Greater Dublin Area Draft Transport Strategy 2011-2030

Measure BUS 2:The Authority will seek the operation of:• Frequent and direct bus services fromthe Metropolitan Designated Towns toDublin city centre operating with, at aminimum, a 10 minute frequency at peaktimes and a 20 minute off-peak frequency,supplemented by frequent inner suburbanbus services increasingly operating acrossthe city centre;• Orbital bus services providing linkagesbetween the Metropolitan DesignatedTowns and operating with, at a minimum, a15 minute frequency at peak times and a 30minute frequency at off-peak times; and• Frequent local bus services linkingresidential areas to Designated Districts andto nearby Designated Towns and servingshopping areas, employment areas andother activity centres, and connecting tokey public transport interchange points.Local Hinterland servicesWhile the planning measures aimed atconsolidating development (see chapter 8) shouldensure that many smaller towns and villages in theHinterland area will remain at a walkable scale,the Hinterland Designated Towns and certain ofthe Designated Districts are likely to require localbus services, subject to anticipated populationincreases. The level of service to be providedwill be dependent on the developed scale of theDesignated Town and /or Designated District.To maximise usage of such services, carefulmatching of timetables to intersecting rail andlonger distance bus services will be required.Measure BUS 3:The Authority will seek the provision orretention of local bus services in the HinterlandDesignated Towns (Navan, Naas-Newbridge,and Wicklow), subject to anticipatedpopulation increases. Such services will befocussed on providing intra-town movementas well as linking to key centres and onwardtransport connections. As a guide, a minimumdaytime service frequency of 20 minutes willbe sought.In the case of the Hinterland Designated Towns,and subject to sufficient passenger demand, partof the local bus service role will be to provideconnectivity from the adjacent Designated Districtsto the relevant Designated Town.Measure BUS 4:The Authority will seek the provision of local busservices to link adjacent Designated Districts toeach other and to nearby Designated Towns,subject to sufficient passenger demand.Local bus services (including those servingHinterland villages) should integrate with longerdistance (generally Dublin focussed) bus and railservices, by linking to intercity/commuter busstops and rail stations. Local bus timetables shouldmatch longer distance bus and rail arrivals anddeparture times as closely as possible.Non-conventional or demand responsive servicesmay be appropriate for many rural Hinterlandareas, or smaller towns and villages, to link localcatchments to their nearest large town centre.These may include smaller minibus or “bus-taxi”type services, which may vary route or operatingtimes depending on demand (see Section 10.4“Taxi and community transport”).Chapter 10: page 3 www.2030vision.ie