New BusConnects services begin in Dublin on Sunday

New Dublin Bus routes, carrying passengers from west Dublin to the city centre and the docklands will start operating on Sunday.

The new routes are the latest in the National Transport Authority’s redesign of the capital’s bus network which began in summer 2021.

The west Dublin routes which have been named the “G Spine” will serve areas such as Ballyfermot, Liffey Valley, Clondalkin and Islandbridge and will replace the existing 79 and 79a routes as well as the Liffey Valley to City Centre part of route 40.

The network redesign is part of the BusConnects programme, which also involves the construction of 16 continuous bus corridors and segregated cycle lanes across the city.

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The redesign involves scrapping the current numbering system for all buses. A new lettering system from A to H identifies eight “spines” though the city, with buses running every four to eight minutes. Numbers will be used to indicate different branches of a spine.

There will also be 12 orbital routes (lettered O, N, S, W) providing connections between the suburbs, and links to rail, Luas and other bus routes. As well as the spines and orbital routes there are some additional city-bound numbered routes (1-99), peak-only routes (P) and express routes (X) and local routes (L).

G Spine busses, G1 and G2, will operate 24 hours a day 7 days per week, with buses operating every 8 minutes from 6am to 10pm on weekdays. In addition a route 60 will operate every hour from 5am to 11pm on weekdays. Additional peak time journeys will be included on this route during the school term, for morning and evening peaks, between Cherry Orchard and the City Centre.

This phase of the programme follows the introduction of the H Spine in June 2021, running from Howth and Malahide to the city, and the C Spine in November 2021, from Maynooth, Celbridge, Leixlip, and Lucan, through the city to Ringsend and Sandymount. Most recently, northern orbital routes were introduced last May.

“Today’s announcement of the fourth phase of BusConnects follows on from the successful rollout of the H Spine, C Spine and Northern Orbitals,” The authority’s chief executive Anne Graham said. “BusConnects aims to improve bus services and to connect people and places in Dublin. Today’s launch means we will have ten routes operating 24 hours a day 7 days per week across Dublin”.

The remaining routes will be rolled out over 2023 and 2024.