Councillor Cormac Devlin expressed his concern about the review conducted by Dublin Bus which was presented to Councillors at their Area Committee meeting on Monday 26th April, 2010.
Representatives of Dublin Bus attended the meeting to present the proposed changes to several local routes. Councillor Devlin made suggestions and comments about the following essential local routes; 46A, 7, 111, 8, 59/59A, 45, 45A, 84, 746, 4, 4A, & 75.
Cllr. Devlin stated that it was "essential in any review that commuters were not disconnected from existing bus routes" and "like all new plans there would be issues that Dublin Bus would have to iron out".
"My first major issue was the proposal to send all 46A buses up Kill Avenue and onto the N11 when historically the plan was to send a bus (every 15-20 minutes) through Monkstown Farm however this is now not the case" stated Devlin.
Dublin Bus are now recommending sending a new bus route (the 63) from Kiltiernan to Dún Laoghaire (servicing the Abbey Road, Monkstown Avenue, Monkstown Farm, Oliver Plunkett Road and Mounttown Road Lower). "Residents don't mind what bus number it is, as long as it is reliable and frequent" said Cllr. Devlin.
"Commuters from the Abbey Road, Monkstown Avenue and Monkstown Farm area's will not be happy about the proposed changes as they could now face a 10 minute walk to the 46A bus stop if they have to go to the City Centre to work". Cllr. Devlin continued by saying that for those "people living in those same area's who need to travel to Dún Laoghaire, a bus service was needed as well. I would request that a reliable and frequent service is maintained in this area for that purpose".
Cllr. Devlin also raised concerns about other bus routes and how changes to those services would impact on bus users in Dalkey, Glenageary, Sallynoggin, Sandycove, Glasthule, Rochestown, Johnstown, Killiney, Ballybrack and Loughlinstown. In particular with the 7/111, Cllr. Devlin said that Dublin Bus had missed an opportunity to amend the service to include St Columcille's Hospital (Loughlinstown Hospital) on a bus route from Dún Laoghaire. "Now is the time for Dublin Bus to address this major gap in service" said Cllr. Devlin. "For years there have been members of the public who rely on public transport to attend this hospital for out-patient appointments and they need to be able to get there by bus". He urged Dublin Bus to address this in the latest review.
"I also would request Dublin Bus to review the route of the 8 bus serving Dalkey, Sandycove and Glasthule. A more inclusive route should be considered. In relation to the 59/59A, it is vital that upper parts of Killiney are continued to be serviced by a public bus service" said Cllr. Devlin.
In concluding, Cllr. Devlin said that he "welcomed the real time aspects of the plan and the proposal to install signal points at major bus stops" (which will inform customers exactly when the bus is due to arrive), the that Smart Card System (which is due to arrive by the end of 2010) is ready to be rolled out on all buses.
