Dublin Bus Route 46A
Dublin Bus Route 46A is a bus route, in Dublin, Ireland, that runs from Mountjoy Square, 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).
Route
It runs on the Stillorgan Quality Bus Corridor, via O'Connell Street, D'Oiler 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, utillising the N11 road for a large portion of its journey. Dublin Bus states that the journey time should be 80-85 minutes, though this can vary widely depending on traffic volumes.
Although Dublin Bus' route numbering system would 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 every 8 minutes off-peak. 1. The success of the 46A led to the Route 46 being ended in October 2004 2.
The 46a is the busiest bus route in Dublin or Ireland (Source Dublin Bus annual report 2004)
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.
Varients
- Route 46B serves Sandyford Industrial Estate.
- Route 46C serves Cherrywood.
- Route 44D serves Carrickmines.
- Route 46E serves Blackrock railway station. There is just one service a day on this route.
Cultural references
Its route is described by Bagatelle, (an Irish Band):
"I remember that summer in Dublin,
And the Liffey as it stank like hell,
And the young people walking on Grafton Street,
Everyone looking so well.
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.
So, I jumped on a bus to Dún Laoghaire,
Stopping off to pick up my guitar,
And a drunk on a bus told me how to get rich,
I was glad we weren't going too far."
Local opinion
The route is notable for carrying, (along with the number 10), a large proportion of the students of University College Dublin (UCD) to and from the city centre, and for passing the headquarters of Radio Telefís Éireann, a taxpayer funded TV station at Montrose.
Media
Paul Howard, the writer of the satiricial Ross O'Carroll-Kelly books (Sunday Tribune) and newspaper columns has claimed that his journeys on the 46A and 10 are primary sources for the character and events.