Pktswitch raises a very valid point here.
Nitelink as a concept has served Dublin well.
It must be remembered that it came about at a time when the City Centre faced a very real Public Transport emergency due to the sudden desire of large numbers of people to socialize after the usual 23.30 closing time.
From memory I seem to recall some very unsavoury incidents in the City Centre area including at least one murder,which at the time was atributed at least in part to the presence of large numbers of "Tired and Emotional" people suddenly released onto the streets with NO Public Transport available to get them out of the City Centre.
Remember this was in an era which saw a Taxi fleet of some 1,600 vehicles TOTAL with perhaps less than 50% of those willing (or Able) to undertake the late-night week-end work.
In the intervening years the City has changed out of all recognition and at a pace which has left it`s planners doing Goldfish impersonations behind the Civic Office panoramic windows,not to mention the more genteel facade of 59 Upr O Connell St (HQ of Dublin Bus).
Dublin Bus has for sometime now ocasionally thrown out the concept of running some routes on a 24 hr basis.
Indeed as part of the last major Busdrivers wage deal a committement was secured from the Trades Unions which allowed all newly recruited staff to be rostered on a 24 hour basis to operate the new schedules.
However the necessary preparations never came to fruition and Nitelink continued as the preferred offering from DB.
The commissioning of Luas however has totally altered the situation and IMO Dublin Bus were caught way off balance with No plan in place to allow Nitelink to switch over into a FULL 24 hr Hourly service in BOTH directions.
Services such as the 44N 48N 77N should have been dropped and the resultant available resources diverted to 24 hr servicing of the areas which do not have a Luas penetration.
Dublin Bus itself had its own vision of what to do and proposed discontinuing ALL Mon to Wed Nitelink Services with only a reduced service operating on the remainder of the week.
From a purely fiscal perspective this was simply good management and was only averted by some,by now usual,political phone-calling.
Some Political figures had made their name on portraying Dublin as a good-time 24hr Cosmopolitan place.
To have the City`s Bus Company pulling services due to lack of patronage was sending out all the "wrong" signals an so the Company was prevailed upon to reconsider.
So once again and not for the first or last time,Dublin Bus is caught immobile in the fast approaching headlights.
There are few Industrial Relations or Human Resource issues and the necessary vehicles are already in place.
The only restraints are a natural corporate inertia coupled with a Dept of Transport which would have a hissy fit at being presented with such a vulgarian concept as DB gaining a "Commercial Advantage" by offering a 24hr Bus Service package to its passengers.
What is particularly frustrating about this issue is the way it has been allowed to develop and worsen until "Fire-Brigade" management principles are the only response,which usually entails service cuts.
The provision of a 24hr full service on the main corridors could be a very positive demonstration to its own motto of "Serving ALL of the Community"..???
