Naas centre to train station

BarraOG

Is there any regular connection from near the fire station in Naas to the train station which might be suitable for a secondary school student?

Mantis Toboggan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058306535/naas-centre-to-train-station

15 minutes on the bike probably your best bet?

pad199207

Hardly any options except the Micky Mouse Bus from Newbridge 821

Tomrota

Naas doesn’t have local bus routes or any PSO routes to the train station which is bizarre considering the population and patronage of the train station. Unfortunately car is king in Naas!

Route 139 is every 2 hours which is infrequent but best option.

pad199207

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120899581#Comment_120899581

139 is the best option for expansion and upgrades for the town and the fare should be included in the 90min fare with the train

BagofWeed

To have an efficient feeder service from the town centre to the train station would contravene the 'Irish way', slow, useless and awkward is what we do best.

BarraOG

Do Bus Éireann run school buses to a schools local train station? This would make a lot of sense when you have for example a Gael Choláiste serving a large part of a county.

pat_sconce

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120900416#Comment_120900416

but there's a plan!!!

Started in early 2019, then a "strategy report" at the end of 2020, followed by "public consultation", followed in different local politicians wanting a bus to go up and down every road in their patch. Soon to be followed by protests because little johnny should not have to walk 200m to a bus stop.

Fast forward to 2030. The original plan is out of date and a new strategy is required.

You may think I'm joking. Check out the athy bypass debacle. FORTY YEARS!!!!

BagofWeed

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120937757#Comment_120937757

It's what we do best shur begorrah. I live in Cork and by god it's every bit as bad, ran into the ground by nimbys, begrudgers and plain old stupidity. Kildare though by its proximity to Dublin should be way ahead of what it is when it comes to transport connectivity but it isn't and I honestly don't think anything transport wise will ever improve in Ireland.

pat_sconce

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120938753#Comment_120938753

At least the train services are improving and if you are near a train station the service will be superb especially from Sallins. So on a TII platform there is definite good progress. Its the "local" element that is utterly appalling. You could implement a local bus service with direct to station services at peak time and feeding into a central train feeder location at other times within a couple of weeks if you really wanted to.

A small fleet of 20-26 seater midi coaches would be more than sufficient

Tomrota

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120939327#Comment_120939327

One stop away at Celbridge they have local double decker buses going all around the surrounding areas which is great. Three separate Dublin Bus routes stop at Celbridge train station: The W61, L58 and L59 ensure connectivity to anyone living in or between Celbridge, Leixlip or Maynooth.

With Naas’ population being much larger and with the crowds at Sallins station at peak hours, there is demand for highly frequent double decker bus services.

Naas doesn’t have local bus routes which is exceptional for a town of its size in Ireland. Without even thinking about the benefits for train commuters, local bus routes would benefit everyone in the area in terms of increased accessibility, social inclusion (helping those who cannot drive and the elderly), reduce traffic, help urban development and economic growth, reduce the numbers of school kids getting driven to school, and so much more. Naas has so many amenities and various shopping centres, why should you HAVE to own a car to get to them? What about those who have regular appointments in Naas hospital and HAVE to get a taxi?

Personally speaking I would use a bus to get to and from the train station every day if a proper local bus existed with frequency. I have to drive or get a lift, as do hundreds of others. I also find parking in Naas on weekends to be a nightmare- the town is overcrowded with cars, and I would definitely take a bus if I had business in the town if there was one. Hundreds drive and many choose not to go into Naas as a result. I would also take a bus into the town for nights out on a Friday rather than getting a taxi. Most people get a lift or a taxi.

There are so many areas of Naas which require you to get into a car to basically do anything. Meanwhile there are smaller towns and villages with far better local bus links, how is that? There is huge demand in the area for regular bus services and at this point I don’t think KCC or the NTA (two bodies with the authority to make this happen) really care. Any competent urban planner would’ve identified the needs of the area decades ago. Naas town council were talking about the need for a frequent bus service to the train station almost decades ago. KCC identified it in their latest strategies. The NTA even mentioned it in their GDA strategy. Yet here we are still driving every day to the train station, causing congestion, pollution, while the vulnerable and elderly still need to get taxis to basically do anything in Naas. It’s going to get even worse when the shopping centre opens in Naas town. How are people going to get there? The only choice is by car for many who don’t live near the town.

Newbridge is in the same situation. Complete incompetence by the NTA and especially KCC. A Dutch person would laugh at the complete mess they’ve made with transport in our towns. I will end by saying it’s very easy to get people into cars but very hard to get them out of them. The longer they wait, the more people will adapt to driving everywhere all the time contributing to even more congestion and pollution.

pad199207

Yeah and half the times those local buses at Celbridge Station are mostly empty. Ridiculous.

Definitely need to get at least one service like that in the Naas/Sallins Area with double decker buses and not the Micky mouse buses from private operators.

Seen the double decker Dublin bus out in Valleymount the other day for Christ sake.

Have always said Dublin Bus needs to come into the Naas/Sallins Area and better integrate with the rest of the North Kildare. The 139 I think is ideal for this.

The NTA are coming out with this new fare scheme for the more rural parts of South Kildare fair enough but I hope it doesn’t affect the fares for the Maynooth, Celbridge, Naas, Leixlip towns by raising them. We need to keep the 90 min fare hands down

you2008

Got a new job at cherrywood, took 2hr each way on the public, only 30 mint one way on car, I wish I can care more about next generation, but who care about me ☹

KCC or the NTA? not a chance...........

TravelCounty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120956037#Comment_120956037

The NTA are coming out with this new fare scheme for the more rural parts of South Kildare fair enough but I hope it doesn’t affect the fares for the Maynooth, Celbridge, Naas, Leixlip towns by raising them. We need to keep the 90 min fare hands down

The National Fares Strategy (https://www.nationaltransport.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230109_National-Fare-Strategy-Summary_v3.1.pdf) keeps Maynooth, Leixlip and Celbridge in the Dublin City Zone (i.e. the 90 minute SHZ) and no plans seem to be made for changing the price of those trips (€2 Leap 90 min fare, €1.30 single Leap fare).

"A Dublin City Zone which extends to approximately 23km from Dublin city centre. This zone includes the recent simplification of the Dublin fare structure, with the implementation of the ‘Short’ and ’90 minute’ fares."

Naas seems to be getting moved out of that zone into the Dublin Commuter Zone instead. I wouldn't expect the price to increase (or at least only by a few cents) - it will probably float around the same price. It would likely also help reduce the cost of travelling within Kildare (like Naas to Maynooth). The NTA is due to publish the Fare Determination sometime "this month". It isn't immediately clear if this zone will allow for 90 minute fares. The only thing that seems to suggest there's a possibility of the support of a 90 minute fare is the fact that a flat Dublin City Xpresso fare will nearly always be applied when travelling to Dublin.

Greystones would also be moved to the Dublin Commuter Zone and I don't foresee a town with a long established DART station not allowing Leap and 90 minute fare (although the DART will be going to Drogheda which is ticketed the same as Newbridge, Kildare, etc.)

"However, for longer distance journeys (e.g. Newbridge to O’Connell Street), passengers will benefit from the flat fare element within the city facilitating longer distances of travel at a cheaper fare."

Also the fact that O'Connell Street is used in the journey example, which neither has direct bus nor rail connections to Newbridge suggests to me a transfer of some sort (though it could be just talking about getting off the 126 at a stop close to O'Connell Street - like Bachelor's Walk). If the 90 minute fare + Leap Card fare capping is removed from Sallins and Naas, it would be a big blow to the station. My guess is that the Dublin Commuter Zone will be able to make use of the 90 minute fare (though towards the edge of the zone, not all journeys may be quick enough to support it).

Have always said Dublin Bus needs to come into the Naas/Sallins Area and better integrate with the rest of the North Kildare. The 139 I think is ideal for this.

The 139 is planned for some changes this year under Connecting Ireland (https://www.nationaltransport.ie/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Connecting-Ireland-Phase-2-Implementation-Plan-2023-Rev2-V3.pdf) - however, I don't see it getting the properly integrated Maynooth-Leixlip-Celbridge BusConnects style treatment :( - this project is for connecting "rural" spaces

"Connecting Ireland seeks to make public transport for rural communities more useful for more people"

pad199207

Thanks for the reply.

The new signage on the platforms have the DART South West coming to Naas/Sallins

Tomrota

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120976068#Comment_120976068

The plan seems like great news to me, despite S&N being kicked out of the SHZ and dumped into the Commuter Zone instead. I don’t care about the labels as long as fares are equal and consistent across the network - ie. If this plan executes what it claims, then bus and rail services in Sallins/Naas will now cost the same as bus and rail services in commuter towns of similar distance such as Greystones or Balbriggan.

I wonder if this will have any impact on Dublin City Bus routes like Route 184 which doesn’t even enter Co. Dublin. It goes from Newtown, Co. Wicklow to Bray, Co. Wicklow, yet benefits from all the perks of a city bus service ie. 90 minute fare, etc.

I also wonder if services that somehow escape the fare system ie. Route 139 will benefit from 90 minute fares. And furthermore if new local bus services are introduced to shuttle commuters to S&N, will that service benefit from the 90 minute fare. It’s a no brainer from my perspective but the NTA seem very protective about the areas which benefit from this fare.

TravelCounty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121014059#Comment_121014059

Oh of course, I think this is a great idea and I'm completely onboard. The only thing I'm skeptical of is the status of the inclusion of 90 minute fares in the outer zone. Hopefully it is included.

It'd be great to see what the short term changes will be before year's end. From what can be deciphered from the NTA, not much will change for Sallins/Naas immediately. The focus seems to be on adjusting the rail fares for areas "new to the club", like Newbridge, Kildare, Laytown, etc. (whether that be with Leap - hopefully - or not).

The Dublin Bus situation is a weird one. Because it's so close to the Dublin City Zone, it will probably benefit from not being that much more expensive, if it all. You'd like to think 90 minute fare still applies (and to the new zone more generally - it's a fairly important part of why Newbridge is campaigning for fairer fares).