BusConnects Dublin - Bus Network Changes Discussion

Hmmm. Im not sure about that. Its a very long route in terms of KMs and it goes through a lot of dense populated areas and employment centres.

Time will tell, but I cam imagine the frequency not being sufficient from the get go.

Not to mention the L25 being a much shorter route with a lower PVR than what the S8 would require.

Re: the end, good to know. Personally I hate relying on my phone for things so using my phone as a leap card would be my worst nightmare really, but everyone’s different. Different strokes etc

Are any more VTs due back into service?

Might be of curiousity to some.

Go-Ahead's arrangements from next Sunday will be as follows:

• W2, W4, W61, W62 share their drivers but buses will keep to one road. Handovers in The Square or Hazelhatch station for the most part, actual breaks in the garage using staff cars;
• S6 and S8 share their drivers but buses will keep to one road. Handovers largely in The Square, but some in Citywest, again actual breaks in the garage using staff cars;
• S4 will be a standalone operationally route with handovers on the Long Mile Road (stops 2105 & 2181);
• predictably enough from the timetable, the L55 will be a single bus with two drivers covering each other's breaks;
• given the cancellation of the 17 and 75 (amongst other routes), the previously associated 114 and 161 have been moved to the Dun Laoghaire group of duties to join the 45A, 59 and 63. Mind you, driver swaps for the 114 will be in Ticknock now;
• the cancellation of the 76/A has forced the 236/A to join the other Blanch locals (104+220+238+270+L51+L52) operationally. Also, 220 is probably the first route in Dublin to have two en-route handover points (145 doesn't count workings handing over in Bray and in Donnybrook are completely separate), as there are now breaks and duty starts/finishes on the 220 in Finglas, with Blanchardstown SC handovers still in place, although sans the break room in Carlton Hotel;
• remaining schedules are as before: Airport 33A+33B+102, the N6 on its own, and the Bray 184+185+45A+111 duties.

Go-Ahead has also been forced to revisit its duty numbering—before now, they used groups of 300s for each day type (Mon-Fri 000-299, Sat 300-599, Sun 600-899), but with the increase in service levels this wasn't enough, and now they are 1000s, 2000s, and 3000s resp, with the hundreds digits indicating the group of routes. This apparently has been the case for a good few months now, but this revision is the first time I could see the entire scheme for what it is.

It's somewhat interesting to see that there is probably more new network than old network work in Go-Ahead now, at least in terms of mileage as there are still more old routes, but a lot of them are less frequent than the BC work there.

I'm honestly surprised it wasn't culled with the introduction of Phase 3 (N4/N6). Suspect it's going to remain hanging around until the B-spine and Blanch locals in what is probably going to be 2029 at this rate.

The 220 has been known to do well at times of the day between blanch sc and hartstown , particularly when there's been gaps between 39/as. I've been on it at times where the bus has been packed, albeit as a single decker.

Hypothetically can you just get on a Dublin bus and stay on it all day?

Or could you get on a 24hour Night Bus and just ride around all night?

Should probably just become a driver if that's what you want to do

At a terminus driver would look the screens/mirrors if there's any person left. If I'm not wrong, there's a recommendation to not leave the cabin if there's a person who hasn't left a bus and report it to the controllers. Not sure how often drivers check a bus for trash etc: at each terminus or not. However, I did notice that Dublin city buses are significantly cleaner than they used to be just a few years ago in 2019 and after the lockdowns. Not sure if drivers check buses mire often or more cleaners got hired.

Do they pay their fare? Do they wear clothes which realistically leave a dirt on seats? Do they look intoxicated?

Another interesting thing is that they've apparently got a lot of duties - across all rosters - that involve drivers bringing cars, rather than buses, to and from Ballymount. Presumably, this is to avoid the constant issue they have with buses getting delayed on the M50 in the afternoons, which results in an empty yard and a giant queue of drivers waiting for buses.