Dublin Bus plans to launch five Quality Bus Corridors before the end of April. Introduction of the corridors in the west and north city will be staggered although the company has yet to finalise a timetable. A spokesman said it had enough staff and new vehicles to increase peak-time frequency on the routes.
The corridors will link the city centre with Rathfarnham, Tallaght, Clondalkin, Blanchardstown and Swords, comprising the airport route. A link between Whitehall and Swords is also planned. These routes will complement existing corridors linking the city with Lucan, Malahide and Stillorgan. The chief executive of the Dublin Transportation Office, Mr John Henry, said it wanted a minimum of 20 buses an hour, or one every three minutes.
The Dublin Bus spokesman said the routes would be introduced as soon as "priority" on the road systems became available. He accepted that improvements on journey times would be less significant on corridors where dedicated road lanes were not available. The company's parent, CIE Group, has acknowledged that the introduction of the latest corridors is "years behind schedule". Mr Henry said: "When we started off, we set ourselves unrealistic and difficult targets, but in fact there's an enormous amount of public consultation involved."
Private cars are not allowed use Quality Bus Corridors between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Parking is also prohibited on those sections. Taxis also use the corridors.
