The final version of Dublin’s bus network redesign under BusConnects has been published by the National Transport Authority (NTA).
The redesign follows three rounds of public consultation and 72,000 submissions and will be implemented over 11 phases and over a number of years.
Work will begin in early 2021 and will be “subject to Government funding”, the NTA said.
BusConnects aims to overhaul the bus system in Dublin and has two main components; creating 230km of dedicated bus lanes and 200km of cycle tracks, and redesigning the bus network.
The provision of 16 designated bus corridors to accommodate the new network will potentially require widening roads and the loss of parking spaces, trees and parts of front gardens.
A third round of public consultation in relation to these corridors, some of which have proved controversial, will take place later this year.
Minister for Climate Action, Communication Networks and Transport, Eamon Ryan said BusConnects is a key part of the Government’s plan to improve public transport and address climate change.
“Bus services across Dublin needed to be redesigned to be more coherent and efficient to meet the demands for a growing city,” he said.
“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”.
Mr Ryan said the redesign – called the Dublin Area bus network – will “allow the service grow to meet people’s needs as the city recovers.”
The NTA said the new network will see increased evening and weekend services, with most frequent routes operating every 15 minutes or better on weekdays and Saturdays, and most services at this level on Sundays also.
A number of routes will operate 24 hours a day. Overall, bus services in the Dublin network will increase by 23 per cent as a result of the redesign, according to the NTA.
Central to the redesign are eight spinal routes, lettered A to H, which will operate at very high frequency and run through the city centre.
Numbers are used to indicate different branches of a spine; for example while all A buses would pass through Terenure, the A1 continues to Knocklyon while the A2 goes to Dundrum and the A3 to Tallaght.
These spines will be complemented by 12 orbital routes (lettered O,N,S,W) for passengers who want to travel in the outskirts of the city centre and providing connections between the suburbs and town centres, along with connections to rail, Luas and other bus routes.
The spines and orbital routes are supported by a number of local routes (L), city bound routes (1-99), peak only routes (P) and express routes (X).
The network redesign will also include a 90 minute ticketing system which will cover all bus, Luas, or short hop Dart trips started within 90 minutes as well as a short distance fare option for short journeys.
Tim Gaston, Director of Public Transport Services for the NTA, said the network redesign proposals had “evolved significantly” over the last three years.
“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,” he said.
A map of the new network is available at busconnects.ie.
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