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The 24 ran to the terminus at the end of Griffith Avenue that way, before it was withdrawn in 1994.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