Throwback Thursday (302)
This week we are going back eleven years to VG 21 at UCD Belfield with a service on route 39B. The 39B has had two existences. The first version ran for a decade, ending around 1993 when the CitySwift operation began on route 39. This original 39B operated between the city centre and (at various times) Clonsilla, Sheepmoor and Coolmine. The route was resurrected in 2001. Initially operating between Inglewood and UCD Belfield in the peaks, its western terminus moved to Clonsilla in 2003 and Ongar in 2004. There it remained util the route ceased again in October 2010 under Network Direct, though a lot of it was covered by new route 39A.
VG 21 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2008 and is still in service today. There is one noticeable aspect to it though. Previously, all buses delivered to Dublin Bus had their fleet number reflected in the last three digits of the registration plate. Dublin Bus used to block book sequences when they were registering new buses so this feature would occur, and it was certainly an handy way for bus enthusiasts to identify buses too. However, a premium had to be paid for this option with the registration authority and during the financial crisis Dublin Bus had to make savings. This was an easy one to make, so VG 20 was the last bus delivered where the registration matched the fleet number, and VG 21 was the first one to arrive with a general registration plate.
Finally, back in 2010 this part of UCD Belfield was only used by the peak-hour Xpresso bus routes but today it is the main bus terminus on the college campus, and used by the vast majority of bus routes that serve there.
21/10/2010
Throwback Thursday (302)
This week we are going back eleven years to VG 21 at UCD Belfield with a service on route 39B. The 39B has had two existences. The first version ran for a decade, ending around 1993 when the CitySwift operation began on route 39. This original 39B operated between the city centre and (at various times) Clonsilla, Sheepmoor and Coolmine. The route was resurrected in 2001. Initially operating between Inglewood and UCD Belfield in the peaks, its western terminus moved to Clonsilla in 2003 and Ongar in 2004. There it remained util the route ceased again in October 2010 under Network Direct, though a lot of it was covered by new route 39A.
VG 21 was delivered new to Dublin Bus in 2008 and is still in service today. There is one noticeable aspect to it though. Previously, all buses delivered to Dublin Bus had their fleet number reflected in the last three digits of the registration plate. Dublin Bus used to block book sequences when they were registering new buses so this feature would occur, and it was certainly an handy way for bus enthusiasts to identify buses too. However, a premium had to be paid for this option with the registration authority and during the financial crisis Dublin Bus had to make savings. This was an easy one to make, so VG 20 was the last bus delivered where the registration matched the fleet number, and VG 21 was the first one to arrive with a general registration plate.
Finally, back in 2010 this part of UCD Belfield was only used by the peak-hour Xpresso bus routes but today it is the main bus terminus on the college campus, and used by the vast majority of bus routes that serve there.
21/10/2010