BusConnects Dublin - Big changes to Bus Network

I am still using the old app - and that does require you to look back along the route on the map and click on the buses as you say.

But that feature DOES work, which is my point and it is a very useful tool as it gives accurate information, which is valuable when, right now, the predictive times algorithms are still not fully working properly.

Being able to filter by route would be a huge improvement.

It's also useful in certain cases where the journey time can vary significantly and randomly. For example the 14 can take anything from 3 to 18 minutes to get from the terminus at Dundrum LUAS to the first stop on Ballinteer Road now that it has that ludicrous loop (involving five right turns and five sets of traffic lights) to negotiate (as opposed to a clear run from the terminus up the Main Street). The variations arise from the traffic light sequencing, traffic in general, and the school traffic on Kilmacud Road Upper.

Using the live map I can now watch and wait before going to a stop, until after the bus has passed Dundrum Village crossroads. The predictive times won't ever help with that as they are based on the schedule.

Also, the final network plan was only published in September 2020, just over two years ago - not four as suggested above. That original plan was (rightly) binned.

I agree with much of what you're saying about the revised network, but there are certainly some really basic problems and shortcomings with the timetable construction and co-ordination, with the provision of accurate information and with connections in the phases implemented so far.

Co-ordination of Timetables:

First of all I would comment on the co-ordination of timetables on the Spines, which was one of the key elements of the plan. This has not been followed through sadly.

Since the timetables on the H Spine were revised in November 2021, the H1, H2 and H3 are no longer co-ordinated inbound anymore from Raheny inwards. So bunching is perfectly possible and is scheduled.

On the C-Spine the C1/C2 are not co-ordinated in either direction with the C3/C4 since the timetables were revised in July 2022, so again there can be bunching along that Spine.

C-Spine Connections:

The connections of the local services in Leixlip to/from River Forest and Castletown with the C-Spine routes are very poor. These are where direct buses to/from the city were removed outside of the peaks.

For example, the obvious way to offer connections (in my view) would have been to have the L54 connect out of the C4 at Lucan Village heading towards Leixlip, and into the C4 at Lucan Village heading from River Forest. That would have given a co-ordinated service to/from the city centre and River Forest and a service between Leixlip and the city every 15 minutes (albeit every other bus requiring a connection at Lucan). Instead it's a complete hotch-potch and you can have an L54 and a C3 operating between Leixlip village and Ballyowen Road in tandem which really is not using the capacity properly.

Similarly the connections at Hazelhatch Railway Station leave an awful lot to be desired. No real effort was made to co-ordinate the bus and rail schedules and it means buses are carrying thin air at times. Also the bus stop at the station is just about as far away from the station entrance as it could be, which is anything but user friendly.

N4 Timetable Construction:

On the N4, the buses leave the terminus every 10 minutes, but during the morning peak there are two gaps of over 20 minutes in arrivals at the Point Village caused by differing running times. There are similar if not longer gaps in the other direction. This could be avoided by adding a couple of departures starting from DCU in either direction to split the gaps over the second half of the route. Some buses are then actually scheduled to overtake the bus in front of them in either direction as the running times reduce post-peak. That should just never happen. It's just awful scheduling. Similar issues happen in the evening in both directions.

Published Timetables:

The timetables on the H-Spine changed in November 2021 and the C-Spine changed in July 2022, and these included earlier and later departure times from termini and revised running times. None of the stop timetable posters on-street have been updated with the revised timetables, and in the case of the C-Spine, the timetables on the Dublin Bus website and the Transport for Ireland website are the original ones still, which are long out of date.

G-Spine:

I won't comment on the G-Spine until the revised timetables come into effect, as we all know the running time issues there, except to say that an additional route 60 peak hour service was added in either direction following local lobbying fairly close before the launch, but none of the timetables on display at bus stops or those on the Dublin Bus and TFI websites show these additional term time buses. So how is anyone to know about them? That's just crazy.

Conclusion:

Getting these things right is pretty basic and is really important as otherwise people just lose confidence in the service.

I do think that in this regard that the NTA have to a degree bitten off more than they can chew. They clearly either don't have staff with the requisite operational knowledge, or don't have sufficient staff to get the information updated rapidly and on a timely basis.

There is no point in going to all the trouble of posting information to stops if it's not kept up to date.

Finally, I do think that the NTA need to be more responsive and accept that they may not have got everything right. A case in point is the G-Spine and the reduction in services operating directly via Heuston and the Quays to/from Ballyfermot.

Responses to queries keep saying that the C-Spine offers a service along that corridor, but those services don't serve Ballyfermot, and nor do they connect with the G-Spine buses without a reasonable walk including crossing a dual carriageway.

It wouldn't do the NTA any harm to admit where they got the implementation wrong and put some extra route 60 services on until the bus gates on the G-Spine are introduced. Instead they come across as telling people that they, the NTA, know better than the people using the buses. That's not a good approach.

They should also be communicating with passengers post-each rollout to advise them that they are aware of whatever issues are arising and what they plan on doing about them - it should not have taken two hearings of the Oireachtas Transport Committee to actually find out what was going on. Their comms is shocking.