I’m pleased to announce that after a lot of engagement with the National Transport Authority over the last couple of months, the NTA has agreed to extend the terminus of the new no. 19 bus from Parnell Square to Merrion Square.
When the 19 bus is launched as part of the next BusConnects E spine on January 26th, every second bus at peak times (every 20 mins) will terminate at Merrion Square instead of Parnell Square. As more drivers become available in the coming months, this will increase to all buses terminating at Merrion Square instead of Parnell Square. This will ensure that people travelling from the Home Farm Road area will not have to change buses to reach locations on the southside of the city centre.
While there has been a lot of fear and misinformation spread about these changes, I’ve been committed to engaging constructively with the National Transport Authority on these changes for many years to deliver better outcomes for the area. Together with former TD Neasa Hourigan, we have secured significant improvements on the original 2020 proposal.
In 2020, it was announced that the new No. 19 route was to operate once every hour which was not acceptable compared to the 30 minute frequency of the no. 11 bus it will replace.
- The new 19 bus will now operate every 20 minutes throughout the day and every 10 minutes during peak times
- At peak times, every second bus will start in Wadelei to ensure that there’s capacity for Glasnevin and Drumcondra.
- The new 19 bus will also provide a direct service to Dublin Airport via Ballymun Road