Dualway continues to develop

South Co. Dublin independent Dualway continue to expand and develop their fleet, with new service, city tour and coaching vehicles being added. Their older fleet is also of interest.

Above: 08-D-30, the first 08-reg decker to go into service in Dublin. (click on any photo for fullsize version). Dualway were the first to run lowfloor accessible buses on the city tour, and add at least one new lowfloor opentopper per year. This year’s delivery, an East Lancs bodied Volvo B9TL is the first to feature visual commentary for the hard of hearing, and to include Irish in the choice of languages on multilingual tours.

Above: Former Dublin Bus Olympian RA257 is retained in closed-top format for the time being, but may be open-topped later in the year.

Above: ex London United RML2720 is under conversion for special operations / publicity.

Above: 99-D-28988, an East Lancs Volvo Olympian used for private hire and tours, including contract work for Coca Cola.

Above: Dualway’s continued expansion has resulted in a need for further depot space, and a substantial extension to the parking area at the Rathcoole depot has recently come into operation, currently used to store the older “classic” members of the fleet, and recent acquisitions, making space in the main area for regular operational vehicles.

Ex-Dublin Bus RA299, recently acquired and awaiting overhaul or conversion, is currently stored in this new part of the depot.

Flybus launched by Minister

Transport Minister Noel Dempsey has officially launched the new FlyBus service linking Tallaght with Dublin Airport.

(left to right: Tony McConn of Dualway, Paddy Kavanagh of Eirebus, and Transport Minister Noel Dempsey cutting the ribbon to launch the new coach link)

Two of the Republic’s best known independent operators teamed up today to launch a new jointly operated service providing a high quality coach link between south county Dublin and Dublin Airport.

Dualway Coaches and Eirebus have worked together to start the new Flybus service, which will provide an hourly link between Tallaght, Clondalkin, Liffey Valley and the Airport via the M50 motorway. The service runs from 4am to 9pm.

3 new Mercedes Plaxton minicoaches fitted with 29 reclining seats will provide capacity for up to 8000 passenger journeys a week, and plans are in hand to further develop the service, according to Dualway Coaches founder Tony McConn.

“We have an initial investment in the service of nearly one million euro and have created 10 jobs, and we may increase frequency and could create another 10 jobs by the end of the year”.
Officially launching the service, Transport Minister Noel Dempsey paid tribute to the two operators as showcasing the finest that the private sector can offer, and said he was proud to be associated with the launch.

“As politicians we like to be associated with excellence, and that’s one of the things that you can say about the two operators involved in this venture, Dualway have won numerous awards for excellence, they are a serious company, a family run company who know what they are doing, and Eirebus who have many many years experience operating coach services are another fine example of the private sector”

More ex-DB Olympians find home at Dualways

While visiting Dualway to file a report for CBW Magazine on new additions to their very fine coaching fleet, I unexpectedly came across some old friends from the Bus Atha Cliath fleet in exile.

Dualway has built up quite a fleet of former Dublin Bus RH types, but they are now acquiring some of the more modern RA (Volvo) Olympians now that these are being sold by Dublin Bus.

ex-RA273 – click for fullsize image

Former Clontarf bus RA273, which hung on in service on the 130 route until very recently, has already had its open-top conversion and repaint, and looks just about ready to go on the road.

Dualway do most of their own engineering work, and to a very high standard too.

Note the 3-bay-covered conversion – given the huge amount of rain we had last summer, you can’t blame the company for hedging their bets!

Former Donnybrook bus RA256 is next to get attention, and is seen here in the workshop at the assessment stage.

Sister vehicle RA257 is also acquired, and is currently stored in the depot pending refurbishment.

Dualway also has a growing fleet of purpose-built lowfloor accessible open-toppers, with another due to arrive shortly, but these were all out earning their keep while I was there.

The above shot shows one of Dualways covered-top lowfloor buses, and some of the Routemasters acquired for sightseeing work a couple of years ago – use of these tends to be seasonal, and for special events.

Finally, I musn’t forget to mention the coach I had come to see, a new 08-registered MarcoPolo/DAF which has just joined the coaching fleet. Dualway do a lot of private hire and some corporate coaching, and have built up a quality fleet of modern coaches, all bought new, over the last several years.

As well as sight-seeing and coaching, the firm operates local services in southwest Dublin, particularly around Tallaght and Rathcoole, and has lowfloor accessible single-deck buses as well as the double-decks.

All in all, a firm to watch, with nice mix of the modern and the classic, and setting the standards for the best in private operation.