Busconnects - new W4 bus Blanch to Tallaght starts Sunday

thomasj

As part of phase 5a of Busconnects the next phase will see the introduction of the route W4

The W4 will run from Blanchardstown centre to The Square Tallaght via Liffey Valley and Grange Castle

It will run between 5.30am and 11.30pm Monday to Saturday and between 7.30am and 11.30pm Sundays.

Generally it will run every 30 minutes except peak hour mornings and evenings on weekdays when it will run every 15 minutes and early Saturday and Sunday and late evenings when it will be hourly .

It will be operated by Go Ahead Ireland

https://www.transportforireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Phase-5a-FA-WEB.pdf

jeffk

I am going to use it and see, between price of petrol, tolls and then car parking (not the worse compared too others), its just not worth driving too Talla just for the shopping centre (mostly only yours clothing as didnt last in the Blanch centre)

Its a shame we never got the Luas as that be great even into town and swap over

daymobrew

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120748381#Comment_120748381

Metro West between Tallaght and the airport would have been fantastic.

jeffk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120749831#Comment_120749831

It really is amazing to think Talla of the North as i would call us never got the Luas and then a token dart service which isnt easy to even get to in the first place

Larbre34

Still no scheduled direct bus from Blanch to the Airport and Swords.

The capital and second towns of Fingal County destined to be forever apart.

raheny red

Closest we'll get is the N8. Instead of swinging off to Swords from the airport it'll go to Clongriffin Dart.

Larbre34

Bus Connects: Connecting people from where they are to where they have no desire to be. The long way.

My arse.

Dr_Colossus

The L52 bus route used to run between Blanch shopping centre and Liffey Valley shopping centre and while it was infrequent (1hr) was handy. Now goes to Adamstown (apparently due to anti social behavior according to one of the bus drivers).

With so little stops on this new route it will involve first having to go to the Blanch shopping centre rather than trying to catch it at a more convenient location en-route.

Caranica

That's what bus connects is designed to be though. Feeder buses to central hubs that will be the terminals or major connection points to faster routes with fewer stops

jeffk

Just back from a day too Talla on it

From what I see it's nowhere near Liffey valley, Lucan road dual carriageway was nearest

After that I'm and the drivers where lost, some of the journey was the same (M50 mostly), after that I thought we were on the old mystery tours

On the way back we got a tour of citywest business campus or somewhere near it

Otherwise it's a great service and hopefully be used by more (if you think fuel, toll, parking versus 4 round trip)

There was a lot of workers giving out booklets and then getting on and off buses to I assume give them too people

daymobrew

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120763522#Comment_120763522

Looking at page 4 of the doc the Lucan dual carriageway is the correct route ("The W4 stops near Liffey Valley Shopping Centre on the Lucan Road").

The map on page 7 shows it then turns left near Woodies and goes to Tallaght, with a diversion into Grange Castle Business Park and into Kingswood.

w4-bus-route.jpg

jeffk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120763587#Comment_120763587

You'd be in for some shock if you got it for Liffey valley as have some walk

I'd say the drivers not sure and there's roadworks in their defence

daymobrew

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120763717#Comment_120763717

It looks to be less than 500m into the shopping centre.

liffey-valley-bus-to-sc.png

thomasj

If it's the stop I'm thinking of it's not that far . When I was going to Liffey valley from town I would take the C spine as it's faster to get there and the walk into the shopping centre is not that far.

A bit further coming back over the overbridge but still not that far

jeffk

It's not far if you're fit etc, but unfortunately a lot aren't and then dragging a bag or 3

I dunno why they stop right at the square and not Liffey valley (with the rest of the buses) to finish it off

raheny red

How will these unfit people manage to get around the shopping centre when they reach the entrance after the 450 metre trek?!

jeffk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120764219#Comment_120764219

ALWAYS someone to attack the poster not the post (fellow shels fan as well)

It's better to go into Liffey valley and drop/collect people if it's advertised as such, rather then going off route into industrial estate (or do both as route is so short a few times the driver had to wait at stops, or maybe becuase not many using it as so new)

Can get it from blanch, wont go into liffey valley, then stops right in Talla, so 2 and a bit shopping centre route

Turn a positive bus route into a whinge

daymobrew

It's probably much more efficient timewise to drop off and pick up on the dual carriageway. I would expect that 500m is not particularly onerous for the vast majority of people. I bet many walk that far to their first bus stop.

Polar101

I'm confused, I thought they built a new "bus interchange" (or whatever a big bus stop is called) in Liffey Valley and buses such as the W4 were going to use it? But now the W4 doesn't actually go there?

jeffk

No it drops you on the Lucan Road dual carriageway, which some said it's 500m, but that's literally inside the door of the centre

If you wanted to walk from say Tesco there's a 6 minute difference between the dual carriageway and bus stop area you mentioned

I thought they'd go that stop and then out by Tesco that way towards Tallaght (not a local and then not sure what you'll miss going that way, maybe the industrial estates) and tick the boxes of 3 shopping centres rather than industrial estate taking preference over Liffey valley

raheny red

Has the W4 service ever shown for anyone on Google Maps? It's still not there for me. Hoping to use it Sunday week. How would you go about it being added? Contact Google / Go Ahead?!

jeffk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121349769#Comment_121349769

No it doesn't show up, use to say something about not having up to date times. Just suggests 38 then Luas

Also they've moved the stop down a bit, we where dropped at the old one the last time and luckily seen it was moved. Driver was telling us they refused to put anything up to tell people it was moved

I'm guessing your going for the woman's cup final as well?

clare_kate

I've been taking this bus for a few months now and it is safe to say that this bus definitely do not operate during assigned times on the timetable wether it be at 'peak' times or not , the W4 bus does not leave from Blanchardstown at the time it needs to. It parks somewhere around the blanchardstown shopping centre until the driver feels like leaving. Upon question to the driver while entering the bus why it is late the driver always gives us the shrug of the shoulders. This would usually be forgiving due to obvious traffic during busy hours but the W4 bus can be seen parked and on standby beside the shopping centre. On the TFI app it appears to be en route the bus stop and has not been showing up for a few months on time during the day and to add the timetable online/at the bus stop states the bus SHOULD operate every 15 minutes on weekdays between 5.30am until 5.30pm. Go Ahead Ireland/Dublin Bus really needs to look into this. I do not usually complain bus services but something is not right with this bus route.

clare_kate

To give context, I take this bus everyday at random times during the day. Here are screenshots of what appears on the TFI Live app and also today I have been waiting at the bus stop for 45 minutes and no W4 in sight. P.s. Still waiting.

jeffk

Yeah I've noticed the last 3 times it's been up to around 15 minutes late.

Then forever going slow, pulling into stops with no one at them or parking at stops for ages {once on the N4 with all doors open)

At one stage I got too see EVERY other bus that stops at the Blanch centre stop before the W4 turned up late

raheny red

Go Ahead's service will break your soul. When out of service they'll use park up @ Blanch Library. The driver is probably grabbing a coffee for their break or waiting on a change over of driver. Bad traffic throughout the day will have a knock on affect for that day. Not that this matters to you or me but that's usually the reason. They clearly need more buses and drivers.

Pale Red

I don't use that bus so cannot comment on specifics. If it's scheduled every 15 minutes then heavy traffic will make the previous bus late as well. If the traffic adds 5 minutes to the schedule then your bus is 5 minutes late, adds 10 minutes then 10 minutes late, but 15 minutes means that you will get a bus on YOUR scheduled time - it happens to be the previous bus running 15 minutes late on ITS scheduled time. A 45 minute wait means a crash causing abnormal delay or some scheduled services being cancelled.

clare_kate

I check online all the time when there is a delay for the route the W4 takes to justify the delay and only found 1 announcement so far due to a collision on the N4.. but that was once.. out of countless delays. Like I said it has been a couple of months since this has been happening and found this bus in particular parked in the shopping centre for a very long time and by the time it turns on alas, it's the W4.

additionally, with your explanation this would enable an overlap of W4 buses arriving at the bus stop in a single hour if one after the other is delayed. On many occassions, only one bus shows up in a single hour [again, it happens at any point during the day]. Moreover, the TFI live at the stops and the live app notifies users if a bus will be delayed. All i can say from this is that, it should have been investigated. A few users have made contact with TFI already reaching no response. It is a loss cause.

daymobrew

Go above TFI - try your local politician or the minister that oversees TFI (Minister for Transport maybe).

Or write a letter to the Chief Executive of NTA: https://www.nationaltransport.ie/about-us/executive/

Shane O' Malley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121690692#Comment_121690692

You are spot on about this service. I tried for ages to work out the system (For a while 10 min seemed to be the default difference from timetable) but i got left waiting in the cold and rain too many times.

I now have to get bus into town and back out again. At least i know when i will get to where i want to.

Does seem to be a GoAhead problem as i have had to take a couple of their other routes too. Best to stay away from them.

daymobrew

Would an electric bike be a useful alternative if GoAhead are this unreliable?

(If you've never tried an electric bike you'll be quite surprised, maybe amazed, how easy they are to cycle - maybe try a green Tier one)