Even with the recently announced changes to be made to the 80 bus route, there are still considerable issues left unresolved that could see commuters in Palmerstown and Chapelizod left wanting, both before and even after the revised route comes into full effect, according to David Gardiner, Workers’ Party representative for Palmerstown-Fonthill.

Gardiner said: “The temporary workaround, which the National Transport Authority (NTA) say will come into play in early 2026, will see the 80 continue from Parkgate Street straight down the north quays before crossing O’Connell Bridge, heading through College Green, up Dame Street, and then heading down George’s Street out towards Rathmines. While addressing the issue of connectivity to other public transport services by reaching Bachelor’s Walk, the problem here is the lack of bus lanes from O’Connell Bridge onwards. The levels of congestion could very well continue to cause significant delays and ultimately lead to cancellations, which have both been massive problems so far as evidenced at the bus stops of Palmerstown, Chapelizod and beyond.”

“In their statement, the NTA acknowledged that the 80 hasn’t met expectations since it began back in October, for which they cite city centre congestion as one reason amongst others left unspecified. Unfortunately, this acknowledgement does not extend into actually addressing the issues of delays and cancellations. Presumably, their answer to this would be that when the overarching plan that is BusConnects is fully rolled out, congestion will be less of an issue generally. This, however, is of little consolation to commuters who are left standing at bus stops for delayed and cancelled buses in the intervening period.”

“Amending the route permanently to run further east in the city centre, as part of a merger with the 130 which will see it terminate in Clontarf, is a move that most commuters will be happy to see. Given the more central locations of Bachelor’s Walk and Eden Quay, which the revised route will stop at, compared to Lord Edward Street to the west or George’s Street to the south, this makes more sense in terms of connecting with other public transport services that cover different parts of the city. Unfortunately, it will be April 2026 at the earliest before this comes into effect, and this still leaves the issues of delays and cancellations unaddressed and unresolved.”

“An expanded and more efficient public transport system for Dublin is something that we all want to see, but so far, at least in the case of the 80, it seems that commuters are expected to put up with a service that regularly shows up late, if at all, in the hopes that one day in the future the whole plan will eventually fall into place. A bus route must be both reliable and efficient in order to properly serve the public good, and it is important that our communities are served by routes that can fulfil that function.”