Dublin set for first 24-hour bus service

TWENTY-FOUR hour bus services are to be rolled out in Dublin, with the first extended route to be launched by the end the year, according to Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority (NTA).

This follows the successful introduction of a 24-hour bus scheme on a route in Cork city last year. Graham said it was expected that the 41-route from Swords would be the first Dublin route to become a 24-hour service. There are plans that other key bus routes around Dublin city will see their services also extended, she said. “We know there is a demand for 24-hour services within Dublin city, so we’re hoping to commence at least one service this year in Dublin Bus,” Graham told the Sunday Independent.

The 41-route services would be particularly useful for people who work in the airport at times when there isn’t public transport, she said, as well as people travelling to and from the airport.

The NTA is still working on plans for other 24-hour services for the capital. “We haven’t got the routes worked out yet but you know we are planning that we would extend these around the key city routes.”

In Cork, the buses run every hour after midnight but frequency may be increased. “The buses on the Cork route have proved extremely popular. We’ve got to a stage where we might actually have to increase the frequency because some of those buses are actually operating full.”

She said there had been no reports of anti-social behaviour on the overnight buses.

“There have been no incidents on those buses so we’re delighted,” said Graham.

A controversial NTA plan to overhaul Dublin bus services, Bus Connects, will also extend the hours of Dublin Bus in the early mornings and evenings.

However, there is strong opposition to the plan in pockets of the city, particularly where people will lose parts of their gardens for wider ‘bus corridors’.