Dublin - BusConnects

I would say the main reason we are using double deckers in Ireland is not because they offer better passenger comfort but because they are easier/cheaper for operators to allocate.

Most European countries have a mix of buses. Bendy buses for the high frequency core routes, regular 12m single deckers for the regular routes and smaller shorter wheelbase midibuses for the local community routes that serve residential areas where roads are tighter the kind of routes that would have imp buses in the past in Dublin.

The VTs for example I believe were considered unsuitable for certain routes. In the last 20 years or so Dublin Bus in particular have moved to a more streamlined fleet. This I would imagine is because it's cheaper and easier to maintain a common fleet. Same reason Ryanair buy Boeing 737s DB prefer to only buy Volvo/Wright double deckers.

Germany operates buses as pay at the front too, but it's very rare now to see someone paying this way. Most passengers use prepaid tickets that they validate on board.

Along with double deckers, we also inherited the British prejudice about the honesty of the average person: all German bus services run on an honour system (like the Luas), but we insist on having payment on entry, which slows down the service.

But the same dishonest bus users reform when they take the Luas?

Receipt of tenders date was the end of February. They must have selected one by now

The Blackrock Clinic have launched High Court proceedings against the Blackrock CBC planning approval.

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2024/06/10/blackrock-clinic-takes-court-challenge-over-busconnects-corridor-and-compulsory-land-purchase/

Well I think that you need to look at the entire route before asking a question like that.

The 37, 38/a/b/d, 39/a and 70 are all Navan Road / Blanchardstown routes rather than just Baggot Street.

Buses have to travel to/from the both ends of the route and their garage.

Historically they have been Broadstone / Phibsboro operated.

Also neither of the other garages would have room for them.

they will be compensated for loss of property though, how vis it grounds for a court case?

I've noticed that as well, there's an abundance of spraypaint markings along Walkinstown Road from the Roundabout to the LMR/Drimnagh Road junction

Taking a wrong turn is one thing but ignoring all the warning signs is more worrying.

The planning approvals for the BC corridors appear to have come to a complete standstill yet again, last one was Blackrock in April and only 4 out of 12 schemes approved with 2 of them going to the courts. 2 years has been taken by ABP, absolutely glacial. The vast majority of the rest of them are completely non contentious.

Well spotted - always helps to have eagle eyed posters! ;-)

Good to see this progressing.

Take the kudos LOL.

Good to have some positive news regardless!

That’s the ABP decision report.

The diagrams are all in the extensive EIS that the NTA submitted and which you can view on the scheme website.

ABP don’t design the project, the NTA does.

Well we’ve already got two legal objections, one of over the location of a bus stop. That should tell you an awful lot.

Sadly we live in a litigious society, and there is every prospect of further attempts at judicial review on other CBCs, particularly the corridors with significant traffic changes or CPO.

You’ve only to look at the number of actions (often questionable) brought against ABP decisions that are regularly reported to see why they have to go into such minute detail.

Quick shout out to the camera enforcement system that we were supposed to have in place by now but has not even been scoped, never mind tendered for, and of course is the foundation of BusConnects, without which the project objectives are unachievable. We can add it to the pile of not-delivered promises on BusConnects.

Staff shortages aside, a series of project management blunders have dogged the project. Simple infrastructure tweeks such as the signalling at Heuston, the suburban bus hubs and the layout at Ballymun Rd/Griffith Avenue and many others should be done by now but their absence will now hamper the roll out of routes as we've seen on the S2.

The common sense approach of rolling out the orbitals first to maximise benefits early was not taken, with no rationale offered. Instead the NTA focused on the routes that were simply a renaming exercise, and in doing worsened the staffing shortage.

Opportunity to implement bus gates early and deliver real improvements to the most unreliable routes quickly was missed (particularly relevant to Mount Brown Bus Gate), without which the G spine roll out (and removal of the reliable 79) was a disaster and has resulted in worse service to the areas involved. The same disaster is destined to be replicated on the A and B spines without bus gates at Rathmines and Stoneybatter. There will be no 'lessons learnt' file prepared after each blunder.

Failure to deal with the Blackrock clinic and Artane bus stop issues early on has lead to court cases

Failure to adhere to actual design practice on the south side corridors in favour of more car lanes and unusably small footpaths and substandard cycling widths will lead to further court cases (with actual legal grounds and thus will put these corridors back to drawing board).

Failure to engage with DCC on the College Green situation will mean last minute re-routes and miscommunication to the public.

In fact the whole project at this point will likely be unfit for purpose upon completion. The main corridors, even those destined to be sent back to design stage, already have a demand profile more suited to light rail anyway, and the only way to deal with that in the medium to long term is ridiculously large tri axle double deckers.

It's clear at this point that there isn't sufficient competence at the senior level of the NTA to manage major projects like this. I would have preferred outsourcing or hiring in talent at a premium (as has been done with metrolink). That being said the department of transport and the government are also major obsticles to progress. It feels like the system is set up in such a way that allows public bodies to pass blame between eachother rather than actually just deliver on promises.

The Blanchardstown CBC has now been approved by ABP.

https://www.pleanala.ie/en-ie/case/313892

That’s 6/12 approved now.

Yes.