Sir, – I note that Dublin Bus is to abolish the much-loved and historic bus routes, numbers 3, 13 and 19 from August 28th onwards. The three routes were originally electric tramway routes that began service in 1901, 1918 and 1876 (Glasnevin) and 1905 (Rialto), respectively. Some of my earliest childhood summer memories are of being taken on family outings on the No 3 bus to the Martello Tower in Sandymount and enjoying what then seemed to be miles of golden sand and blue sea there.
Is there some mathematical wit in Dublin Bus making final choices on the basis of prime numbers and/or the Da Vinci Code? If one looks at the prime numbers 3, 13 and 19 as a series, one can predict that the next prime bus routes to be abandoned may be numbers 29, 43 and 79. If this is not the case, will someone in Dublin Bus stand up and be counted? Myles na gCopaleen, as a steam man himself, might have been intrigued by the whole business. – Yours, etc,