A NEW 24-HOUR bus service is rolling out in Dublin from next weekend as part of improvements being made to several Dublin Bus routes.

The 39a, which travels between Ongar and UCD Belfield, is to become the third 24-hour Dublin Bus route from Sunday, 13 December.

Buses will run along the route every half hour between 11.30pm and 5am. 

The 1, 9, 13, 14, 39, 40, and 83 buses have also been allocated funding to increase off-peak departures and improve their frequency.  

Across those routes, an additional 824 departures are expected each week.

Eighty additional jobs have been created to service the routes, which have been funded through a €4.9 million in funding from the Government’s July stimulus plan.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said that “as we look forward to a post-Covid future, it is important that we resource our public transport system for the recovery”.

“These new services will give passengers more choices and more flexibility and will also see the creation of 80 new jobs,” the minister said.

Last year, the 41 and 15 buses became Dublin Bus’ first 24-hour services.

Both of the services run every half hour during the night.

Plans to develop additional 24-hour services were halted earlier this year when the chief executive of the National Transport Authority, Anne Graham, said that the loss of fare revenue during Covid-19 has increased the need for additional funding, which she did not expect would be available this year.

Graham has said that 24-hour services reflect that “the manner in which Dublin functions as a city has shifted and it is no longer the case that the city shuts down at 11 or 12 at night”.

Similarly, Ray Coyne, the chief executive of Dublin Bus, said that the services “enable customers to make the most of the city at night, quickly and safety, and provide a much-needed service for early morning workers”.