This stop is located on the Sandyford Road beside the Dundrum Town Centre. Over the years it was served by Dublin Bus 44, 44B and 116. In 2018 it gained the blue top when Go-Ahead Ireland route 175 started serving it also. Around that time the stop was also moved from the inside of the footpath, to the kerbside.

In the background can be seen the remains of a Dublin Coach bus stop which was erected around 2016 for the route 750 service to Dublin Airport. 

These stops fell out of use in August 2020 when the council introduced a new one way system in Dundrum. Southbound buses now use the by-pass, and only northbound buses use this road and the northbound stops along it.  

30/12/2023

https://flic.kr/p/2prmhZ2

Csalem

This month we are visiting Croydon Park Avenue in Marino.  

Marino was one of the first housing developments of the Irish Free State.Construction began in 1923 and finished around 1926, with approximately 1300 houses built. From 1938 it was served by route 24 which became City Imp route 123 around 1994. 

By 2010, traffic congestion had become a problem on the streets of Marino. The increase in car ownership saw an increase in on-street parking, on streets designed a hundred years previously when car ownership was far less common. Prior to April 2010, Dublin Bus had to announce last-minute diversions on the 123 due to traffic congestion within Marino. In April 2010 the decision was taken to remove the northbound 123 completely from Marino. Instead of using Brian Road, Marino Park and Croydon Park Avenue, the bus went via Philipsburgh Avenue instead. This stop, as well as two others within Marino, then fell out of use when the buses were diverted away. The southbound 123 still uses the roads, and serves stops, within Marino. 

27/01/2024

https://flic.kr/p/2pvbyf1

Losty Dublin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121691496#Comment_121691496

The 24 ran to the terminus at the end of Griffith Avenue that way, before it was withdrawn in 1994. The return workings went via Griffith Avenue then turned into Marino estate at Croydon Park towards Brian Road, before entering Fairview at the school, locally known as Joey's. It was a nightmare turn because there was no traffic lights to regulate things; some drivers waited for as much as 15 minutes at rush hour!

Edit; I should note that the 24 swung right onto Malahide Road at the end of Griffith Avenue before taking a rather hairpinnish right turn back onto the avenue where it laid over. The junction was realigned to configure with Copeland in the mid 90's, with a turnaround and bay provided for the ease of buses.

Csalem

This month we are visiting Monkstown and bus stop 6099 on the Carrickbrennan Road. This stop, and stop 6105 in the background, were last in use between 2005 and 2016 when route 8 went this way. Traditionally the 8 followed route 7 to Dun Laoghaire and continued on to Dalkey from there. That version of the 8 ceased to operate in 2001, and when it returned in December 2005, it was diverted away from Dun Laoghaire. Instead the route diverted away from the 7 in Monkstown and went via Carrickbrennan Road, Mounttown Road Upper, Glenageary Road Upper, and Castle Park Road to reach Dalkey. In November 2016, the 8 ran for the last time and these stops on Carrickbrennan Road fell out of use. Stop 6099 is still used as a layover point for some buses between duties on route 4. The terminus for that route is around the corner on Monkstown Avenue.

The former bus stops of route 8 on Mounttown Road Upper came back into service in 2023 when route L25 started under Bus Connects.

24/02/2024

https://flic.kr/p/2pAjy1C

Csalem

Possibly a slight cheat this month, as technically stop 4717 at Busaras is an unused bus stop, but the bus bay is not. 

Stop 4717 comes under the Dublin Bus bus stop numbering scheme, For many years it was the stop used by Airlink buses (and their predecessors), providing an express bus service to Dublin Airport from the city centre. As such it has been served, at various points in time, by Dublin Bus routes 747, 748 and 757. For a brief period in 1999 it was also served by Hotelink route 61A. Airlink was suspended in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and in 2021 it was announced it was completely gone. There are rumours though it may return.

In 2013 this became stop number 3 on the new Dublin Bus Docklands Tour, with open-top buses serving it every half hour. Around 2017 the Docklands Tour was subsumed into the regular city tour, however the Busaras stop did not last long on the new tour route. In 2020 all tours were suspended, again due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and when they resumed in 2021, the Docklands element was completely gone from the tour route. Therefore, it has been four years since Dublin Bus has used this bus top.

However, this bus bay is also known as Gate 15 as part of Busaras, and has been used by Bus Eireann services since 2020. Since 2023 it has been used exclusively by Translink Goldline services to Belfast and Derry. So the bus bay is still in use, but technically the bus stop is not. 

17/03/2024

https://flic.kr/p/2pE4C2f

Csalem

This month we are visiting Merrion Street Lower and a location that has had two bus stops over the years.

The current bus stop was installed in June 2016 for the start of Airlink route 757. Beside the bus stop is The Davenport Hotel and across the road is The Mont Hotel. There are also other hotels nearby, so it was ideally situated for an airport bus service. The 757 was suspended in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and never returned, with the stop being out of use since then.

There was a stop at the same location that was removed sometime between 2009 and 2013, based on evidence from Google Streetview and other sources. I am unsure what routes served it though, as there is a well served stop on Merrion Square, just on the other side of the junction in the background.

Wexford Bus have been serving their own stop here for over a decade.

28/04/2024

https://flic.kr/p/2pNdneV

Csalem

This month we are visiting Sheriff Street and bus stop 7710 at Docklands Station.

This stop was installed in early 2007 when Docklands Station opened, and bus routes 93 and 151 commenced. However they terminated at a stop on the other side of the road, and neither route served this stop. Route 93 only lasted a few months (running between here and Burgh Quay), while route 151 moved terminus within three months to further down the docks. It did, and still does, continue to serve the stop on the other side of the road to this.

This bus stop did gain a route though in July 2019 when route 53A (Talbot Street to Sheriff Street) commenced. However, that route was suspended in June 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and has yet to return. So apart from a brief eleven-month interlude, this stop has been mostly unserved for seventeen years.

19/05/2024

https://flic.kr/p/2pVcUeb

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121691496#Comment_121691496

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121707228#Comment_121707228

I lived in that area around this time and I remembered hearing reports locally that there had been a collision between two buses on that stretch, which contributed to the curtailment of northbound services in Marino.

Csalem

This month we are visiting Ballyogan and a bus stop on Ballyogan Road, beside the Leopardstown Valley Luas tram stop.

Up until May 2012, this stop was served by route 44 in both directions, as the route did a loop around Ballyogan. From the mid-1990s to around 2009, route 44C also ran between the city centre and Ballyogan. However, with the opening of the Luas Green Line extension to Brides Glen in 2010, the decision was taken to remove the Ballyogan loop from the 44. Route 63 still serves Ballyogan, but approaches from the south and does not serve this stop.

22/06/2024

https://flic.kr/p/2q1yJXk

Csalem

Slight cheat this month as we have a real Schrodinger bus stop, as this stop is both in and out of use.

Stop 2868 on the Upper Churchtown Road in Dundrum was replaced in late-2023 with the new TFI style bus stop. This was done to coincide with the introduction of new orbital route S6. However, the original bus stop was not removed. The timetable information was moved to the new bus stop, so technically the old stop is out of use. It just happens to be located right beside a new bus stop pole that is in use. This situation is also not unique here. This situation is replicated in a number of areas around the city.

Currently this stop is served by Go-Ahead Ireland routes S6 and 161. Between May 2011 and December 2012, it was also a set down stop on the Aircoach route from Dublin Airport to Ballinteer,

27/07/2024

https://flic.kr/p/2q8cAsQ

p_haugh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122466905#Comment_122466905

And said collection of poles is due to be replaced by a shelter, as evidenced by the planning permission attached to the TFI style pole.

Csalem

This month we return to Dundrum and to stop 2828 on the Sandyford Road.

This stop has the same story as stop 2827 which featured previously (https://flic.kr/p/2prmhZ2). Throughout its lifetime, it was served by Dublin Bus 44, 44B and 116. In 2018 it gained the blue top when Go-Ahead Ireland route 175 started serving it also. It fell out of use in August 2020 when the council introduced a new one way system in Dundrum. Southbound buses now use the by-pass, and only northbound buses use this road and the northbound stops along it.

24/08/2024

https://flic.kr/p/2qch5Px

Csalem

This month we visit stop 4530 on Kildare Street.

From 1999 to 2009, this stop was the terminus for route 172, which was also branded "Museumlink". The stop was then unused until late-2010. Network Direct saw routes 25, 25A and 25B move terminus to Merrion Square, and the accessed it via Kildare Street. These three routes served this stop until 2021, when Bus Connects saw the Lucan Road buses diverted away from here and serve Ringsend Road instead. This stop has been unused since then.

The Aircoach stop behind it is still in use.

14/09/2024

https://flic.kr/p/2qjK6V1

Csalem

This month we are visiting two bus stops on Cathal Brugha Street. The stop in the distance was installed around 2016, during the Luas Cross City works. When the tracks were being laid down Marlborough Street, some of the buses that terminated on that road had to relocate to Cathal Brugha Street instead. Other routes were diverted to Abbey Street via Sean MacDermott Street, Cathal Brugha Street and O'Connell Street. Ultimately those bus routes ended up terminating on Abbey Street or Talbot Street once the trams started operation. The former stopping area on Marlborough Street became the Marlborough tram stop.

The stop in the foreground has been present since before 2009, and may have been for the school on the left.

03/11/2024

https://flic.kr/p/2qs5xX4