From Sunday 26th November, there will be some changes for bus routes in Ballinteer through the Bus Connects programme. I live in Ballinteer myself so I’ve been looking at all the changes and how they might affect me and my family.
I’ve tried to give a guide to the changes below and I hope you find the information helpful. Please reach out to me directly if you have any questions or feedback. (Update: I have shared some early feedback with the NTA already and received a response, which you can read here).
Background to Bus Connects
The bus network in Dublin evolved bit by bit since last century with not much joined-up thinking behind it. The NTA ran a number of consultations between 2017 and 2019 which resulted in the new Dublin bus network being released in September 2020. Many politicians have tried to influence the routes but the decisions on the routes have been made by the professional Transport Planners in the NTA.
Since 2021, they’ve been rolling this new network out in phases. The next is Phase 5b, which is launching on the 26th November. Public representatives and the public were officially made aware of this phase on Friday afternoon the 10th November with this announcement.
One thing that’s relatively new is the 90 minute Leap card fare. This means that you just pay once if you’ve to transfer to a different bus/Luas/DART within 90 minutes of the start of your journey. This was brought in by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan along with half price fares for young adults and full-time students. You can buy a Leap card here.
Changes for Ballinteer
These are the changes for Ballinteer:
Staying the same
New routes
Routes being removed
Route 14
Route S8 (every 20 mins)
Route 75 (every 30 mins)
Route 16
Route 74 (every 30 min)
Route 175 (every 20-30 mins)
Route 116
Route L25 (every 15 minutes)
Bus Connects changes for Ballinteer
The S8 will run every 20 minutes. It will follow the same route as the 175 from Citywest to the corner of Grange Road and Ballinteer Avenue but it will keep going straight along Brehon Field Road. It will use the M50 Green route to get to Sandyford Business District, then go down Leopardstown Road, down Newtownpark Avenue and into Monkstown and Dún Laoghaire.
The 74 will run every 30 minutes. It will go from Eden Quay to Kimmage, Rathfarnham and then run along Grange Road, Brehon Field Road and then down to Dundrum via Wyckham Way. The main benefit I see it having for Ballinteer is it will be a new way of getting to the Luas for people who don’t live that close to the 14.
The L25 will go from Dundrum Luas, up by Airfield, St Benildus College, Stillorgan village, Monkstown, Dún Laoghaire. It will run every 15 minutes and you can connect to it from Ballinteer via either the new 74 or the 14.
There are other routes changing around South Dublin too, but these are the buses that go through Ballinteer. Some of the other buses may be useful to you as well. e.g. the S6 that will go through Dundrum to UCD. The best way to check how your specific journeys will best be done by public transport after the changes on 26th November are:
Make sure you select a date after 26th November to see the new routes.
For some common destinations that people commute to from Ballinteer, I’ve put together a Ballinteer-specific guide for each of them below. I hope you find it useful to compare current routes to the new routes.
The 175, which began in September 2018, currently goes from Citywest to Ballinteer to UCD, roughly every 20-30 minutes. From Woodpark in Ballinteer, including walking time it would currently take about 50 minutes to get to UCD for a 9am start.
New routes: the new routes give more choices, each estimated to still take about 50 minutes to get from Woodpark in Ballinteer to UCD including walking and waiting time. It would mean taking two short bus trips with a short wait in the middle. Either the 14/74 to Dundrum and then the new S6 from Dundrum into UCD or the new S8 to White’s Cross and the 46A from there.
Approx 26,000 people work in Sandyford Business District. It’s currently quicker for most people to walk there from Ballinteer during rush hour than take public transport which takes about 40-50 minutes and still involves a lot of walking.
New routes: The S8 will get you from Ballinteer to Sandyford Business District in about 10-15 minutes as it will take the exact same way you’d drive it in a car, along the M50 Green route. The S8 will run right past the Beacon, Sandyford Luas stop, South County Business Park and Leopardstown Racecourse. It will run every 15-20 minutes.
There are currently a lot of ways to get down to Dundrum from Ballinteer. The 14, 75, 175 being the main ones.
New routes: The 14 is not changing so will still be an option. The 74 is being introduced now too, which will run every 30 minutes and go along Grange Road, Brehon Field Road then Wyckham Way to Dundrum. Good to see people living in Kingston, Grangefield and the upper parts of Woodpark and Ballintyre now have a bus to Dundrum without having to walk down to Ballinteer Avenue.
Many students take the bus from Ballinteer to St Benildus or St Raphaela’s secondary schools at the moment and it takes around 40 minutes including walking time. Some students cycle it in about 15-20 minutes.
New routes: Students living in the southern part of Ballinteer will benefit from the S8 which will drop them opposite the Beacon Hotel (Benildus) or at the old Microsoft building (Raphaela’s) taking around 25-30 minutes total journey time. Other students may take the 14/74 bus down to Dundrum and the Luas from there. Alternatively, taking the 14/74 to Dundrum and then the L25 from the bus stop at the top of the bypass.
Currently you can take either the 175 or the 75 and it can take around an hour in rush hour traffic from Ballinteer to Tallaght. The 75 takes a much more round about route past Rathfarnham village.
New routes: With the new routes, the S8, every 20 minutes, will be the best way of getting from Ballinteer to Tallaght. It’ll take around 50 minutes, following the same route as 175 except it will use Brehon Field Road rather than Ballinteer Avenue before it passes Marlay Park.
This won’t change much with these new changes. Continue to take the 14 or the 16. The 74 might suit you if you’re living along Brehon Field Road, Clonlea Wood, Ballinteer Road and Wyckham Way as it’ll bring you directly down to Balally or Dundrum Luas.
I know there are many students who went to Ballinteer ETNS who followed on to Stepaside ETSS afterwards. Currently, many are walking/cycling to Balally Luas stop and getting the Luas from there. There’s no bus that makes the trip.
New routes: Depending on where in Ballinteer you live, students of Stepaside ETSS could use the S8 to get to Sandyford Luas stop and avoid Balally altogether or take the new 74 bus down to the Luas.
Currently to get from Ballinteer to St Vincent’s it’s very awkward. Depending on when you leave, there are different options all involving transfers and taking at least 90 minutes.
New routes: The S8 opens up a much better option to take public transport to St Vincent’s now. You take the S8 to link in with either the 47 (transfer in Sandyford Business District) or the 4 or 7 (both transfer in Monkstown). These new options may take 50-60 minutes depending on timing and traffic.
Currently the 75 goes from Ballinteer to Stillorgan but not the direct way you’d drive there in a car. It takes around 40-50 minutes in rush hour as most rush hour buses are 75A which do a loop around Sandyford Business District before going into Stillorgan village.
New routes: Will still take around 40-50 minutes in rush hour by taking the S8, then either transferring to the 11 or 47 (both Sandyford BD) or the 46A (bottom of Leopardstown Road).
Currently, the 75 is the main option for getting public transport from Ballinteer to Dún Laoghaire and takes around an hour. From experience I haven’t found it to be a reliable bus and can get stuck in some of the worst traffic congestion across the area.
New routes: The S8 will go from Ballinteer to Dún Laoghaire along a much more direct route than the 75. The full journey should take around 45-50 minutes at rush hour so a decent time saving over the 75. Because it runs every 15-20 minutes, it’s also less likely to be full by the time it gets to Ballinteer. You could also take the L25 from the top of the Dundrum bypass (connecting using the 14, 74 or walking).
Currently the 75 goes from Ballinteer to Deansgrange but goes round the world to get there, through heavy traffic most times of the day. It takes around 50-60 minutes in rush hour.
New routes: Using the S8 to the bottom of Leopardstown Road and then switching to the 46A is estimated to get you to Deansgrange in about 40-50 minutes at rush hour. Both the S8 and 46A are much more frequent than the 75 is so in general there’ll be more flexibility and less waiting for your journey between Ballinteer and Deansgrange.
Ballinteer to Bray currently takes around 90 minutes by public transport. You can get the 75 or 175 to the N11 and the 145 from there.
New routes: the S8 will get you to the N11 faster so you can take a bus to Bray, or you can take the S8 to Dún Laoghaire and take the DART from there. Will take 60-70 minutes at rush hour so much quicker than the current way of getting from Ballinteer to Bray by public transport.
Previously, you would take the 75, a long winding bus from Ballinteer to the Gaelcoláistí on the Stillorgan Road.
Now, you would either take the S6 from Dundrum (connect to using the 14 or the 74) or the S8 to the N11 at the bottom of Newtownpark Avenue and then any bus like the 46a from there.
Are there other trips you take from/to Ballinteer that you’d like help with? Or have some questions about the above? Please contact me, I’m more than happy to help.
I have been in contact with the NTA to seek better and clearer communications for a smoother transition to these new routes. They are delivering a leaflet to homes and businesses along all the new routes. I requested the leaflet so that I could put it here for you to download.
Stay in touch
If you would like to be kept up to date with this and other local news, you can subscribe to my email newsletter:
