Route 104:
AV232 at the Central Remedial Clinic on Vernon Avenue on the 13th June 2009.
The 104 began around December 1995. It was published in the January 1996 edition of buses magazine that its introduction was expected in December but no exact date of introduction is known. It operated from Beaumont Hospital to St. Joseph's Hospital in Raheny. It never appeared in any of the timetable booklets of the time.
It operated Sunday's only and though its route was quite similar it was not associated with Route 101. It was introduced only to balance out Sunday duties at Clontarf depot. It had a 2 bus allocation both universals. The 1st universal operated totally on the 104 breaking at Beaumont Hoapital around 1700 hours and then the second bus which operated route 51A covered the break period.
AV232 outside Clontarf Garage on Clontarf Road on 13th June 2009.
The exact routing was as follows: Beaumont Hospital, Trim Road, Kilbarron Road, Kilmore Road, Oscar Traynor Road, Barryscourt Road, Greencastle Road, Glin Road, Priorswood Road, Blunden Drive, Millbrook Road, Tonlegee Road, Tonlegee Avenue, Edenmore Avenue, Edenmore Park, Edenmore Grove, Edenmore Green, Springdale Road (St. Joseph's Hospital - terminating at junction of Edenmore Cresent (old 42A terminus)).
Clontarf's EV89, with its white dress matching the colour of the snow in Cappagh Hospital on Route 104 on the 2nd December 2010.
A new route 104 was introduced on Sunday 16th April 2000. This was part of major revamp of Clontarf's operations. Routes 101 and 300 were withdrawn, while the 103 was rerouted to operate from Clontarf Dart Station to Omni Park Shopping Centre with a daytime Monday to Friday frequency of every 15mins. The 42A was given some Monday-Friday trips to Beaumont Hospital and the 51A was also down to be removed. However the actions of a prominant local politicion kept it fighting for another day.
Notice of changes that accompanied a large area guide issued.
The new 104s routing was as follows: Clontarf Dart Station, Alfie Byrne Road, Clontarf Road, Castle Avenue, Vernon Avenue, Sybil Hill Road, Brookwood Avenue, Gravefield Road, Malahide Road, Oscar Traynor Road, Kilmore Road, Kilbarron Road, Trim Road, Beaumont Hosptial, Beaumont Road, Shantalla Road, Swords Road, Omni Park Shopping Centre, Swords Road, Santry Avenue, Ballymun Road, Sillogue Road (Ballymun S.C.), Balbutcher Lane, Poppintree Park Lane West, Jamestown Road, Clune Road, Seamus Ennis Road, Mellows Road, Cappagh Road (terminating at Roundabout near Cappoge Cottages).
Map of new 103 and 104 Routes issued in area guide.
The new 103 and 104 were initially operated by the Volvo B6BLE/Wright minibuses, WV11-20. These buses had 99 reg plates and appeared on other routes prior to April 2000, though 19/20 were in storage until the route introduction.
Sometime between April and June 2001, the 103 saw its 15mins frequency removed and a new timetable was also introduced in the 104. There was slight reduction in frequency.
As of Monday 3rd March 2003 corresponding to date of introduction of Route 40D, the 40C was ammended with some of its departures terminating at Cappagh Hospital. The buses went into the hospital so it is likely that the 104 routing was ammended sometime around this date to also terminate in the hospital.
AV232 at Cappagh Hospital on the 13th June 2009 displaying the new Clontarf destination.
On Sunday 25th April 2004, a new 103 and 104 timetable were introduced. This saw heavy decreases in service for the 104 especially on a Saturday and Sunday.
The amalgamation of Routes 103 and 104 occured on the 10th May 2009 into new Route 104. This was part of a major network revamp caused by the recent downturn in the company's finances. The new route is operated by Double Deckers (though a couple of WVs were noted on it in its first month). The 230 series of AVs are allocated mostly, especially 230 and 232 as shown in this article. It now terminates in Clontarf Depot and a parking spot close to the entrance is reserved for the bus resting.
New Routing as of 10th May 2009.
The routing is as follows:
Clontarf Bus Depot, Clontarf Road, Castle Avenue, Blackheath Park, Vernon Avenue, Castle Avenue, Howth Road, Collins Avenue East, Malahide Road, Kilmore Road, Kilbarron Road, Trim Road, Beaumont Hospital, Trim Road, Kilbarron Road, Dundaniel Road, Oscar Traynor Road, Coolock Lane, Swords Road, Collins Avenue West, Collins Avenue Extension, Ballymun Road, Balbutcher Lane, Poppintree Park Lane West, Jamestown Road, Clune Road, Seamus Ennis Road, Mellows Road, Cappagh Road, Cappagh Hospital.
Note here that the stage in the timetable of Castletimon (Ballyshannon Road) is not actually served by the 104 and refers to the old 27B terminus at Castletimon. Copying and pasting stages!!
EV87 emerges from Cappagh Hospital on Route 104 on the 10th May 2009, its first day of new routing.
The 104 was given a new timetable as of Sunday the 17th May 2009.
AV232 outside Clontarf Depot on the 13th June 2009.
The 104 was reorganised as part of Network Direct with a new route beginning on the 11th September 2011. With this route went a number of sections of road which are now no longer served on the Dublin Bus network. The first is a Castle Avenue between the Clontarf Road and Clontarf Castle. This is the section of Vernon Avenue between Blackheath Avenue and the Sybil Hill Road, a section of road served only in recent times, firstly by Route 103, then by Route 104. Next comes Collins Avenue East. Collins Avenue East has had a bus service since June 1948, though its junction at Killester Village did provide a suitable terminus for Route 43 before that. The section between Howth Road and Clanhugh Road was not served until the 54s were extended there in the late 1970s. It was joined there in 1987 by Route 103 which operated the entire length of Collins Avenue. The first route to go was the 54s, which went in late 1988. The 20A soldiered on till 1997, when it was all but cancelled, selected departures on Route 20B now also serving Collins Avenue East. Both the 20A and 20B left in 1999 with the rerouting of Route 42A via the Malahide Road and Collins Avenue East. The 103, in one form or another, continued to serve this road until its withdrawal in May 2009, being replaced by Route 104. Collins Avenue East finally lost its service on the 10th September 2011 when both the 104 was rerouted and the 42A cancelled.
Clontarf's EV77 is seen on Collins Avenue East operating Route 104 on the 16th July 2011.
The next section of road to go is the section of the Kilmore Road from the Malahide Road to Tesco Artane. This was first added to the Network with the rerouting of Route 103 via Beaumont Hospital in 1991. The 103 continued to serve here until its withdrawal in 2009, being replaced by the rerouted 104. With the withdrawal of Route 104 the section in now unserved, however notable will be the number of light running 14's that still grace this road.
Clontarf's AV287 is seen operating Route 104 on the Kilmore Road on the 10th September 2011, the last day of Route 104 and this sections of road's service.
Collins Avenue Extension at DCU is now also unserved on the Dublin Bus Network, though still provides a suitable terminus for Bus Eireann's Route 109A service. Next up is a section of the Jamestown Road between Sycamore Avenue and Clune Road. Formerly the home of the 35, and the 40B, this section is now unserved.
Clontarf's AV94 is seen on the now unserved section of the Jamestown Road operating Route 104 on the 13th August 2011.
Last, but not least, was the picturesque terminus in Cappagh Hospital. Cappagh Hospital is now served only from the main Cappagh Road outside where the 17A, 40D and the 220 past, though it has been widely noted that the waiting facilities leave a lot to be desired. Coupled with the general low population in direct vicinity to the hospital and passing walking traffic, visitors and patients alike are expected to wait in one of Dublin's less reputable areas. The final two photos show night photos of the lovely Cappagh Terminus on the Hospital grounds. RV517 was a very special allocation, doing the last service on the Saturday evening, in its last few days of Clontarf service.
Clontarf's AV35 is seen at Cappagh Hospital having operated Route 104 on the 23rd February 2011.
Conyngham Road's RV517 is seen operating Route 104 at Cappagh Hospital during its short spell in Clontarf garage on the 13th November 2010.
The withdrawal of Route 42A brought about a significant change in Route 104, which basically became an old 101 extended to Clontarf Garage. Strangely the 104 has come full circle, originally being a variant of the 101 on a Sunday, then becoming an interworked service with the relaunched 103, then becoming its own route back in 2009 before finally replacing the 42A operating the vast majority of the old 101.
Clontarf's EV83 is seen on Tonlegee Avenue on the new Route 104 on the 11th September 2011. This bus operated the first 0900 104 departure, though is seen here on its last gallop to Ardlea Road on the 1300 104 after which it pulled in.
The new 104 brings in Donaghmede, something which the 101 also tried to do in an unsuccessful routing in 1996, something that was quickly returned back to Millbrook/Blunden Drive. Interestingly the 104 operates the old 101 routing through Edenmore instead of looping in and out to the Springdale Road as the former 42B / new 27A does. The full routing is as follows:
Clontarf Bus Garage, Clontarf Road, Mount Prospect Avenue, Seapark Road/Seafield Avenue, Seafield Road East, Vernon Avenue, Blackheath Park, Castle Avenue, Vernon Avenue, Sybill Hill Road, Brookwood Avenue, Harmonstown Road, Springdale Road, Edenmore Green, Edenmore Grove, Edenmore Park, Edenmore Avenue, Tonlegee Avenue, Tonglegee Road, Grange Road, Clare Hall Road, Malahide Road, Priorswood Road, Glin Road, Greencastle Road, Bunratty Road, Oscar Traynor Road, Kilmore Road, Kilbarron Road, Trim Road, Beaumont Hospital, Skelly's Lane, Kilmore Road, Ardlea Road, Maryfield Drive.
Clontarf's EV79 at the new 104 terminus on Maryfield Drive with a Route 14 service behind on the 11th September 2011.