Dublin - BusConnects

Lol - what a chancer. Offering to sell green belt land (with no development potential) for 160k per acre? While claiming this is a 40% reduction in price vs land in an area which allows "general development". Well, yes, but you're not really comparing like with like are you?

Having a single consolidated bus depot/garage is a farcical idea. Dublin bus operates about 1000 buses - lined up touching bumper-to-bumper is over 10km. All leaving from one site in the morning before returning in the evening? Not even remotely possible.

How does this type of nonsense get into the papers?

I do think there's merit to moving the city centre depots out of the centre without consolidating them, 'though. Donnybrook, Conyngham Rd, Grand Canal Dock/Ringsend Road, Broadstone, etc. should all be densely developed with residential and maybe some office/retail - it's a waste to use precious city centre land like this as a surface park for busses.

And it would benefit DB - they'd free up a huge amount of capital by exchanging high-value city centre land for say cheap sites in the semi-industrial fringes of the M50 or in the port.

I remembered reading something about this so googled it and a number of news articles came back: one from last year, and one from 2004, so I guess it's just another one of these reasonable sounding ideas that get floated every decade or so but never goes anywhere.

There is certainly some consideration needed to intensification of development at the bus depots even if they remain in place.

Three phases of the new network have been implemented now.

The first two planning applications for the twelve corridors have been submitted to An Bord Pleanála.

The 74 and L25 won’t use the existing terminus, but rather I understand will use a new bay on the bypass by the old shopping centre. There’s not enough space for them at the current terminus.

You’re completely right - it is a mess and God knows what it’ll be like with both the A2 and A4 terminating there.

Just to add a further point - this will mean that people transferring between the L25 and S6 will have to walk from the Dundrum by-pass to either Taney Road or Upper Churchtown Road to transfer unless they are planning for the S6 to loop around the terminus, which would add to overall journey times somewhat, as it already takes the 14 an age to get out of the terminus onto Taney Road.

I was also told previously that the space under the bridge is unavailable for use as part of the bus station which makes options for redesign very limited.

To be honest, I have serious reservations about the realignment of the orbital routes in Dundrum. For a start, the routes are all being moved away from the Dundrum Town Centre, the main source of all public transport use in the area. The S8 replacing the 175, completely misses the main source of traffic for the route and the entire area, which is Dundrum Town Centre. Passengers using the 175 currently to go from Knocklyon or Ballyboden to Dundrum may now have an extended wait for a 74 (at least until the A2 is implemented) to complete their journey as frequencies don't match, and those going to UCD will have to use an alternative route from their areas to connect with the S6.

Personally, I would have changed the proposed orbitals so that they would intersect at Dundrum and actually serve Dundrum Town Centre:

S6 - Change route to Tallaght to Dún Laoghaire and take the planned L25 route to Dún Laoghaire

S8 - Change route to Citywest to Blackrock - use the 74 route from Grange Road to Dundrum and then as per planned S6

L25 - Still be Dundrum to Dún Laoghaire - Change routing to operate via Sandyford Road, Balally and then proposed S8 route to Dún Laoghaire.

Why does any bus route exist? A need was identified for it.

The 65b was originally a variant of the 65 that was established to provide a bus service for Killinarden estate when it was built, and then subsequently was extended to Citywest.

It was re-routed from the N81 west of Spawell as a result of Network Direct to provide a direct service to and from the city centre for residents living south of Killininny Road. Other routes link Firhouse with Tallaght, so it could then route direct via Firhouse Road West to Killinarden and Citywest.

So I had reason to be in Liffey Valley today and spotted this after getting off at the stop on the N4 and walking up the ramp:

Going by the plans, this seems to be additional lay-bys. However , the main terminus doesn't seem to have started construction yet, so maybe this will be used as the temporary terminus of the G-spine for now? And yes, those are 4 traffic light poles for a pedestrian crossing of a cycle track.

For reference, here it is (in red), Vs the location of the proposed main terminus (blue)

Did you use the TFI app? That shows cancellations and curtailments.

Unfortunately like every company in the country at the moment, the bus companies are suffering serious staff shortages due to the current Covid wave.