Transport within Dublin
In Dublin, there are a few different transportation options. Here, we've included some info on the Dublin Bike system, Dublin Bus, the LUAS (light rail) and the DART (coastal commuter rail).
There is the new Dublin Bike system - implemented just last year, this scheme has been very popular and very successful. It's very to easy to set up as a visitor! http://www.dublinbikes.ie/
Dublin Bus is unreliable and difficult, yet unfortunately it is sometimes necessary! Within the city centre the bus stops are well marked and have adequate information, but heading anywhere else it is best to tell the driver where you want to go. You pay on the bus and no change is given. However, if you are owed changed, you can hang onto your ticket and collect your change at the Dublin Bus headquarters on O'Connell Street. Also, note that times listed at bus stops are not telling you when the bus is arriving at that particular stop, but when the bus was scheduled to leave its point of origin. The newly introduced automated signs that tell you how long until the next bus are often unreliable. For more information and timetables/routes, visit the Dublin Bus website.
The LUAS - Dublin's light rail system. The LUAS is a reliable and comfortable mode of transportation though not particularly helpful for visitors to Dublin.
There are two routes - the red and the green.
The red runs from the "Point" (out towards Dublin Port on the North side of the Liffey) through Connolly Station, O'Connell Street, Four Courts, the National Museum at Collins Barracks, the main train station on the west side of the city (Heuston Station), near the Guinness Brewery (James Hospital stop), near Kilmainham Goal (the Suir Rd stop), and then continues out west along the grand canal.
The green line begins at St. Stephen's Green and runs directly south through the southern neighbourhoods and suburbs. This line takes you to the pleasant village of Ranelagh and onto the large shopping area of Dundrum, then on to other southern points such as the Sandyford Industrial Estate.
For more info on the LUAS, visit http://www.luas.ie/
There is also the commuter rail, the "DART" (http://www.irishrail.ie/). The DART runs along the coast from the lovely fishing village of Howth (about 25 mins from Connolly Station) through City Centre (stops behind TCD at Pearse Street) and down through the wonderful seaside towns of Bray and Greystones. The DART would bring you to the "Casino Marino" (Stop: Clontarf), the new Aviva stadium (Stop: Landsdowne Road), Sandymount Strand (Stop: Sandymount), the ferry terminal at Dun Laoghaire (Stop: Dun Laoghaire) and the James Joyce Museum (Stop: Sandycove/Glasthule), among other things.
