When then minister for transport Shane Ross launched the BusConnects project in 2017, he said it was needed because of increasing congestion in Dublin.
More than seven years later, the public has yet to reap the full rewards of the plan, with an end date for all of the necessary infrastructure set for 2030.
In the intervening years there have been various rounds of consultation, thousands of submissions, public meetings, redraws, tweaks and changes to the plans, with parts of the scheme introduced incrementally since June 2021.
The cost of the project, initially estimated at about €1 billion, currently stands at between €2.62 billion to €3.37 billion, and is to be funded through the National Development Plan.
BusConnects aims to revamp the bus system in Dublin and promises to increase the level of services, provide a more coherent network that will eliminate overlapping routes and improve journey times. The plan largely consists of two components – a redesigned network alongside the creation of 230km of dedicated bus lanes in tandem with 200km of cycle tracks.
The redesign of the network involves a new lettering system of bus routes, from A to H, that identifies eight “spines” through the city, complemented by 12 orbital routes (lettered O, N, S, W) and a number of local (L), city-bound (1-99), peak-only (P) and express services (X).
So far, the H, C and G spines have been rolled out, along with the N, W and S orbital and other radial and local routes.
The National Transport Authority (NTA), which is overseeing the project, said the E spine, which will cater for parts of north Dublin including Ballymun, Glasnevin and Phibsborough to and from the city centre, and Bray, is the next to be implemented later this year “subject to driver availability”.
“Recruitment of additional drivers and mechanics for BusConnects in Dublin is steady but it is not at the pace that we would like to see, which is delaying the next phases,” the NTA’s chief executive, Anne Graham, told the Oireachtas transport committee last month.
The authority added last week that the objective was to implement the remainder of the network “as soon as feasible”.
The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) said bus companies are continuing to struggle with recruitment and retention of drivers, citing unsociable shift hours, antisocial behaviour on services, lack of toilet facilities as well as a booming economy.
“There have been some improvements with the recruitment but it is still a struggle,” said NBRU general secretary Dermot O’Leary.
“This is obviously not exclusive to the transport industry. There is competition in the economy now for employees. It was the same in the Celtic Tiger, there were plenty of jobs and you had people leaving the bus and rail companies. This is history repeating itself, really.”
Last year, non-EU bus drivers were permitted to work in the State to help tackle the recruitment crisis, with a quota of 1,500 employment permits for bus and coach drivers established by the Department of Enterprise.
The Department of Transport said a shortage of drivers remains one of the largest issues affecting both private and public transport operators and that it is continuing to engage with the NTA and bus operators.
Despite this difficulty, the NTA has pointed out that where BusConnects spines and routes are in operation there has been strong growth in passenger usage.
Figures from the transport body show that journeys increased by 26 per cent in the last quarter of 2023 on routes included in the redesigned network, compared with equivalent services that were in place in the same period in 2019. Routes that have not yet been altered were just 2 per cent higher last year compared with 2019.
The other, more controversial element of BusConnects is the infrastructure – namely the bus corridors and adjacent cycle tracks. The construction of the corridors could impact more than 700 properties, with more than 3,000 trees potentially felled and 827 parking spaces lost.
Affected property owners are expected to receive a compensation payment based on their individual circumstances and in accordance with the compulsory purchase order process, while the NTA said there would be a comprehensive replanting and landscaping programme.
An Bord Pleanála this month approved the Ringsend to Dublin city centre corridor, making it the seventh such scheme to be given the green light. The six other corridors approved by the State’s planning body run to the city centre from Liffey Valley, Clongriffin, Belfield/Blackrock, Ballymun/Finglas, Swords and Blanchardstown.
Routes from Lucan, Templeogue/Rathfarnham, Tallaght/Clondalkin, Kimmage and Bray await the decision of the board. Two of the approved corridors, Clongriffin and Belfield/Blackrock, are the subject of ongoing judicial review proceedings.
The Blackrock Clinic, the Upper Baggot Street Traders Association, the Pembroke Road Association, Homancrest Limited and a resident in Artane are among those who have initiated proceedings.
Meanwhile, the NTA said it is currently establishing a panel of contractors to build the corridors.
“Construction of the first two contracts is expected to commence in the first half of 2025, after which two additional schemes for construction will be awarded,” a spokesman for the NTA said.
“It is expected that all 12 corridors will be effectively completed by 2030. The NTA will participate fully in the judicial hearing processes on relevant schemes whilst construction is ongoing on unaffected schemes.”
Dr Brian Caulfield, professor in transportation at Trinity College Dublin, said that, anecdotally, the roll-out of the new spines and in particular the orbital routes, which connect areas without travelling through the city centre, have gone down well with commuters.
However, he argued that “next-generation ticketing”, where a person can pay for their fare via card or phone, needs to “happen quicker”.
“It’s not a big thing but it just makes public transport easier to use and something people have been crying out for a long time,” Dr Caulfield said. “That’s low-hanging fruit that we should be able to do quicker.”
A new ticketing system is due to be introduced under BusConnects, with a contractor awarded last year, though exact timelines are yet to be established for contactless payments.
Jason Cullen, chair of the Dublin Commuter Coalition, said they supported the project but added it was currently running at a “significant delay”, due in part to slow progress from An Bord Pleanála and problems with staffing.
Mr Cullen said while there were “small tweaks and changes” they would like to see on many of the individual corridors, “we simply need to have these routes and increased services delivered as quickly as possible”.
“We are only 5½ years away from our legally binding 2030 climate change commitments, and sadly, the transport sector is still increasing its CO2 output annually,” he said.
“With MetroLink over a decade away from launch, and no Luas extensions currently approved, it is BusConnects and cycle network projects that will have the material effect at reducing the Dublin transport sector’s carbon footprint by 2030.
“The age-old adage rings true when it comes to transport infrastructure: ‘If you build it, they will come.’ These new services are seeing increased demand; we just need to deliver them.”
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