There’s A Massive But Very Strange Change Coming To 9 Dublin Bus Services

Darragh Berry

Some big news from Dublin Bus

They have announced on Monday that the company are planning to test out new low emission vehicles.

The buses will be trialled on the route 9 from Phibsboro Road To Limekiln Avenue but will not take passengers during this period but will stop at bus stops and have doors open and close

It will run weekday afternoons and evenings until March of 2019 and the buses will contain the signs ‘Low Emission Bus Trial – Not in Service’.

In a statement on their website, Dublin Bus said that:

“The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD, together with the National Transport Authority, Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann, launched the Low Emission Bus Trial, which will test a range of technologies and fuels under real-driving conditions on selected routes in both Dublin and Cork.

“Supported by the Green Public Transport Fund, full electric, hybrid-electric, hydrogen and compressed natural gas/biogas buses will be tested alongside retrofitted diesel buses.

“The buses will be assessed under a number of headings including CO¬2 and air quality pollutant emissions, energy efficiency, costs, and infrastructural requirements.

“The trials will run until March 2019 and will help to further inform future purchasing decisions for the urban public bus fleet.

“The buses will be trialled on Route 9, from Phibsboro Road to Limekiln Ave, on weekday afternoons and evenings over the next four months.

“The buses will simulate real-driving conditions and so will stop at or near bus stops, doors will open and close but they will not carry any customers. The trial will not affect existing schedules or service capacity; normal bus services will continue on these routes.

“The buses in the trial will be identifiable by their front scroll reading ‘Low Emission Bus Trial – Not in Service’ as well as signs affixed to the windows.

“As a company, Dublin Bus has a responsibility to minimise, as far as is practicable, its energy consumption and impact on the environment. Dublin Bus has always committed to continuously improving its energy and environmental performance through investment in technology.

“It is hoped that the outcome of the trial will inform future decision making processes in Dublin Bus with the move to a more sustainable, lower emission bus fleet.”

More information about the trials can be found here.