Bus Route 123 Replaced By New 73 Route As Part Of BusConnects Redesign

Bus Route 123 Replaced By New 73 Route As Part Of BusConnects Redesign:

By: Aidan Crowley:

Long-standing local bus route 123 has been replaced by a new 73 bus route, as part of Phase 7 of the F-Spine of the BusConnects Network Redesign. The 73 bus is a new radial route, operated by Go-Ahead Ireland, instead of previous operators, Dublin Bus. It will run from Walkinstown, through Drimnagh, St. James’s Hospital, Thomas Street, the city centre, via the north quays and onto Marino.

The change in the bus route number, which came into effect on Sunday 19th October, means that the new 73 bus will now travel down Mourne Road, instead of Galtymore Road. When it reaches the city centre, the new route will no longer travel down Dame Street, but will instead go down Winetavern Street, along the north quays, past the Custom House and up Gardiner Street.

Public opinion on the new 73 bus route has been mixed, with many locals nostalgic over the loss of the old route and its direct path into the city centre. While some appreciate that the new route will use the less congested quays instead of Dame Street, improving punctuality, others feel that the new city centre path is inconvenient for specific journeys.

Some points of concern that have been raised by local residents include: a general frustration at the loss of the old bus route; the route change into the city centre, using the quays instead of Dame Street; concerns about punctuality, as the new operator, Go-Ahead Ireland, has previously struggled to meet its 80% punctuality target; inconvenience for some users, who think that the new route is less convenient for their specific needs, particularly for those who used the direct path through Dame Street.

On the flipside, there are a number of potential benefits, including: less congestion, with the new route using the less congested quays into the city centre, as opposed to the much busier Dame Street; improved connectivity, with the new route offering better connections to other bus routes within its path; future-proofing, with the move away from the Dame Street path potentially a long-term change in anticipation of the eventual pedestrianisation of College Green.

The replacement of the old 123 bus route, which serviced the Drimnagh, Kilmainham and Rialto catchment areas for thirty-one years, is part of a major shake-up announced by Transport for Ireland (TFI), involving the axing of ten old bus routes, citywide. As a result, a number of long-running services across Dublin will be subject to changes, which will affect thousands of commuters across the city.

Phase 7 of the F-Spine will see the introduction of: 24-hour spine routes F1 and F2; 24-hour radial route 80; spine route F3; radial routes 23, 24, 73 and 82; local route route L89; route 73 will be operated by Go-Ahead Ireland. All other routes will be operated by Dublin Bus on behalf of TFI.

Before the latest changes were introduced, Dublin Bus took to social media to remember some of its “beloved” bus routes. They said at the time: “As the weekend gets closer, its time to stsrt saying goodbye to some of our beloved routes. Starting strong with routes 9, 83 and 140, connecting customers across the city and employees with Broadstone & Phibsborough Depot. Which route will you miss most?”

One customer said: “I’m amazed that my 56A has lasted all these decades”. Another customer added: “The 123, RIP”.

The new F1 route will serve Ballymun (IKEA), Finglas, Dublin City Centre and Tallaght (The Square). The new F2 route will serve Charlestown Shopping Centre, City Centre and Rossmore. The new F3 route will serve Charlestown Shopping Centre, City Centre and Greenhills.

The new route 23 will serve Charlestown Shopping Centre, Finglas and Merrion Square. The new 24 route will run from Dublin Airport, past the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin, to Merrion Square. The new route 73 will serve Marino, Thomas Street, Drimnagh and Walkinstown. The new route 80 will serve Dartry, Usher’s Quay and Liffey Valley. The new route 82 will serve Kiltipper, St. Stephen’s Green and Poolbeg. Finally, the new L89 route will serve Rivermeade, Finglas and Broombridge.

From Sunday 19th October, ten bus routes, citywide, will no longer operate, namely, services 9, 26, 40, 40B, 49, 54A, 83, 83A, 123 and 140. From the same date, some existing routes will be amended. The existing 122 route will travel down Galtymore Road, instead of Mourne Road.

The following bus stops will no longer be in use: stops 1418, 1417, 1415 and 1413 towards Drimnagh; stops 1427, 1428, 1429, 1430 and 1432 towards Ashington; route 150 will now divert to Greenhills College, instead of Rossmore. The revised service will now operate via Limekiln Road and Limekiln Avenue, serving stops 1095, 1096, 1101, 1103, 1104, 1105. 1107, 1108, 1109, 1110, 1111 and 2323.

The revised route 150 will no longer serve: stops 1000, 1097, 1099 and 1100 on Wellington Road; stops 4577, 4578 and 6132 on Wellington Lane; stops 4861, 4862, 4863 and 4864 on Rossmore Road.

BusConnects is the National Transport Authority (NTA) programme to redesign Dublin’s bus system around high-frequency “spines”, supported by local, orbital and radial routes.

All the new and revised bus routes are designed to complement the new spine services and offer improved frequency and connectivity. According to the NTA, areas where BusConnects has already been implemented have seen a 48% increase in passenger numbers.

The new routes also report better punctuality, aided by recent investments in electric buses and updated infrastructure. Regarding the rollout, Phase 7 of the BusConnects Network Redesign for Dublin follows the successful implementation of earlier phases, including Phase 6A, earlier this year. There are still four more phases to come, as part of the overall redesign.

The first phase of the BusConnects project was launched in June 2021, with the introduction of the H-Spine, which links the city centre to the north-east of Dublin in locations like Howth, Malahide, Raheny and Donaghmede.

Now, with the launch of Phase 7 of the F-Spine of the BusConnects Network Redesign, the NTA, in partnership with Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland, has undertaken the most geographically expansive phase of the programme, to date.

To support the expansion of services under Phase 7 and advance the electrification of the Dublin Bus fleet, the NTA and Dublin Bus have announced the opening of a new, state-of-the-art, bus depot on Jamestown Road, Finglas. Initially home to a fleet of eighty-six vehicles, the depot will operate with ninety-three drivers, across thirty-five daily routes in its initial phase.

All Phase 7 routes will be included in the TFI 90-Minute Fare scheme, which allows passengers to transfer between eligible bus, LUAS and DART services within a ninety-minute window, using a TFI Leap Card.

https://busconnects.ie/cities/dublin/new-dublin-area-bus-network/

Hashtags: #123Bus, #BusConnect, #DublinBusCorridor