BusConnects Phase 6A is planned to go ahead later this month on January 26th with the 24-hour E-Spine routes and the new 19 bus to be extended to Merrion Square on a phased basis.
Last year, IrishCycle.com reported that after weeks of misinformation and political pressure, the National Transport Authority delayed Phase 6 of the BusConnects network changes, including the 24-hour E-Spine, until after the election.
Today, Cllr Feljin Jose (Green Party) said: “I’ve been engaging with the NTA on the terminus of the new number 19 bus and the they’ve agreed to extend the terminus from Parnell Square to Merrion Square. This will be done in phases with every second bus at peak times terminating at Merrion Square initially.”
“When the 19 bus is launched as part of the next BusConnects E-Spine on January 26th, every second bus at peak times will terminate at Merrion Square instead of Parnell Square. As more drivers become available in the coming months, this will increase to all buses terminating at Merrion Square instead of Parnell Square,” he said.
The new 19 bus is to operate every 20 minutes for most of the day and every 10 minutes during peak times.
He said that this will means that people travelling from the Home Farm Road area will not have to change buses to reach locations on the southside of the city centre.
The new bus will also serve Dublin Airport via the Ballymun Road, but to ensure that there’s capacity for Glasnevin and Drumcondra, at peak times, every second bus will start in Wadelei.
Cllr Jose said: “While there has been a lot of fear and misinformation spread about these changes, I’ve been committed to engaging constructively with the National Transport Authority on these changes for many years to deliver better outcomes for the area. Together with former TD Neasa Hourigan, we have secured significant improvements on the original 2020 proposal.”
He said the original plan to operate the 19 bus once every hour was “not acceptable” compared to the 30 minute frequency of the current 11 on the northside, which it replaces.
Why can he influence busconnect ??
What makes him an expert on traffic management and how are roads work?
Hi Ciaran, I can understand why people think that councillors and TDs go too far in trying to change things too much and how that delays or derailings projects, but are you saying elected reps should not address issues with projects and plans at all? Or what?
The point of consultation and the NTA’s having contact with elected reps is that they can give feedback and work on issues.
While covering this last year, I reviewed many of the petition comments, social media comments, and statements by different TDs, councillors, and groups. The solution above, which is likely to be implemented, will address most of the outstanding concerns about the new 11 route.