This is an easy to read report. It is about changing the bus services in Dublin.
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What is Bus Connects? The National Transport Authority looks after public transport services across Dublin. The Authority is making some changes to public transport. There is a transport plan for Dublin. One part of this plan looks at the bus service in Dublin. This is called Bus Connects. Bus Connects looks at how the bus network in Dublin is designed. It looks at things like bus routes, bus fares and bus lanes. It looks at the things that are working well and things that need to change. 2
What is this report about? This report is about the plan to change the bus network in Dublin. The network is the routes and timetables that buses follow. The plan took a year and a half to put together. It could be put in place in other major cities across the country too. An expert team looked at how the service in Dublin is working now. They gave advice on making changes to the bus network. 3
What is this report about? The National Transport Authority talked to the public about the plan. The National Transport Authority, Dublin Bus and individuals from local government worked together on the plan. We want more people to be able to travel by bus. We want them to be able to get to more places on the bus. We want to develop a public transport system that is as friendly as possible to the environment. 4
Why do we need to make changes to the bus service in Dublin? Dublin is a busy city. As the city grows, more people are on the move. We need a great public transport system that will work now and in the future. This would make Dublin easier to live in and do business in. Without good public transport, we will have very heavy traffic in Dublin. It will be harder to get around and journeys will take longer. 5
Why do we need to make changes to the bus service in Dublin? Some people may not like the idea of changes to their bus routes or timetables. They may be used to things as they are. However, a lot of people have asked the National Transport Authority to make the bus service in Dublin more useful. A better bus service would be mean faster and simpler journeys from where people live to where they want to go. We need more bus service to more places, more often, so you get there sooner. 6
Why do we need to improve the bus service we have now? We need a joined up public transport system. Buses need to work well with the Luas, DART and train services. There needs to be space for cyclists too. The bus network in Dublin can be hard to remember and use. You can remember a bus route you take everyday but it can be hard to learn new routes. The bus network does not work well now for people travelling around the edges of the city. For example, if you want to travel from Blanchardstown to Lucan. A new bus network must support new communities and jobs. These could be in different parts of the city. 7
Changing buses can get you there faster There is one idea in the new plan that might sound wrong when you hear it. A small number of the trips you now take on the bus might need you to change buses. But less than 1 in 10 direct city services will need to change. So it won t affect most people. Because these buses would come more often, your journey would be quicker. You will not have to wait for so long for a bus. The plan tries to cut down as much as possible the number of times that people have to change buses during a journey. 8
How will we make the bus network better? This plan will be put in place in late 2019. It means that we will have more bus services. We will have more bus services to connect the outer parts of the city. We will make the bus services to and from the city centre simpler and better. Travel within the city centre will be easier. It will be easier and quicker to change buses during a journey. 9
The Big Ideas Most buses to the city centre would come every 4 to 8 minutes. New lines on the edge of the city will make it easier to go places on the same side of the city. You will not have to go into the city centre. The bus service will help people to use the Luas, DART and Rail services. Most routes will pass through or stop at major centres. For example Tallaght, Dun Laoghaire, Blanchardstown. There will be more services at busy times to stop overcrowding. 10
The Big Ideas We will have more routes where buses come every 15 minutes or better, from 6 in the morning to 10 at night. This will happen from Monday to Friday. Fares will be easier to understand. There will be more ways to pay for your ticket. A new 90 minute fare will allow you to get on the bus, DART or Luas as many times as you want for the one fare. We need to look at things that help us to manage delays. For example, we will need more bus lanes. Where people have to change buses, we need better, safer bus stops and bus shelters. There will be seats and it will be safe to walk to these stops. We need better information at the main bus stops. 11
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More information You can get more information at www.busconnects.ie There are information leaflets to explain the changes in your local area. There are maps to show the bus routes in different parts of Dublin. We put together a dictionary to explain some of the words used in the website, leaflets and videos. This may help you to understand some of the general information. 13
Next steps The National Transport Authority is talking to the public about the plan and the changes. This started in the summer of 2018. There is an online survey on the website www.busconnects.ie All Dubliners are encouraged to look at the plan. If you agree that this plan would be good for Dublin, it is important to speak up. If you don t like the plan, please let us know. Tell us your ideas on how we can make it better. 14
Getting in touch This Report has been put together by the National Transport Authority. ACE Communication helped with this Easy to Read Report. Experts by Experience helped put this information together. National Transport Authority Dún Scéine Harcourt Lane Dublin 2 D02 WT20 consultations@busconnects.ie