Photo of the Week - Week 49:


Ringsend's brand new GT72 is seen operating Route 1 on Strand Road on the 30th November 2012.

The last garage to receive their new GTs, Ringsend, put the first examples into service on the 29th November 2012. So far GT71, GT72 and GT73 have been noted in service. Like the EV class that preceded them, the GTs appear to be strictly allocated to the Sandymount route, nowadays solely Route 1. The EV class had in the main drifted away from Route 1, spending increasing amounts of time on Routes 49 and 65/B. One would imagine that these routes will see a lot more EV operation, but one can't help think that the EVs will appear elsewhere. There wouldn't seem to be enough duties to potentially allocate them to, so I'm at least going to expect a surprise in the next while. It also calls into question what will happen to AX494. Save for one or two rare appearances on other Ringsend routes, AX494 has been a daily allocation to the Sandymount route going back a number of years. But with Dublin Bus designating Route 1 as a GT operation, AX494 should be allocated elsewhere.


Ringsend's GT72 is seen operating Route 1 turning from Sandymount Road to Seafort Avenue on the 30th November 2012.

With three GTs now in service in Ringsend, the largest allocation of RVs in the city fleet now stands at 4, with Ringsend now having only RV606,607,608 and 623 in service. Summerhill's sole RV makes the total RV fleet 5, and there are many mummerings that this, RV560, will be the last in service with Dublin Bus. In any case, the days of the Ringsend RVs look numbered. The end of the coming week could be the last, maybe one or two will trickle into the following week, all depending on deliveries of the GT class. As a final note, the new GTs have finally seen an updated scroll in Ringsend. The work of an eminent bus enthusiast has seen the Shanard destination, corrected to the more historical and more correct, Santry, which now matches the 104 which shares the same terminus. As noted in the Howth Road changes, the 31A destination has had a similar destination issue, with the "Road" being dropped to make the terminus solely "Shielmartin". I would imagine this will be corrected soon. Personally, the initial Network Direct destination scrolls made most sense, with a general destination such as Santry, with Shanard Road then in brackets underneath, switching to the Irish for Santry and then the via point in English.


Ringsend's GT72 is seen loading at Sandymount Village on Route 1 with its new updated scroll on the 30th November 2012.

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