BusConnects Dublin - Bus Network Changes Discussion

Even better for the residents there, but still won't please everyone.

I don't stand there for over an hour planning to stand there for over an hour. I have no idea once at a stop how long i will be. I could leave and try and catch a train and bus and spend far longer than I would if I had waited at the bus stop. Cancellations are often not shown on the app. Whether a bus will be too full to stop is not shown on the app. The rail +L58/L59 option is not great. I firstly have to wait for a train. I then need to wait for a bus. L58 is shortest route but only runs once an hour. The L59 is twice an hour, but the route is through traffic ridden areas at that time. It can easily be over 40 mins to get from Hazelhatch to Leixlip. My mother once got it as L58 was only once an hour and it took her over an hour to get to Leixlip.

I've explained before the C1/2 buses don't stop either at Heuston. The issue is lack of capacity. By taking any alternative way home besides the direct bus I am guaranteeing from the get go a commute of an hour to an hour and a half (and that is not withstanding the fact that multi trip journeys only work if both forms of transport are operating correctly, cancellations on L58/L59 also happen fairly frequently).

The fact that someone from TFI is confidently claiming that there are no issues on the C routes and deflecting by continously bringing up Confey shows how little they know of the shambles of the route. 60+ people are often waiting at Heuston for C route buses in the evening with none stopping.The orbitals are great, but they do not substitute for the service from Leixlip to City Centre and were not designed to. The busconnects plan is based on Jarrett Walker taking buses during the day in the Summertime and deciding on routes based on that. His whole premise for north Kildare is that people should take the train and not the bus, ignoring the fact that a bus on the bus corridor can be twice as fast as bus+train or train+walking depending on destination. He also didn't see the massive increase in passenger numbers during term time from school and college students. The shceduling of the buses is terrible, nothing links up, there are large gaps between services at peak hours and then multiple services running together in tandem followed by more massive gaps. Most of the buses are either running from UCD or Ringsend now, which means many are full of people destined for Palmerstown/Lucan rather than Leixlip/Maynooth/Celbridge before they reach the city centre and those passengers are out of options. The prebus connects service had some buses coming from Merrion Square and some from Westmoreland street to counteract this.

The planning was terrible, and they must have ignored the passenger submissions to create the timetable/frequency of routes they did. It is absolutely crazy to think Lelxlip needed four buses an hour to a train station in Celbridge rather than four buses an hour to the city centre, but that is what TFI did.

I don't know how many times I have to repeat it, but I do not work directly for the NTA/TFI. Leixlip and Confey were used previously as an example of the resistance to an improved service. I do know the area and the public transport network in the area as it's my job and also an interest.

I don't create the data, the people taking public transport do, I simply collect it, then present it (as do others). The facts are the facts and other people make the decisions. If you feel so strongly about it, contact the NTA/TFI and make your grievances known.

As previously mentioned, Leixlip is one of the best served towns in the country with regards to public transport. Other posters have given a variety of alternatives to reach Leixlip from Dublin (there are many). The new network being rolled out is all about connectivity and allowing more places across the region to be reached either directly or with a one change journey.

That plan works if the train isn't delayed or the buses aren't cancelled. They frequently are. If there was a te minute frequency I'd do that no bother. Much bigger gamble with an approx 30 min frequency. Also, if I end up on the L59 at that time of the day it's 50-60 mins before that bus reaches Leixlip due to traffic. It also means deciding to abandon getting on buses that will take me home much quicker if they let me on. Sometimes they are full and sometimes they are not. That's the point, I shouldn't have to go multi mode indirect routes if they planned their network accordingly

Tallaght/Clondalkin to City corridor approved by ABP.

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/dublin/2024/10/30/busconnects-corridor-linking-tallaght-and-clondalkin-to-dublin-city-centre-finally-approved/

Also, saw one of those stupid electioneering 'save our buses' posters in Inchicore this morning. The same Inchicore that objected to widening footpaths and removing some trees and parking spaces to facilitate better bus movements as it would 'spoil the village feel' or something equally daft, seeing as the village is a car park choked with traffic 70% of the time. Actions have consequences? who knew!

Not sure if this has been mentioned at all but would getting the N2 to Broombridge and a train then to Leixlip be an option?

Remember all the hymming and hawwwing over putting on 24 hhr buses years ago, apparently nobody was going to use them.

As somebody from Ballyfermot, I think the NTA could have done a bit of a better job with the 60 and L55.
When the L55 was introduced, the 60 could of been re-routed to serve Ballyfermot Village (a 'community bus' that doesn't serve the main shopping area of said community is a bit mental) and then continue via Ballyfermot Road (Lower), Sarsfield Road and then into the city centre. This would offer a much faster connection, for those who need/want it, into the city instead of meandering through the residential area.

Then the L55 could then operate Palmerstown > Ballyfermot Road > Decies/Lally > Island Bridge and then back to Chapelizod. You could terminate the route at the West County Hotel or even operate it as a loop back to Palmerstown.

it doesn't even need to be that long as you could terminate it at any point really along the route that is suitable; the point I am trying to get at is the L55 and 60 seem poorly designed. I would also mention that there is not a single bus servicing the residential area near the Garda Station. There are residential units for older people there, along with 2 schools, and they don't have any service at all which is shame as the 2 'community bus' routes introduced don't even cater to the entire community.

The L55 single decker buses would also be a bit better suited to those residential roads.

Until the infrastrucure works are complete, the choices made have resulted in journey time being worse and I think that is a shame as the other improvements (24 hour services and S4) are great.

That's true but its a "now" problem - this is one of my main routes . It fills several times over with lots of people all the way to the Navan Road end of Cabra 24 hours a day 7 days a week and is perhaps the busiest single route in the country. It is not helped by the train service to a lot of its area ending around midnight either and now its taking N2 transfers as well.

Computerized readings of loadings off ticket machines don't reflect people left behind and the NTA would do well to look at the quays late at night/early morning and primary boarding places like Stonybatter, Rathmines , Drumcondra to see if services are sufficient. We've talked several times here about how airport services are crammed with workers and travellers all night long.

that reminds me - in the busconnects frequency tables the midnight-0600 frequencies dont seem to be there or am I missing something ?

idly looking at that map is it planned to make Botanic Rd two way at Harts corner ? Doesnt seem to show it going round the triangle and its the same on the other BC maps.