AV93 on the 53A:
AV93 on the Alexandra Road having just operated the 0855 service from Eden Quay on the 21st May 2010.
AV93 was delivered to Conyngham Road late in 2000, the first of a 13 bus batch AV93-105. During the Harristown Changes of the 31st October 2004, AV93-103 moved from Conyngham Road to Phibsboro along with routes 26, 66/A/B and 67/A.
It was displaced from Phibsboro (Broadstone / Phibsboro 2) in early January 2008 returning to Conyngham Road with the delivery of VT21-70 to Phibsboro.With the May 2010 cutbacks, and inherent fleet shuffle, AV93 was transferred to Clontarf where a large number of 99-D RVs were being withdrawn.
AV93 at its Alexandra Road terminus preparing for a journey back to the city on the 21st May 2010. .
The terminus on Alexandra Road was changed in early 2008, something not well communicated at the time. The former terminus was on Alexandra Road, at the junction of Terminal Road South. The buses simply doing a U-turn at the junction. However, the Dublin Port Authority decided to remove a section of Alexandra Road between Breakwater Road and Terminal Road, allowing for extra container storage capacity. Thus the Alexandra Road services were cut back to the junction of Breakwater Road.
AV93 performing its U-turn at the gates of Irish Bitumen Storage Ltd, with the junction of BreakWater Road just behind on a foggy 21st May morning.
Due to the opening of the Port Tunnel in December 2006, the roads around the Port were realigned. The principal change was that the junction of the Tolka Quay Road and East Wall Road was closed off. This was due to the large traffic increase caused by the Port Tunnel finishing at this point. A new interchange with the Port Tunnel Road was made at Promenade Road.
For the 53A services to and from Alexandra Road, the bus can use East Wall Road and Alexandra Road. For the 53 it is a bit more complicated, due to right turns not being allowed from Alexandra Road to East Wall Road. The bus therefore turns right off Alexandra Road at 1 Branch Road North and then onto Tolka Quay Road. It would previously have exited from this road, but with it now being closed off, the bus turns right off 1 Branch Road North onto Tolka Quay Road, then left onto Bond Drive, left again onto Promenade Road, left onto Bond Road leading onto the Port Tunnel Road where it takes a right onto East Wall Road.
All Route 53A services from the city return as a 53, and all 53A services to city operate to Alexandra Road as a Route 53. AV93 operated the 0855 53A service from Eden Quay on the 21st May 2010, returning as the 0920 53 to City.
AV93 operating the 0920 53 service from Alexandra Road is seen on Tolka Quay Road on the 21st May 2010.