Getting rid of the Number 11 bus route ‘clearly a downgrading of service’

Residents and local politicians in Drumcondra have expressed mixed reactions about the changes, which will see the Number 11 bus route replaced, with passengers forced to transfer to another bus in the city centre.

A new Number 19 bus will include a link to the airport, but the route will now terminate at Parnell Street.

Ruth Carty, secretary of the Griffith Avenue & District Residents Association, said while residents are “aware” that the proposed 19 route is intended to replace the 11-bus route, the newer route has a few shortcomings.

“There are an awful lot of elderly people who use the 11 bus and have used it daily. Eighty and 90-year-olds who actually have a bus stop right outside their door, which enables them to get into town,” she said.

“Stopping in Parnell Square, they don’t feel safe getting off a bus in Parnell Square. It makes their world increasingly small.

“The 11 was a cross-city bus route that went through residential areas. It linked the three universities together, which enabled people from the northside to attend UCD and people from the south side to attend TCD.

“What they’ve replaced it with is an airport link, which does not replace the community cross-city bus route.

“If they want to add extra routes from the airport, they shouldn’t take away the route that allows people to do what they need to do on a daily basis,” she added.

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon has also launched a petition, garnering more than 1,000 signatures, to “save the number 11 bus”.

He said that while there are a lot of benefits to BusConnects, there is concern about commuters who need to travel from north to south having to disembark on Parnell Street.

“This is very clearly a downgrading of service,” he said.

“I want more people on buses, but I’m hearing directly from residents that this change would prevent them from using the bus to go to Grafton Street, for example.

“Bringing a pram or a wheelchair onto two buses for such a journey is too burdensome. Surely it’s just basic decency to ask for this measure on one route to be reconsidered so we can get it right.”

The 11 bus currently runs between Wadelai estate in Glasnevin and Sandyford. It operates every 30 minutes off-peak and every 20-25 minutes during peak hours.

BusConnects is set to replace Ballymun Road buses next month as part of the E Spine. Routes 4, 155, and 13 will be replaced by the E1 and E2, which will run 24 hours with higher frequency services at peak times. It will also provide direct links to UCD.

The 11 is being replaced by the 19, which will no longer terminate in Wadelai estate but will connect Glasnevin and Ballymun to the airport for the first time.

Green Party councillor Feljin Jose said he believes the changes are a “huge improvement”.

“Originally, the No 19 route was proposed to run every 60 minutes, which was a big issue. I worked on this for a long time and engaged with the NTA,” he said.

“In a meeting in April, the NTA conceded that every 60 minutes isn’t enough to serve the area.

“It will now run every 20 minutes, with additional buses serving just Glasnevin/Drumcondra to the city centre to meet demand.

“Again, I think this is a big win. I distributed 1,000 leaflets in Glasnevin/Drumcondra in May explaining this.

“The 19 will also start at 3-4am, Monday to Sunday. The 11 starts at 6.40am and even 10.30am on Sundays.

“The remaining issue is the terminus in the city centre. It’s proposed to end at Parnell Street. I’m still working on this,” he added.

Residents living near Wadelai Park have also expressed frustrations about the changes to the number 11 bus route.

David Rees, a local resident, feels the replacement of the 19 bus route is “not like for like”.

“There’s no continuous journey for schoolchildren, which means there are transfers needed,” he said.

Mr Rees also expressed concerns about capacity. The number 11 bus already experiences a “high volume of commuters”, and if the number 19 bus serves the airport, it could prioritise luggage space, leading to less room for passengers.

“We’re just really concerned about the overcrowding that’s already happening on the number 11, and whether it might be even worse on the 19,” he said.

“At peak times, the 11 bus is often full before it even reaches Drumcondra, and passengers are left behind.

“There’s no way for residents to reach the south side of the city without changing buses, irrespective of mobility issues, and that is a loss,” he added.

For his family, losing the 11 means driving his daughter to school instead of letting her take the bus, which is “exactly what they’re trying to avoid”.

He suggested that if the 11 can’t be retained, extending the 19 route beyond Parnell Square would be a way to “kill two birds with one stone”.

Fianna Fáil senator Mary Fitzpatrick added that she feels the NTA is “short-changing northsiders”.

“The NTA has decided to change that cross-city bus route so people in Sandyford on the city’s south side can travel all the way to the northside to visit our beautiful Phoenix Park, which they are very welcome to do,” she said.

“However, it is unacceptable that people living on the northside in Ballymun, Glasnevin, and Drumcondra, who are coming into town, are being deprived of their cross-city 11 bus route, which they use to go to school, work, and college.

“We are now being left with a truncated bus service. We’re told we’re getting a 19 route that only goes as far as Parnell Square. It really isn’t good enough,” she added.

A spokesperson for the NTA said a “sense of apprehension” around changes to bus services is “not unusual”.

“We understand that change can be difficult, particularly when the new arrangements have not yet become a reality,” they said.

“However, our experience is that when people see and experience and, more importantly, use the new services, their fears and apprehensions ease very quickly.

“The new network was subject to three rounds of public consultation before it was finalised.

“That gave us an opportunity to get a better understanding at local level as to what concerns might arise. In response to this, we made a number of changes to the 19.

“The original idea behind the route was to maintain service for certain stops and certain direct links, but at an hourly frequency.

“We have since trebled its frequency and it will now run every 20 minutes.

“In addition, there will be extra buses at peak times on route 19, starting at the current 11 terminus at Wadelai Park, giving a bus every ten minutes to people in that area.

“It will provide, for the first time, a direct bus link for the Ballymun Road with Dublin Airport, including special journeys very early in the morning to support those working shifts at the airport.

“It will terminate at Parnell Square, but free interchange is available there with many other buses, and with the Luas Green Line,” the spokesperson added.