In Bluebell and Inchicore, residents continue their months of protests against proposed bus route changes

Once again there were delays on the Blackhorse Bridge.

According to Inchicore resident Andre Lyder, it’s not uncommon to be held up on this road, it gets congested.

But this time, on Saturday 8 March, the traffic jam was intentional. Dozens of people were blocking this junction to protest the planned withdrawal of their buses, as part of BusConnects.

They stood at this place where the Naas Road and Davitt Road and Tyrconnell Road and the Grand Canal and the Luas Red Line all intersect.

They blocked every lane in every direction. Some held signs reading “Save our buses now”. Others simply stood there, in the middle of the lanes, without moving.

There were the older people with walkers, strollers, kids on scooters and bikes, and at least half a dozen dogs gathering in solidarity.

People in cars were honking for minutes on end. It wasn’t clear if that was out of frustration or to show support for the protestors.

It wouldn’t be surprising if these drivers had encountered these protests before. Lately they’ve been taking place once a month, on the second Saturday of the month.

Joan Collins, the former Right to Change TD and the leader of this protest, talked it out with the gardaí who’d arrived.

As part of the redesign of the city’s bus networks, the 13, 68 and 69 buses are due to be withdrawn towards the end of this year – replaced, the plan is, with the 58, D1 and D2.

But those aren’t adequate replacements, the protestors say. The changes will mean longer walks to reach stops, less frequent buses, and losing the direct route into the Liberties, they say.

A spokesperson for the National Transport Authority (NTA) said Tuesday: “We are currently reviewing and updating the plan for this service and will advise stakeholders of the outcome when that update is complete.”

The planned changes

The 13 bus is the workhorse through part of west Dublin.

It runs along the Naas Road and Tyrconnell Road, through Kilmainham and into the Liberties and College Green every 12 minutes at peak times.

The proposed 58 will come through here every hour, and cross the river to the north side at Islandbridge, breaking that link between Bluebell/Inchicore and the Liberties.

For those living near Inchicore village, there’s the G spine, which goes part of that way from Inchicore to the Liberties.

But the nearest stop to catch the G1 or G2 is about 1km from Blackhorse, a long walk for older, or very young legs – and people with disabilities.

The D1 and D2, meanwhile, don’t come through Bluebell and Inchicore at all, running along the Long Mile Road and Crumlin Road, instead.

“The D won’t be going anywhere near us,” said Lyder, the local resident. “That’s a huge hike from Bluebell.”

There’s the Luas, of course, and that goes as far into town on the south side as James’s Hospital, before crossing the river.

It’s already overcrowded, although there are plans to expand its capacity from this June.

“The main thing with the Luas is that it’s too popular,” says Collins. “It’s a very busy form of transport. And if you go on that at peak times, you can hardly breathe on it. You can hardly get on it in the first place.”

The protests

On Saturday 8 March, protestors marched the same route the 13 bus takes from Inchicore village up Tyrconnell Road towards Bluebell.

They marched in front of cars, buses, and cabs, before blocking the Blackhorse intersection in every direction, for about 10 minutes. They even blocked the Luas.

Disrupting traffic is a recent tool of the local protest against the bus route changes. Collins, the former TD, said protestors started these roadway marches in November.

On Monday, Kamal Kishore was getting off the Luas at Blackhorse. He said he moved to Inchicore two months ago — and he’s seen the protests, and agrees with them, but hasn’t been involved.

He’d taken the Luas because of St Patrick’s Day disruptions to the buses. But he was clear he prefers the buses, particularly the 13.

“I’m staying near the bus stop, so catching the 13 is much easier as compared to Luas,” he said. “I need to walk around 15 minutes to catch the Luas.”

Like other local residents, he brought up the connection between this area and the Liberties. “I would say, most of the citizens here, like, like residents of this area, are traveling to Thomas Street only,” Kishore said.

Teacher Stephen Hillard said on Monday 17 March, while waiting for pizza in Inchicore, that he was surprised to hear about the changes to the 13, 68, and 69 bus routes. “Decisions are always made by people that don’t use the facilities,” he said.

“I suppose you just have to get a taxi or something,” said Hilliard, who lives in Drimnagh. “That’s fine for me, because I drive.”

Two big asks

The protesters have two main demands, says Collins, the former TD.

They want, at a minimum, a regular bus service through Bluebell and Inchicore every 15 mins – and 10 mins at peak times. And they want it to connect them to Thomas Street.

One of the main complaints from locals is that the new routes don’t go onto Thomas Street in the Liberties, a place residents explain is culturally tied to Inchicore and Bluebell.

It might not be the most direct route, Lyder says, but it’s the route to where people in Inchicore and Bluebell have family, friends, work, pharmacists, and routine.

The neighborhoods have a deep connection, and many people use the bus to travel to the Liberties. It’s the kind of thing one has to learn from the residents, it’s not obvious by looking at a map, said both Lyder and Collins.

A spokesperson for the NTA said that it “recognises the value attached to traditional links”.

“This will be balanced against the creation of new links and/or new capacity across the network,” he said. “In this case, buses to/from the city centre would run via Islandbridge, which is currently under-served.”

While it doesn’t look like there’s much flexibility on route changes, the protestors have worked hard to pressure the NTA to increase the frequency of the new 58, with, perhaps, some success, says Collins.

“We did meet up with the NTA there, and last year, and they committed, they’d give us it [the 58 bus] every half an hour, but that’s just not good enough,” she says.

A spokesperson for the NTA said by email on Tuesday 18 March that the plan is to roll out the new 58 route in the fourth quarter of this year. There could still be some revisions before then, he said.

“We are aware of the concerns raised in relation to this route,” he said. “To address concerns raised, the Authority is reviewing the proposed frequencies.”