Bus lane to link Tallaght to city centre

Dublin's latest Quality Bus Corridor opens today, linking the city centre with Tallaght via Rathgar, Terenure, Spawell and Balrothery.

The 12km corridor, the eighth in a series which will be completed shortly with the Blanchardstown route, promises an increase of 43 per cent in peak-time bus capacity, with a bus every two minutes in Terenure during the morning and evening rush hours.

Members of the Garda traffic division will be policing the route today to ensure private vehicles do not use the QBC, and the public has been asked to co-operate.

The Tallaght route is one of Dublin's busiest, with existing bus services carrying some 171,000 passengers weekly.

Much of the added capacity will be on the 65/65B routes, which will now be capable of carrying almost double the previous numbers during peak hours.

Capacity on the 49/49A and the 15/15B/15C services is also increasing, and there will be additional Xpresso buses linking points along the route to UCD.

A new service will connect Tallaght and Parnell Square West.

Cycle tracks are also being added along the corridor.

Vehicles being introduced on the QBC include the low-floor, wheelchair-accessible buses capable of carrying 120 people which are already in use elsewhere.

Other changes on the route include the banning of right turns at the Templeogue Road/Old Bridge Road and Templeogue Road/Springfield Avenue junctions, and the introduction of selective vehicle detection which gives priority to buses at certain traffic lights.