Revolution by Double-Decker

On Riding Dublin's Human Transit-Redesigned Bus Network.

// In last week's post, I wrote about the relative lack of rail transit in Dublin, a city with a population of 1.28 million (2.12 million in "Greater Dublin"). Much smaller cities in Europe have metro systems of their own; Dublin is limited to DART (an S-Bahn-like aboveground heavy rail), some commuter rail, and the 2 lines of the Luas tram system.

What I noticed immediately was a heavy presence of double-decker buses in the city center. Buses are daunting for a newcomer to a city, especially if you're only spending a few days there: it's easy to figure out a subway/metro map, but bus routes tend to be less predictable, with lots of potential for construction changing routes. And there are generally a lot more bus routes than there are metro lines—the chances of getting on the wrong one and ending up far from your destination are much higher.