Dublin Bus Network Review

Northsider85

My bus was cancelled last night due to "Not enough passengers"

Was waiting for ages for a bus this morning on the 41 from Swords, about half an hour with no 41 or 41C turning up, driver said when he turned up that most of the garages are running a toned down service.

AlekSmart

The 19a is working quite well. It's as reliable as the other core cross city routes, which naturally can mean occasional delays, but generally I find the 19a to be punctual and carrying good loadings.

Very true KD345,and it`s worth noting that the 19A has not yet been Network Directed,but rather like the 11`s is due for the "Improvements" early in 2011.

It is notable also that as this thing continues,Drivers on non-ND`d routes are seeing a sizeable bleed-off of passengers from ND`d routes such as the 46A who will travel a distance on the "Un-improved" route and then walk to their final destination rather than wait for 45 minutes and force themselves onto a jam-packed Bus....Improvement..?...perhaps to some...:rolleyes:

dfx-`s question here is an interesting one in several areas....

What Dublin Bus "feeder service" (aka as 'going nowhere craziness') has actually been a success? Is there any? Any increased loads?

This may well become an issue as more people see through this process.

Currently we are led to believe that Head Office is quite pleased with the initial results of ND and that Customers are equally pleased with the Improvements to date...:)

However,at local level and on the Buses themselves it`s fair to say a somewhat different response is generally apparent.

I`m afraid I cannot call it either way for sure,but at some point there will be a requirement for verifiable and accurate statistics to decide the matter one way or t`udder ...:cool:

KD345

AlekSmart wrote: »

Very true KD345,and it`s worth noting that the 19A has not yet been Network Directed,but rather like the 11`s is due for the "Improvements" early in 2011.

Indeed, I was simply replying to CIE, who suggested the 19A was failing following amalgamating with the 155. It's not, and it should stand as an example of how cross city routes can work and open up new connections.

I don't see a reason why the new 27 can't work. The loadings on the 77 right now are very low, and it's not reliable. It doesn't stick to the timetable which is probably one of the reasons it's not as successful as it once was. Any enhancement to this route should be welcomed. I believe a shake up is needed, and we may once again have a frequent route offering new connections for those in Greenhills, Walkinstown, Crumlin, Fairview, Artane and Coolock.

Flukey

AlekSmart wrote: »

At this stage the entire Network Direct shambles really needs to be reassessed by preferably some outside agency,perhaps even Deloitte themselves asked to revisit the wreckage.

Well, seeing as the 46A now goes to Dublin Zoo, maybe they could get a few of their monkeys and other animals to form this outside agency. They'd certainly come up with something better than what Dublin Bus came up with. Of course then again, there does seem to be a bit of a rhinoceros attitude in Dublin Bus, just blasting their way through everything without any thought or even realisation of the damage they are doing.

CIE

KD345 wrote: »

The 19a is working quite well. It's as reliable as the other core cross city routes, which naturally can mean occasional delays, but generally I find the 19a to be punctual and carrying good loadings

Even at a route length of close to 12 miles, which crosses the city centre? That seems to be the impression that the writers of the Deloitte report have, to wit a cross-city bus service that's 12 miles long or longer will be reliable somehow. Does anyone ride the 19A from terminus to terminus? Do the drivers like it or dislike it?

KD345 wrote: »

With regard to Tallaght, we know there are changes on the way, but the only thing finalised is the 27 and 77 merging as this is part of the Malahide Road phase, and the new routing for the 76. There will be changes to the 49, 50, 54a (possibly cross city), 56a, 65/b, and 77a, but nothing is confirmed just yet. Sometimes changes in one part of the city do impact on other areas, we're already seeing that happen with the Malahide Rd. 128 now replacing the 15 to Ballycullen, although the Templeogue changes are not due yet

That's another odd one. And it's also over 12 miles in length.

By comparison, the new 39A from Ongar to Belfield is about 16.5 miles long.

KD345 wrote: »

Personally, I think the Tallaght buses need to change. The area has developed a lot in recent years, and if done right, it will really improve the service there. I'd prefer to see more frequent core routes, for example, if the 50 was a bit more frequent it could replace the 65b in Killinarden, this could give a more consistent timetable to Killinarden instead of what's currently on offer. With many Killinarden residents traveling only to The Square, this would be a better service.

Should have been on to DB back in 2009. That's when they got rid of routes 201 and 202 (the fate of route 203 escapes me at the moment). What strikes me as funny is that DB didn't think to reorganise them (and/or advertise them) as Luas feeders.

Cool Mo D

As far as I can tell, the network direct routes are better, but the rubbish punctuality is really killing the thing, along with a few questionable re-routings - 17A through Beaumount? 84 to Belfield? That needs to be sorted before any more changes are implemented.

Also, the lack of involvement of the local authorities is lazy and damaging - new frequent bus routes need new infrastructure - proper bus bays, traffic priority, and most importantly, new bus lanes. Bus lanes on Pembroke street, Fitzwilliam street, and keeping taxis off bus lanes on Grafton Street, Dawson Street, and Suffolk street would be a big help.

A final simple thing would be a 2.20 fare being able to act as a travel 90 ticket.

CIE

The Network Destruct "ethos" (for want of a better word) really fails to take into account the fact that route duplication by itself is indeed needed. It's not being able to distinguish between necessary and unnecessary route duplication where they are falling on their faces. Also, if running cross-city was a tight squeeze in the past, it's far more so these days.

Aard

Cool Mo D wrote: »

A final simple thing would be a 2.20 fare being able to act as a travel 90 ticket.

This is really important. I know integrated ticketing and all its wonders are on the way, but this would be so simple.


ND is cutting the number of point-to-point routes. Basic maths would reason that the number of people who will need to transfer busses will increase. This in itself is not bad. However, there is absolutely no incentive now for the occasional traveller to switch busses, so s/he will probably take the car.


I would suggest removing all of the Stage Fare system (perhaps keep the Outer Suburban and Xpresso fares), and replacing it with a Travel-90 ticket @ €2 for adults, and €1 for children.


Sure, it'd be more expensive for a lot of people, but it would decrease dwell times dramatically. That may even have a knock-on effect of improving reliability. I think it was AlekSmart who said that each flat-fare customer takes only 4 seconds, while a stage-fare customer takes 7 seconds.

CIE

Aard wrote: »

ND is cutting the number of point-to-point routes. Basic maths would reason that the number of people who will need to transfer busses will increase. This in itself is not bad. However, there is absolutely no incentive now for the occasional traveller to switch busses, so s/he will probably take the car

What kills the network are not only cutting key radial routes, but also not including enough circular routes. There aren't any routes that serve continuous east-west corridors, e.g. Kylemore Road/Walkinstown Avenue/St. Peter's Road/Greentrees Road/Templeville Road/Springfield Avenue/Dodder Park Road/Braemor Road/Upper Churchtown Road/Taney Road/Mount Annville Road (onto Lower Kilmacud Road), so even a useful bus route that would serve such a corridor and is a route that can only be driven by car at present would not see its other possible utility as a transfer route.

There are far more than that (e.g Griffith Avenue, full length of Collins Avenue) with disjointed radial bus services on them instead of a cross-city service.

Aard wrote: »

I would suggest removing all of the Stage Fare system (perhaps keep the Outer Suburban and Xpresso fares), and replacing it with a Travel-90 ticket @ €2 for adults, and €1 for children.

Sure, it'd be more expensive for a lot of people, but it would decrease dwell times dramatically. That may even have a knock-on effect of improving reliability. I think it was AlekSmart who said that each flat-fare customer takes only 4 seconds, while a stage-fare customer takes 7 seconds.

I've been wishing for the end of stage fares for decades. Doesn't seem to be on the agenda quite yet. Question is, can you make the adult fare lower than €2 while increasing revenue simultaneously? I think you can. This would also eliminate the need for riders to hold tickets printed out for cash fares (and simultaneously reduce costs there), since merely being on the bus means you automatically paid the correct fare.

med1

CIE wrote: »

What kills the network are not only cutting key radial routes, but also not including enough circular routes. There aren't any routes that serve continuous east-west corridors, e.g. Kylemore Road/Walkinstown Avenue/St. Peter's Road/Greentrees Road/Templeville Road/Springfield Avenue/Dodder Park Road/Braemor Road/Upper Churchtown Road/Taney Road/Mount Annville Road (onto Lower Kilmacud Road), so even a useful bus route that would serve such a corridor and is a route that can only be driven by car at present would not see its other possible utility as a transfer route.

There are far more than that (e.g Griffith Avenue, full length of Collins Avenue) with disjointed radial bus services on them instead of a cross-city service. I've been wishing for the end of stage fares for decades. Doesn't seem to be on the agenda quite yet. Question is, can you make the adult fare lower than €2 while increasing revenue simultaneously? I think you can. This would also eliminate the need for riders to hold tickets printed out for cash fares (and simultaneously reduce costs there), since merely being on the bus means you automatically paid the correct fare.

dublin bus shot itself along time ago by getting rid of the 2 easy and 10 journey tickets these were handy and were used
also why are we the only service between ireland and the uk that you cant buy a day ticket of a bus driver the ticketing equipment is the same if i go up north i can buy a day ticket of a bus driver go to birmingham the same why not in dublin even the bus eireann driver can sell multi ticket types
after all in the suburbs most ticket agents never have the ticket you want i found recently having to go through 7 ticket agents to buy a family bus rail ticket in the end i went to drumcondra rail station all the way from finglas

Aard

CIE wrote: »

I've been wishing for the end of stage fares for decades. Doesn't seem to be on the agenda quite yet. Question is, can you make the adult fare lower than €2 while increasing revenue simultaneously? I think you can. This would also eliminate the need for riders to hold tickets printed out for cash fares (and simultaneously reduce costs there), since merely being on the bus means you automatically paid the correct fare.

The reason I said €2 is that there would be far fewer people waiting for one of those crappy receipts. If DB managed to allow drivers to use some sort of change-giving machine, then perhaps a lower fare would work. Another reason for the high-ish fare would be to encourage people to bulk buy in the form of a weekly, or a 10-pack ticket, which would reduce dwell times even further.

Dub13

Northsider85 wrote: »

My bus was cancelled last night due to "Not enough passengers"

How can this happen...?must be a private company you are talking about as even with all its bad practice's I have never heard of DB canceling a bus because of a lack of passengers.

med1

Dub13 wrote: »

How can this happen...?must be a private company you are talking about as even with all its bad practice's I have never heard of DB canceling a bus because of a lack of passengers.

dublin bus has been doing that for the last couple of years
for example 51a 40c 220 103 all cancelled due to a lack of passengers or in reality buses running on these routes so leading to a lack of passengers

Dub13

med1 wrote: »

dublin bus has been doing that for the last couple of years
for example 51a 40c 220 103 all cancelled due to a lack of passengers or in reality buses running on these routes so leading to a lack of passengers

What I took from the post by Northsider85 is that his/her bus was canceled at short notices due to lack of numbers.I don't think they do that,or do they...?maybe I took the post up the wrong way.

J_Dublin15

I too take issue to the "Normal Weekday Service" crap that Dublin Bus claim is happening. They clearly are not. I get on the terminus of my bus, and get off at the other one, the bus has never not turned up in my years of getting it, until this week. My bus is normally 15 min frequency peak 30 mins off peak, although at some points it is 10 minutes.

Wednesday the 8.05 to city bus did not turn up, so I got the 8.20 bus. Driver of the 8.20 said bus was not running as the "Duty had been canceled" Yesterday the 5.20 bus from City was canceled, same reason, inspector claimed they were "Just following orders" and the fact there was a bus at 5.10 and one after at 5.35 resulted in cancellation.

Tonight the 4.35 was canceled, for the same reason again, and was advised this one was selected as the previous bus was at 16.25 and is only a 10 minute gap as opposed to 15 as normal. Also spent 30 minutes waiting this morning for a 16/33/41/41C to near Omni Peak, judging by the number of buses on the timetable, it should be nowhere near this long to wait, and I noticed that there were very little buses around on Drumcondra Road compared to normal apart from the 747/8 and Aircoach.

I have no problem with them providing a restricted weekday service, but it would be appreciated if they actually told us this, rather than claim a weekday service is operating when it clearly is not as this really annoys the hell out of me.

angel01

Dub13 wrote: »

What I took from the post by Northsider85 is that his/her bus was canceled at short notices due to lack of numbers.I don't think they do that,or do they...?maybe I took the post up the wrong way.

It happens quite a lot and Dublin Bus have been doing this for years, they can get away with it easier at this time of year. If this wasn't happening, I would not have had to wait over 25 mins at St Stephen's Green waiting for a bus that will go towards O'Connell Street.

They think they can get away with it and it sickens me. :mad:

At least the Luas is up front, they are operating on a Sunday service this last week and that's fine, at least we are all aware and can adjust our schedules to make time for that, DB claiming that its a normal weekday is a crock of lies..

Bazzer2

And yet they can run Xpressos (66x/67x) on the Lucan Road when they are not supposed to be operating at all. :rolleyes:

AlekSmart

CIE wrote: »

By comparison, the new 39A from Ongar to Belfield is about 16.5 miles long.Should have been on to DB back in 2009. That's when they got rid of routes 201 and 202 (the fate of route 203 escapes me at the moment). What strikes me as funny is that DB didn't think to reorganise them (and/or advertise them) as Luas feeders.

Quote Devilman40:Since the changes I have found the 46A becoming ever more unreliable - some evenings I've waited 20-25 minutes for one.

And now with the proposed changes to the 18(a reliable old warhorse -to me anyway - ) coming on stream in the new year I'm glad I wont be getting the bus, I'd rather sit in traffic than stand waiting for an hour for both buses

Quote med1..... Dublin bus shot itself along time ago by getting rid of the 2 easy and 10 journey tickets these were handy and were used
also why are we the only service between ireland and the uk that you cant buy a day ticket of a bus driver the ticketing equipment is the same if i go up north i can buy a day ticket of a bus driver go to birmingham the same why not in dublin even the bus eireann driver can sell multi ticket types
after all in the suburbs most ticket agents never have the ticket you want i found recently having to go through 7 ticket agents to buy a family bus rail ticket in the end i went to drumcondra rail station all the way from finglas

Quote CIE....I've been wishing for the end of stage fares for decades. Doesn't seem to be on the agenda quite yet. Question is, can you make the adult fare lower than €2 while increasing revenue simultaneously? I think you can. This would also eliminate the need for riders to hold tickets printed out for cash fares (and simultaneously reduce costs there), since merely being on the bus means you automatically paid the correct fare.

Quote Cool Mo D...... Also, the lack of involvement of the local authorities is lazy and damaging - new frequent bus routes need new infrastructure - proper bus bays, traffic priority, and most importantly, new bus lanes. Bus lanes on Pembroke street, Fitzwilliam street, and keeping taxis off bus lanes on Grafton Street, Dawson Street, and Suffolk street would be a big help.

A final simple thing would be a 2.20 fare being able to act as a travel 90 ticket.

One of the most heartening aspects of this thread is the abundance of DB Customers and Staff who are prepared to give considered opinions,suggestions and responses to the greater issue of our City`s Public Bus Service.

It most certainly gives the lie to those who believe that people are apathetic or negatively inclined towards Dublin Bus and it`s Staff.

Throughout this and other Network Direct related threads there has been an ongoing engagement with the issues which surrounded Network Direct and its flawed introduction.

The posts quoted above,along with many others,all raise serious and hugely relevant points,the addressing of which would do much to improve Dublin Bus`s lot.

What is therefore saddening,and not a little disturbing is the almost total lack of official recognition that,in this particular case,"Heuston does have a Problem",and one which is far from addressed.

As we enter 2011,it is almost a given that we will soon be presented with even worse figures from the Company which,doubtless will be the precursor to yet more "cost-saving" processes.

Yet many of these issues have been around for decades with virtually no movement on them other than tinkering around,which in the main has disimproved the issues....the increase in Travel90 vis-a-vis the €1.80 cash fare is one such example.

Some of the more traditionalist damn-the-working-classes posters might in past times have pointed a withering finger at the Trades Unions for preventing progress,something which ,in the main,has been long ago consigned to the depths of Dublin Bus history.

The fundamental changes which are inherent in the Network direct plan,including the driver redundancies,were all negotiated and agreed without recourse to industrial action.

However,given the outcome of those changes thus far,it`s fair to say that there are mutterings of discontent being heard throughout the City.....

Is anybody listening however ?.......perhaps.....perhaps not

KD345

CIE wrote: »

if running cross-city was a tight squeeze in the past, it's far more so these days.

No, that's not the case at all. There has never been more bus priority in the city, and cross city routes benefit greatly from the College Green bus gate. There is also far less traffic on the roads than in recent years.

The length of route should not matter, provided there is sufficient running time.

Personally, I'd rather have a bus in service serving two parts of the city, than have two separate buses lying over on the city streets opposite each other clogging up the quays/side streets. Cross city routes are far more productive and attractive for those traveling across the city centre.

AlekSmart

KD345 wrote: »

The length of route should not matter, provided there is sufficient running time.

Personally, I'd rather have a bus in service serving two parts of the city, than have two separate buses lying over on the city streets opposite each other clogging up the quays/side streets. Cross city routes are far more productive and attractive for those traveling across the city centre.

A very pertinent and remarkably basic point of Bus Route Scheduling which somehow fell between the cracks in Network Direct`s parquet flooring.

One other very important aspect of lenghty cross-city routes is the desirability of having several "Short-Running" destinations which can be utilized as the prime regulation tool.

This enables route controllers to manage the entire route dynamically rather than the current situation in Dublin which offers a controller/stance-inspector very few options other than ..."Blank her out and drop them off" or "Go Special".....both options which do little for the actual service level along a given route.

This is all Operational stuff,the introduction of which would allow for far greater long-term gains than any amount of digitized loofah playing in Head Offices.

CIE

AlekSmart wrote: »

kd345 wrote: »

The length of route should not matter, provided there is sufficient running time

A very pertinent and remarkably basic point of Bus Route Scheduling which somehow fell between the cracks in Network Direct`s parquet flooring.

One other very important aspect of lengthy cross-city routes is the desirability of having several "Short-Running" destinations which can be utilized as the prime regulation tool.

This enables route controllers to manage the entire route dynamically rather than the current situation in Dublin which offers a controller/stance-inspector very few options other than ..."Blank her out and drop them off" or "Go Special".....both options which do little for the actual service level along a given route.

This is all Operational stuff,the introduction of which would allow for far greater long-term gains than any amount of digitized loofah playing in Head Offices.

All I've seen is degradation of bus times thanks to timetable padding, as referenced above. When I used to ride the 66, it took 55 minutes from Maynooth to city centre; now it's over 90 minutes. My first choice nowadays would be the train (even with the extra intermediate stations, it's still 37 minutes Connolly to Maynooth and vice-versa).

They built a Busáras for the provincial services, but why none for city services? During tram times, the big central turn-around point was Nelson's Pillar, where that eyesore of a spire now is; even the buses used that as a focal point. Not likely that you can build one there today, but a central station for DB as close to that location as one can get would keep the buses from having to park on the street, while having reliable shorter routes that can have much higher average speeds. I'd also know where my bus is leaving from and when, instead of having to look out from behind a queue on either O'Connell Street or on odd places such as Pearse Street (which I never used to associate with the 66)...

med1

CIE wrote: »

All I've seen is degradation of bus times thanks to timetable padding, as referenced above. When I used to ride the 66, it took 55 minutes from Maynooth to city centre; now it's over 90 minutes. My first choice nowadays would be the train (even with the extra intermediate stations, it's still 37 minutes Connolly to Maynooth and vice-versa).

They built a Busáras for the provincial services, but why none for city services? During tram times, the big central turn-around point was Nelson's Pillar, where that eyesore of a spire now is; even the buses used that as a focal point. Not likely that you can build one there today, but a central station for DB as close to that location as one can get would keep the buses from having to park on the street, while having reliable shorter routes that can have much higher average speeds. I'd also know where my bus is leaving from and when, instead of having to look out from behind a queue on either O'Connell Street or on odd places such as Pearse Street (which I never used to associate with the 66)...

there was a plan in the 80s to build a central bus terminus in dublin i remember the plans in the press and herald it was going to be a big area and covered the region of strand street abbey street upper to the quays ,eventually it was cancelled cant remember why

KD345

CIE wrote: »

When I used to ride the 66, it took 55 minutes from Maynooth to city centre; now it's over 90 minutes.

Over 90 minutes, from the city centre to Maynooth???

Unless there is a traffic problem, it does not take over 90 minutes for the 66 to reach Maynooth.

My point to you was simply aimed at cross city routes. You assumed the 19a was not operating efficiency since the change of the 155. You then went on to criticise long cross city services. Do you accept that buses now travel faster through te city centre than ever before? Dublin City Council want parked buses off streets and Dublin Bus need to maximise vehicle potential. I believe with sufficient running time that the proposed new cross city services can operate well.

You refer to old services a lot in your posts, and while it's important to look back and learn from past routes, Dublin is a different city to what it was 10 years ago. It has expanded greatly and Dublin Bus is under severe pressure to deliver a service while keeping costs in check. Let's be honest, the 46a and 39 changes have not been great, but the problems are being addressed. We have no choice but to deal with the situation at hand. Yes, it would be great to have a central bus terminus and various radial routes, but we don't. Perhaps those issues could be discussed in a different thread. Network Direct needs to work. I'm hoping the new 14, 27, 40, 79 and 128 all have decent running time allocated to avoid the mistakes we have seen so far.

dfx-

Has any changed route actually worked? Is there an uptake of people going direct from Dun Laoghaire to the Zoo? Or Kilmacanogue to Heuston when they couldn't before? Or is it nothing to do with passengers...

KD345 wrote: »

Perhaps those issues could be discussed in a different thread. Network Direct needs to work. I'm hoping the new 14, 27, 40, 79 and 128 all have decent running time allocated to avoid the mistakes we have seen so far.

That's like saying when drowning in the deep end, you need to learn how to swim. It doesn't mean it is the best way to survive, which is to not get in the water in the first place. Does more running time require more buses to operate the same frequency? Maybe you mean Dublin Bus are so far down the road with it that it has to be made work.

There are heavy used routes in Dublin Bus not 10 years ago, but 6 months ago that have been altered and are planned to be changed when it is in Dublin Bus' interests not to mess with them. That makes no sense. Whether it has to work or not.

jack presley

KD345 wrote: »

Cross city routes are far more productive and attractive for those traveling across the city centre.

Except when the driver changes half way across. I imagine it's a union thing with breaks etc. but it is very frustrating sitting on the quays for 5 minutes or so while we wait for the new driver

Devilman40k

I agree that ND has to work, but I cannot see it working in its current guise. Was there really a need to adjust the 145,46a,39a and rid us of the 10? or , is there a need to simplify other aspects of the service to make them more efficient. I agree with combining routes and having changovers where it is needed...but it seems that DB are intent on continuing the an lar mentality and not focusing on developing quality radial routes both north and southside and having better links between routes/other services. ...i supposd if ND is a failure they could always repaint the buses purple and label them as luas'

ArmaniJeanss

KD345 wrote: »

No, that's not the case at all. There has never been more bus priority in the city, and cross city routes benefit greatly from the College Green bus gate. There is also far less traffic on the roads than in recent years.

The length of route should not matter, provided there is sufficient running time.

Personally, I'd rather have a bus in service serving two parts of the city, than have two separate buses lying over on the city streets opposite each other clogging up the quays/side streets. Cross city routes are far more productive and attractive for those traveling across the city centre.

Cross city routes are an absolute disaster, possibly the worst decision DB have made. And as I said in an earlier post I live in Mulhuddart and work in Leeson St so in theory the change to cross-city of the 38A was aimed at the likes of me. But its a shambles. The extra couple of miles of the route is making a timetable impossible for the controllers/drivers to follow.

For 3 years I walked (or latterly Dublin biked) into O'Connell St for 6.40 in the evening and the scheduled 6.40 38A would turn up 3 minutes later. Like clockwork, it was fantastic.

Going cross city has destroyed that. Baggot Street to O'Connell Bridge is scheduled for 12 minutes. AlekSmart will know better than me how realistic that is, but my guess would be 5% of buses manage that trip in 12 minutes and that dependent on weather/traffic that journey could occasionally take 40/50 minutes. So it is impossible to timetable that route.

So now I just have the misery of turning up at the bustop in the freezing cold without an iota of an idea of when a bus is due or whether I've just missed one.

Aard

If it's any consolation, ArmaniJeanss, there should be electronic bus timetables (http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056068366) springing up soon. At least you'll know when the bus is to arrive (or indeed, how long ago it left).

jack presley

Aard wrote: »

If it's any consolation, ArmaniJeanss, there should be electronic bus timetables (http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056068366) springing up soon. At least you'll know when the bus is to arrive (or indeed, how long ago it left).

.....and there'll be integrated ticketing in 2007.

KD345

dfx- wrote: »

Has any changed route actually worked? Is there an uptake of people going direct from Dun Laoghaire to the Zoo? Or Kilmacanogue to Heuston when they couldn't before? Or is it nothing to do with passengers....

Yes, I believe some of the route changes have worked, and with some tweaking to the running time of the 38,39,39a etc. (which is happening) and more attention to the 46a and 145, then they could work too.

The route changes were never made because people in Dun Laoghaire want to travel to Dublin Zoo, or because those in Kilmacanogue want to go to Heuston, it's about looking at the route in whole and at various points along the way. The 145 is very popular from Heuston and now gives a proper cross city service from one of the busiest railway stations in the country. Much better than the 90/91/92 ever was. I also now see passengers queuing for Blanchardstown buses on Leeson Street, Dawson Street and Suffolk Street, so the service is obviously of use to these passengers.

dfx- wrote: »

Does more running time require more buses to operate the same frequency? Maybe you mean Dublin Bus are so far down the road with it that it has to be made work.

It's been explained in detail on this thread already, but my understanding is that proper running time would mean buses operate to a realistic timetable. It also means drivers and buses are in the right location when it comes to breaks/shifts finishing, which at present is resulting in buses being cut short leaving gaps in the schedule.

This may mean a slightly reduced frequency, but it would be more reliable. The new RTPI will highlight just how much of a problem this is.

Devilman40k wrote: »

it seems that DB are intent on continuing the an lar mentality and not focusing on developing quality radial routes both north and southside and having better links between routes/other services. ...i supposd if ND is a failure they could always repaint the buses purple and label them as luas'

There are plans with Network Direct to enhance existing routes and develop new radial routes. There are changes planned to the 17, 18, 75 etc. and introducing new routes such as the extended 17A, the planned 166 and 175.