BusConnects Dublin - Bus Network Changes Discussion

They would have put up hundreds. They got two wrong, but the planning system is so pernickety and the courts so particular, and objectors so proliferous, that that is enough to potentially scupper the scheme later back to square one, so better to avoid that possibility.

Something serious is going to have to happen in the short term, i know we've had 5 years of chat about bus connects, but that has given us 0m of new bus priority so appears to have been a waste of time. Rapid build bus priority measures like what was done with some walking and cycling projects could have, and still could give us an instant usable bus service.

Peak hour bus service Dublin is a complete mess in the real world right now but no noise about it on socials or in media. In the past 3 weeks I've observed 20 minute gaps between would be B-Spine buses, I.e no 37, 39/a or 70 for 20 mins in the 5 to 6pm peak. And if you wait the 20 mins the bus will be full and go past you anyway. Majority of intending passengers have given up and walked, some got taxis, some I've spoken to are switching back to bringing their car into town even if it takes a long time to drive it. I've observed 40 minutes gaps on the north side bit of the 46a but more often gaps of 20 mins. Same 20 min gaps on G buses. Drumcondra often goes 15 mins with no bus.

For most people in Dublin, Dublin Bus is the only way to get around because there's nearly no rail coverage and half of the rail coverage that exists is antiquated diesel locos that will either boil you or freeze you on your way if you can fit onto one of the hourly 'commuter' services.

There also needs to be a serious recruit and retain effort. But there's nothing stopping rapid build bus priority from being put in place, just officialdom lacking any interest. There's also still 0 enforcement of existing bus priority, bus lanes in Stoneybatter, Dorset Street and Phibsboro are quite simply 24hr free parking zones. It's a multi pronged effort required and that's what busconnects has promised, but it seems that the NTA has, yet again, failed to deliver.

You can't force someone into a job. Obviously there is something unattractive enough about bus driving which is keeping people away.

I don't know if it's poor wages, poor work-life balance, antisocial behaviour or a combination of them all, but we are well over a year of this chronic shortage and not much has changed. If the NTA want services fulfilled, they are going to have to up the ante in some way.

The delays caused to BusConnects with the driver shortage unfortunately show no signs of improving. The recruitment problem is going on 2 years now, so what’s the solution? What is the plan to progress the much needed rollout? Are any actions been taken, for example, will the rate of pay offered to drivers be more competitive, will there be better designed driver rosters to address work/life balance? I have heard of drivers who struggle with the unpredictable changing hours of their rosters. They like the job but working one weeks of earlies and then one week of lates plays havoc with childcare and other life commitments. Addressing this issue alone would go a long way for driver retention. There is no reason why Dublin Bus cannot redesign their rosters, for example, to allow staff work mornings only, or evenings only or split peak shifts etc. People now choose careers which suit their life and bus companies need to adapt to that. For example, driving a bus in the morning peak and being at home with the family in the afternoon would be an attractive arrangement for many people. As would weekend only part time work etc.

Commuters need to hear precise plans of what is being done to retain and recruit drivers. Every BusConnects timeline issued has not been met and there’s nothing to give hope that it’ll be resolved in the near future. Nobody from the NTA has explained what they’re doing about it. It seems unless they are brought before an Oireachtas committee the regulator and operators do not communicate with their customers. Dublin Bus told politicians the driver issue would be resolved by March 2023, but as of today there are still gaps of an hour on major services because of no driver being available.

Passengers are fed up and drivers are stressed. It’s not a good result 5 years on from BusConnects launch which was supposed to transform the network. 2024 was supposed to be year for wrapping up the route network redesign.

There is a big campaign underway encouraging us to switch to public transport, and rightly so, but the sad reality is that the current service cannot cope with existing passenger levels. There are serious capacity and reliability issues with the new C and G Spine routes, the Blanchardstown corridor, and the N11 routes - all overwhelmed with passengers. Buses are full and leaving crowds behind at stops along their journey and where there’s a gap (and there are plenty) the routes just fall apart. 

Dublin Bus was citing a driver shortage as the cause of the 25a having so many cancellations as far back as 2017. If you pushed them beyond the "operational reasons" which was their favourite Twitter excuse, that's what they said.

Indeed, a bus based system as the main spine of public transport easily falls apart in cities over 1m population, the proportion of drivers to passangers is simply too high. We need rail coverage ultimately like normal cities that exceed 1m inhabitants. Buses can only do so much and shouldn't be serving as the main radial PT service to major suburbs. Even with a full complement of drivers there are massive issues.

The theoretical busconnects frequency tables show buses every 4 minutes on the busiest corridors (3 minutes on the A spine), this is quite simply a piece of light entertainment/fiction.

This is achievable with full BRT but unachievable with only suggested priority, driver interaction, sharing with cars, sharing with left turning lanes and a culture of 0 enforcement and parking where ever one likes at any time for free. It's sort of laughable that the consultants came up with a 3 minute bus frequency and the NTA agreed that this is practical, especially on the swords cbc which is designed to be not all that different from the current set up where we have 15 min real world frequency through Drumcondra in the peak hour. Has this 3 mins been achieved anywhere in the world? Even with the strictest of enforcement of bus priority and fully staffed operators?

A quick Google shows me that Hong Kong achieves 2 minute frequency on a bus route that connects an area consisting entirely of government housing to a metro station, Hong Kong motor tax is 100% the value of the car so its safe to say that a road serving only government housing is effectively bus/bike only.

In Vancouver there's a 3 min frequency on a trolly bus that operates on an entirely segregated route.

So are the NTA saying that we are going to have one of the most frequent bus services in the world running on a totally normal bog standard bus lane on a totally normal road.

The whole system of fiction and disfunction needs to be abolished and replaced with something that can deliver real world improvement immediately.

I think this is one of the most honest critiques of Bus Connects. Dublin City is a Peak Bus!

the original BC design was done by Jarrett Walker's consultancy who (most people would agree) know a bit about this stuff. Whilst some of the routing has been changed, the basic spines and frequencies haven't been altered much. So did they just ignore the practicalities of staffing ratios etc, or was it just outside their brief?

Of course they are... Consultants consider everything, unfortunately the world has changed since the begining of the process and it is becoming more difficult to find staff. But it's likely they'll do a recruitment drive abroad... something needs to happen if we insist on increasing our economy and population to such an extent.

E1 wont be going to Blackrock directly, It will be following the current 46A route, which you would need to change a bus to get direct access to Blackrock

The Blanchardstown routes (B3 and B4) will be the spinal routes serving Blackrock

The E1 will go to Ballywaltrim which will be copying the 155 bus as far as Bray Main St. It will skip the Dart Station and will then travel on it's extra stint down to Ballywaltrim after that.

The E2 will actually be copying the 46A route on the southside. It will go from Charlestown SC in Finglas to Dún Laoghaire Dart Station.

You are right to say however that the B3 and B4 will be serving Blackrock once the 39/39A's are scrapped in Blanchardstown.

9 pm last night on a 39a from Dawson St to Prussia st

1. Bus had to fight to get into the stop due to all the taxis hovering for a fare outside Cafe en Seine
2. Bus was full and chock a block - we left passengers at two stops on the quays and a bunch of other people joined at Law Society and Stonybatter ( as always ). another 39a was close behind, also jammed.