Buses plying the new Tallaght Quality Bus Corridor (QBC) got off to a flying start yesterday morning. Traffic in the other lanes also sped into the city centre as schools were closed for the Easter holidays.
The real test will come next Monday morning when Dublin traffic has slowed to its normal crawling pace. A spokesman for Dublin Bus said this was a good week to introduce the service.
The 12 km corridor runs between the city centre and Tallaght via Rathgar, Terenure and Templeogue, through the Spawell and M50 roundabouts. The Tallaght route is one of the busiest in Dublin, carrying about 171,000 passengers weekly.
Twenty-one extra buses will service the route, with route 65 having new articulated buses which are wheelchair-accessible.
The Tallaght route is the eighth QBC in Dublin. QBCs are restricted to all traffic except buses, taxis, emergency vehicles and cyclists.
They operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday.
Insp Jim McHugh, head of the Garda Traffic Department, appealed to "everyone who travels on the busy Tallaght route to co-operate with gardai in their efforts to assist the smooth implementation of this new bus corridor".
New traffic management measures include the banning of right turns at the Templeogue Road/Old Bridge Road and Templeogue Road/Springfield Road junctions, and the introduction of "selective vehicle detection" which gives priority to buses at the traffic lights on various junctions.
Mr John Henry, director of the Dublin Transportation Office, said: "Following the forthcoming introduction of the Blanchardstown QBC and the extension of Whitehall to Swords, Dublin commuters will be availing of about 100 km of QBC network around the city".
The Tallaght QBC was introduced by the office in association with South Dublin County Council and Dublin Corporation, Dublin Bus and the Garda Siochana and funded by the National Development Plan.