Dublin Bus Merrion Square Terminus. Routes 25,25a,25b,26,66,66a,66b,67 Response to D.O Connor report

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1 Dublin Bus Merrion Square Terminus Routes 25,25a,25b,26,66,66a,66b,67 Response to D.O Connor report

2 Pre Network Direct N4 routes terminated in Pearse St N3 routes terminated in Hawkins St Network Direct 2010/11 Census 2008 Data identified movement from West Dublin to the South East CBD Public Consultation Meetings with elected representatives N4 routes moved to Merrion Square South N3 routes moved to Burlington Road

3 Dublin Bus views on Merrion Square Report An interesting and informative report Good, concise and well presented slides A snapshot survey of 3 rd March 2015 Broadly acceptable layover times (Dublin Bus most efficient Operator) No scheduled parking of buses Thank you to David O Connor, DIT and its students

4 Before commenting on the options considered and the final option recommended a number of wrong assumptions in the report need to be highlighted: Summerhill has had no route operating on or near to Merrion Square since 2011 Report states that Bus Drivers said that there was a 25 minute layover allowed. This is incorrect as all routes have a 3 min layover at either end. Bus Drivers have one official break (min 50m) and do not require facilities at their layover point e.g. Merrion Square. The assumption that serving the Docklands would be highly advantageous/likely to increase patronage/increase in revenue misses the analysis described in slide 2 as N3 & N4 routes were extended to southeast city for a reason Ringsend Garage has little spare capacity to cater for additional bus flows, either our own or Private Operators even though the students somehow identified spare capacity The above corrections significantly alter the main recommendation

5 5 options considered with the final option (5) recommended Let us examine the long list of pros in this option - Moving out of Merrion Square ok Proper facilities not required for layover City centre access maintained we wouldn t be giving up that access Connection to Docklands not necessarily the right destination for these routes Bus gate will settle down when chronic LCC works cease Speedier/more reliable route debateable Increase in patronage why? Charge for layover facilities BAC would not house Private buses Radical reform Network Direct largely completed in 2013 Benefit LCC operations does it benefit Public Transport users overall

6 Multi-criteria Analysis There is a risk that subjectivity leads to a desired outcome?? e.g. : Impact on modal share Status Quo 7 Bus Garage 9? Impact on Tourism Status Quo 2 Bus Garage 7? Quality of Layover - Status Quo 3 Bus Garage 9? Capacity - Status Quo 5 Bus Garage 9? Customer Experience Status Quo 4 Bus Garage 9? Questionable???? Status Quo ranked last!

7 Dublin Bus Merrion Square Conclusion and Recommendations on multi-criteria analysis: Because some assumptions were incorrect and because of the subjectivity of the multi-criteria analysis the paper is not a fair reflection on what actually happens on-street and the difficulties that all parties have whilst sharing limited road space and streetscape. Dublin Bus does not believe that Ringsend Depot is the right solution in this instance and this option takes no cognisance of the additional costs involved in bringing customers away from where they want to go.

8 Conclusions and Recommendations continued: Dublin Bus do acknowledge the Georgian Societies concern with buses laying over in Merrion Square and, as the report acknowledges we have made significant strides to reduce the amount of bus layover in the City Centre areas through more Cross City routes etc. Dublin Bus shall continue to work with the NTA and DCC to further improve the operating environment for all citizens. This work will have to include more priority for Public Transport in general and buses in particular (as by far the largest P.T. mode share) Finally, there are suggestions in this report that deserve more analysis