Residents and local representatives in Drumcondra have expressed safety concerns over changes to the number 11 bus route.
The contentious plans, set to come into place next month, will eliminate the number 11 bus route, the main transport option for the residents of Hillcrest and Wadelai who are already isolated from Luas and train lines.
Both areas are home to a significant elderly population, with 25% over the age of 65, and are all fully reliant on this route.
Route 11, which runs from Wadelai Park to Sandyford Business District, is set to be replaced on December 8 by a new number 19 service.
The new route will include a link to Dublin Airport that terminates at Parnell Street.
In the residents’ campaign to preserve the service they have rallied the support of over 2,200 petition signatories and have cross-party, full backing from local politicians.
They say the National Transport Authority are refusing to meet them to discuss the fears they have over the proposed changes.
The large turnout at a recent community event on Tuesday, October 29, further demonstrated the urgent and widespread concern among residents.
Local resident David Rees told Northside People that the community feels like their concerns are “not being fully heard.”
“We are urgently calling for a meeting between the National Transport Authority, local politicians and residents to address the critical impacts this change will have on residents, particularly the elderly, vulnerable groups, and schoolchildren,” he said.
“The proposed termination point for Route 19 at Parnell Square disrupts essential access to UCD, Sandyford, and other central locations, forcing passengers to transfer between services that may be overcrowded, particularly during peak times.
“Parnell Square poses additional safety risks, especially during early mornings or evenings when many residents commute.
“The elderly and schoolchildren are at particular risk in this area, especially during darker winter months.
“The community’s dependency on direct public transport, especially given the lack of alternative rail options, makes Route 11 indispensable.
“Even with added services, residents fear that Route 19 will be unable to meet current and projected demand, especially with new residential developments.
“Overcrowding is likely to discourage regular use and may prevent local residents from accessing transport during peak times.
“Route 11 is a critical link for local children attending schools in areas like Stephens Green. Additional transfers introduce safety risks and add to the time and stress of their daily commutes.
“We propose that the NTA should extend Route 19 beyond Parnell Square to a more central terminus such as Stephens Green and consider a peak-time terminus for Route 19 at Hillcrest.
“These modifications would preserve essential connectivity for residents and maintain safety standards.
“Considering these impacts, the Hillcrest, Wadelai, and Glasnevin Park communities are requesting an immediate meeting with the NTA and local representatives.”
Dublin Central Senator Mary Fitzpatrick called for the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, to intervene saying the No.11 bus service is a vital cross-city service and that the NTA is refusing to engage with the people set to be most affected by its withdrawal.
Speaking in the Seanad recently she said:
“I want to raise the issue of the withdrawal of the No. 11 bus service from Drumcondra.
“This proposal has been aired now for many years and I have been engaging on it along with Resident’s Associations.
“Various Resident’s Associations have been engaging on this since back in 2017.
“I was on a call with the NTA yesterday for more than an hour and a half, imploring them to engage with residents, to meet with residents and the commuting public, yet they are refusing to do so, refusing to even get on a zoom call with them.
“They are refusing to meet with the public to discuss the withdrawal of the 11 bus, even though those people are the ones affected.
“The 11 bus is a vital public transport service in not only my own community, but also across the city.
“This is a cross-city service and the NTA, in their infinite wisdom, are going to withdraw it on the 8th of December and it is simply not acceptable.
“It is not acceptable to the people of Drumcondra, of Glasnevin, of Finglas and Ballymun.
“The Minister for Transport must intervene and stop this withdrawal on the 8th of December.
“This is an incredibly valuable cross city service and its withdrawal is simply unacceptable.”
Northside People contacted the National Transport Authority for a comment in relation to this story.
Dermot O’Gara, Head of Public Affairs at the National Transport Authority, sent us the presentation the NTA gave to public reps from the Ballymun, Glasnevin Drumcondra areas at the briefing last Tuesday week.
He also attached the information booklet that the NTA published on Thursday (7th) and that is being delivered door-to-door, from the end of last week.
“During that briefing we told public reps that we were keen to press ahead with the implementation of the Phase because of the improved services (including 24-hour buses) that it will offer to all communities along the new routes,” Mr O’Gara told Northside People.
“We did say that if concerns raised by some residents associations remained an issue when the services had bedded in, that we would revisit.
“We also said that at that stage, we would be prepared to meet residents in those areas if the need arose.
“The overall Network Redesign plan went out for three rounds public consultation with some 70,000 submissions being made.
“The final plan was published in 2020 and phased implementation got under way in June 2021.
The 11 is one of the routes that is to be replaced by a new set of services. Much of what the 11 currently does will be done by a new route, the 19 which will run from Dublin Airport, through Ballymun, serving Wadelai Estate, (the current 11 terminus) and on to the centre of Dublin.
“While Ballymun and Glasnevin are in close proximity to the airport, this is the first time there has been a direct service along this corridor. This will be of huge benefit to the many people in the Dublin 9 and 11 areas who work in the airport. Services for these people will commence very early in the morning.
“The 19 will operate to a greater frequency than the 11, particularly at peak. At these times, additional services are to commence at the current 11 terminus, so that customers of the 11 in that area will have a similar experience to what they are accustomed to.
“The 19 will terminate at Parnell Sq which is home to a gallery, a theatre, a music venue, and major hospital along with offices, shops and hotels, so for many customers is a destination in its own right.
“For people travelling onwards, there will be easy connectivity here to a wide range of other buses serving many other parts of the city, and to the Luas Green Line at Parnell St. Interchange is free under the TFI-90 fare of course.”