By Denise O’Donoghue
Two Dublin Bus routes will become 24-hour services next month.
From December 1 the 41 and the 15 will operate around-the-clock.
The 41 runs from Dublin city centre to the airport and on to Swords, while the 15 runs from Ballycullen Rd, through the city centre, on to Clongriffin.
The fare structure will remain unchanged, with no additional charge for customers travelling late at night, and Leap, Free Travel Card and cash will continue to be accepted.
The daytime frequency on the 15 and the 41 will improve, and they will run at a 30-minute frequency throughout the night from midnight to 5am.
"The patterns of work and socialising have changed," said National Transport Authority CEO Anne Graham.
"For instance, the success in attracting to the city, major employers who are headquartered many time-zones away, serving markets around the world, means that commercial and economic activity in Dublin continues around the clock.
"The airport has become busier and busier, in recent years, and is itself a major employer. There is a clear demand for more transport options to the airport, not just for their passengers, but for the thousands of people whose jobs require them to be at work early in the morning or late into the night."
Ireland’s first 24-hour city bus service was introduced in Cork in January.
The enhanced 220 bus service links Ballincollig to Carrigaline, via the city centre, and has been operating 24-hours a day with weekday frequency doubled from a bus every 30-minutes to a bus every 15-minutes between 6am and midnight, with 30 and 60-minute frequency between midnight and 6am.
