24-hour services in Dublin among the changes
Commuters in parts of Dublin and Galway will see significant improvements on some of their busiest bus routes from Sunday, NTA has announced.
These Public Service Obligation (PSO) services are operated for NTA as part of the Transport for Ireland public transport network.
In Dublin, both the Dublin Bus 41 and 15 routes will operate on an around-the-clock basis from Sunday. The 41 runs from the city centre to the airport and on to Swords, while the 15 runs from Ballycullen Road, through the city centre, on to Clongriffin.
Up to now, these services have run from early morning to late evening, Monday to Saturday, with shorter hours of operation on Sunday.
From December 1, daytime frequency on the 15 and the 41 will improve, and they will run at a 30-minute frequency throughout the night from 12 midnight to 05.00.
Elsewhere in Dublin there will be frequency improvement on PSO routes 18, 75, 75A, 76, 76A, 175, 236 and 236A operated by Go-Ahead Ireland.
From Sunday there will be extra journeys added to the schedule that will increase capacity and improve punctuality and reliability. The changes have come about as a result of analysing journey data and customer feedback.
There is also a new bus route linking Swords and Ashbourne. The new Route 197 is also operated for the NTA by Go-Ahead Ireland, with 17 daily return services on Monday to Saturday and 14 daily return services on Sundays.
Services are run on a one-hour frequency for most of the day in both directions.
Meanwhile in Galway, Bus Éireann and NTA are pleased to announce a new improved Route 424 service in Connemara. From Sunday there will be an overall 33% increase in service frequency, with additional departures to Lettermullen, Carraroe and Galway.
There will be an enhanced frequency throughout the week and at weekends. Sunday services in particular will see a 50% increase in frequency.
TFI Leap, Free Travel Card and cash will all continue to be accepted as payment by drivers on all of these routes.
NTA CEO Anne Graham said:
“The improvements that we are announcing are an indication of the commitment on our part, and on the part of our operators, to increase the level of service for bus users and improve the customer experience on an ongoing basis.
We acknowledge that demand for public transport is continuing to grow and that as a result, services are coming under more and more pressure.
In the medium and longer term we believe that both the revised bus network in Dublin, and the investment in our bus corridor infrastructure under our BusConnects plan will bring about the kind of improvements that people have every right to expect.
In the shorter term, we will continue to make improvements in our bus services as funding becomes available, so that they are more useful to more people.”
