Dublin Bus Route 46A
| 46A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Park to Dún Laoghaire Station | |||
| Overview | |||
| System | Transport for Ireland | ||
| Operator | Dublin Bus | ||
| Garage | Donnybrook | ||
| Status | Operating | ||
| Night-time | 46n | ||
| Route | |||
| Start | Phoenix Park | ||
| Via | City Centre and Phibsboro | ||
| End | Dún Laoghaire railway station | ||
| Length | 13 km (8 mi) | ||
| Service | |||
| Level | Daily | ||
| Frequency | 15 minutes or less[1] | ||
| Journey time | 61 minutes | ||
| Operates | 06:09 - 23:40 | ||
| Fare | Standard fares apply | ||
| |||
Dublin Bus Route 46A is a bus route in Dublin, Ireland, that runs from Phoenix Park, in Dublin city centre, to Mallin Station in Dun Laoghaire. It is operated by Dublin Bus (and previously, by Coras Iompair Éireann Dublin City Services). The 46A is probably the most famous bus route in Ireland, being frequently referred to in stand-up comedy, talk radio and other forms of media.
Route
It runs on the Stillorgan Quality Bus Corridor, via O'Connell Street, D'Olier Street, Nassau Street, St Stephen's Green, Leeson Street, and after exiting the city centre proper passes through the south Dublin suburbs of Donnybrook, Stillorgan. and Foxrock, using the N11 road for a large portion of its journey. After crossing the city centre it traverses the suburb of Phibsboro to reach its terminus on Infirmary Road. Dublin Bus states that the journey time should be 60–65 minutes, though this can vary widely depending on traffic volumes.
Although Dublin Bus' route numbering system might suggest that this route is a variant of a Dublin Bus Route 46, the 46A has long been the more important route. Since the introduction of the Stillorgan QBC in August 1999 the 46A has had a frequency of buses on average every 4 minutes or less during peak hours and approximately 8 minutes off-peak, and at weekends 10 minutes and 15 minutes off peak.[1] The success of the 46A led to the Route 46 being ended in October 2004.
The 46A is the busiest bus route in Ireland.
The route was branded as a CitySwift route in the mid-1990s, and, following the August 1999 launch of the QBC, began carrying Super CitySwift sector branding and Stillorgan Flyer sub-branding, in an attempt by Dublin bus to promote the QBC routes. This included the provision of on-board route maps. However the route's separate branding ended in 2006 with the decision by Dublin Bus to end most of its separate sub-brands.
In September 2010, the route was extended to serve Phoenix Park. The terminus is located on Infirmary Road, Dublin 8.
Variants
- Route 46E serves Blackrock railway station. There are only two services a weekday on this route and none on weekends or public holidays.
- Route 46N is a Nitelink service on part of the 46A route at weekends, operating between D'Olier Street and Dundrum Luas station (via Kildare Street, Leeson Street, Donnybrook, UCD Belfield, Stillorgan, Galloping Green, Foxrock Church, Cornelscourt Hill, Ballyogan Kilgobbin Road) Brehon Field Road, Stonemasons Way, Broadford Road, Ballinteer Avenue, Wyckham Way, Ballinteer Road and Dundrum Main Street.[2] It departs every hour between 00:00 at 04:00 on Friday nights/Saturday mornings and Saturday nights/Sunday mornings.
Cultural references
The bus number is mentioned in the refrain of Bagatelle's, song Summer in Dublin:[3]
"I was singing a song I heard somewhere,
Called "Rock'n'Roll Never Forget",
When my humming was smothered by the 46A,
And the scream of a low flying jet.
Paul Howard, the writer of the satirical Ross O'Carroll-Kelly books (Sunday Tribune) and newspaper columns has claimed that his journeys on the 46A and (now defunct) number 10 are primary sources for the character and events.
The 46A is referred to frequently in Barry McCrea's novel 'The First Verse' (2005), and has a symbolic meaning in the book's last lines.