The bus network plan is bus services only and a separate 3rd round of public consultation for the Core Bus Corridor (bus lanes and cycle lanes/tracks) will take place later this year. Overall the new network will enable more people to travel, to more places, more often.
Following three rounds of public consultation which began in 2017, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has today published the new Dublin Area bus network. This new bus network plan is the final version resulting from previous redesign proposals and with consideration given to issues raised by 72,000 submissions. The implementation of the New Network will take place on a phased basis over a number of years starting in 2021, subject to Government funding.
The bus network plan published today is for bus services only and a separate 3rd round of public consultation for the Core Bus Corridor (bus lanes and cycle lanes/tracks) will take place later this year.
Minister for Climate Action, Communication Networks and Transport, Eamon Ryan TD said; “BusConnects Dublin is the National Transport Authority’s programme to greatly improve bus services in the Greater Dublin Area. It is a key part of our Government’s polices to improve public transport and address climate change. It is included in the Programme for Government, The Climate Action Plan 2019, The National Development Plan 2018-2027 and Transport Strategy for The Greater Dublin Area.
”Bus services across Dublin needed to be redesigned to be more coherent and efficient to meet the demands for a growing city and I am delighted we are now able to implement this new plan after extensive public consultation. The last six months have been very challenging for everyone in Dublin and across Ireland. Bus services have provided an essential frontline service for the public and city during this time and the new Dublin Area bus network will allow the service grow to meet people’s needs as the city recovers.”
The new Dublin Area bus network will provide a more coherently planned, higher capacity, more understandable network, delivering a better overall bus system for the Dublin region. It will consist of spines radiating from the city centre. Spines are very frequent routes made up of individual bus services timetabled to work together along a corridor. At the end of the corridor, the individual services branch off to serve different areas. The network will also include orbitals across the North, West and South areas of Dublin, additional local area services, peak only and express services.
The new network will see increased evening and weekend services, with most frequent routes operating every 15 minutes or better on weekdays and Saturdays, most on Sundays also. There will be a number of routes that will operate 24 hours a day. These services will operate throughout the night to support the night time economy across Dublin. Overall the level of bus services in the Dublin network will increase by 23% as a result of the new network.
Other benefits of the New Network include:
- A 23% overall increase in bus services
- Increased capacity, particularly for all day services
- A more easily understood city network
- Better access to bus services for passengers
- New connections to schools, hospitals and other essential services
Tim Gaston Director of Public Transport Services for the NTA said “The new network plan published today is the outcome of three years of redesign work and an extensive consultation process. The network redesign proposals have evolved significantly during that time and the NTA, working closely with Dublin Bus and Go Ahead, are planning for the future bus needs of the city and its people.”
“The new network plan is subject to Government funding and will be implemented over a number of years and on a phased basis. So when the city, its people and the economy recover and prosper again there will be a better bus service in place with more access to jobs, schools, shops and hospitals.”
The implementation phase will be supported by comprehensive and proactive communications and engagement with bus users, disability groups and local areas per phase. Accessibility specific support for those who require it will be supported by the NTA and bus operators.
All information related to the New Dublin Area Bus Network can be viewed and downloaded at www.busconnects.ie. This includes a map of the overall network, local area maps, the consultation report and a summary document. The Consultation report and summary document can also be viewed in Irish, HTML and audio versions of both documents are also available.