The Luas

Cheap transportation through out the city — they are working on building out the network, so the promise of even better connection lurks in the future.
Currently the Luas works just well, with the odd encounter of people in the weirdest stages of life. It really gives colour to the dublin experience.

The Luas is a good idea… in principle. I never understood why the two Luas lines were not connected. It does not make sense. Also their size are not big enough when they run during rush hour which can be a pain. Other than that it is a nice way to travel around the city. You get a sense of where you are and they are not very noisy. And for the stretches that they run, they are convenient I just wish there were more of them both in length and the amount of lines running.

Probably because I’m sick and tired of the urine-​caked seats and the often-​foul odors that contaminate my city’s most famous metro system (BART), I am genuinely envious of other cities’ public transit systems, especially those I’ve experienced in Europe, because they are usually a marked improvement over what we have in San Francisco. Case in point: Dublin has an excellent light rail tram called the Luas, a public transit system that worked really well for me when I was staying in a hotel down south near Sandyford in October.
Now BART has been around since 1972, so I would begrudgingly expect the sadly frequent breakdowns that occur at the most inopportune times. However, the Luas has been open only since 2004, and I immediately noticed how clean the cars look and how smoothly they operated (see photos). I took the Green Line from Kilmacud, and my journey would take about fifteen minutes to the terminus at St. Stephen’s Green right near Grafton Street. No breakdowns, no inordinate waiting at subsequent stations. Tickets cost € 4.50 round trip from my zone (Green Zone 3).
Like most of Europe, payment works on the honor system in which a conductor may periodically show up and validate that you are indeed a paying passenger. There’s an abundance of standing poles and folding seats to accommodate the rush hour traffic, a smart design move which I wish they would replicate in San Francisco. Currently the Red and Green Lines don’t intersect, but that’s part of the long-​term plan. For now, Dublin can stand alongside Copenhagen, Lisbon, Barcelona and the other European transit systems that make me want to kick the collective derrieres of the BART Board of Directors.

As a regular visitor from NY, I enjoy using Luas (a tram system), both Red and Green lines. When combined with a short walk, great alternative to taxis. Regularly use it to get around Dublin. Abundant windows provide great views of the city at street level (pic uploaded).
Station signage tells you wait time, usually measured in minutes (pic uploaded). Youths can be loud at times, but I feel safe using it.
If I lived there… I’d feel frustrated. Luas is slow. Operates at street level (though traffic lights are synced with Luan). Concept of an express train would not work since tram must stop at every station. The two lines don’t connect with each other. And Luas fails to connect with the airport.
As a modern city, Dublin needs a rapid transit below ground.
Tip: Luas operates on the honor system. Buy your ticket before boarding. Pay attention to the zones you will be traveling. During my 6 Dublin visits, I have been subject to two random inspections for proof of payment. Did not see anyone removed and taken to the gallows :)

What a lovely way to see Ireland on the cheap! I can’t comment on the everyday use… I only used it to get to the coastal towns outside of Dublin, but I didn’t have to wait long before I caught a train.
We rode to the north coast to a small town. Freezing outside, but had a good bowl of chowder and a pint to warm our bones!
nice ride!

A good public transit system needs two things: frequency and reliability. Everything else is a bonus. You might complain that the Luas doesn’t serve your neighborhood or that the two lines don’t connect, but for the people it serves, it does a fantastic job. Yes, it could be improved. Hopefully it will be. An expansion into other neighborhoods would, I am sure, be well received.
But as it stands, it runs every 3 – 4 minutes during rush hour with almost 100% reliability. For those with access, that makes it infinitely better than driving. And for those forced to drive, the cars this train removes from the road ought to make your life easier as well.

I really like catching the luas. I’ll concede it has its bad points and that it’s madness that the two lines don’t connect (who thought up THAT brilliant idea??), but everyone else has written about that already so I won’t harp on about it.
If you need to get from one place that happens to have a luas stop to another place that also happens to have a luas stop, it is without a doubt the best way to travel. It’s brand new, looks nice, smells nice (mostly) and its services are very regular (every 10 mins or so normally and every 2 – 4 mins during peak hour).
I still find it a novelty to travel by luas (we don’t have trams where I come from!) and there just happens to be a luas stop nearby my place, so it is pretty handy for me!
It’s also a good way for a visitor to Dublin to get a bit of an idea of the different areas of town. The journey from Stephens Green to Sandyford is quite picturesque, and the Connolly to Tallaght gives an impression of just how spread out this city is.

Sorry Mr. Powers-​that-​be-​person (I do realise that it could be a missus too by the way, just hedging my bets), but the LUAS has not lived up to expectations. Yes, it’s handy if you live in one or two very specific areas of Dublin that are, admittedly, ill-​served by alternative modes of transportation. But that does not effective public transport make. It’s also disgustingly expensive, preying on our susceptibility for copious amounts of rainfall mixed with inherent laziness to charge such astronomical prices as € 1.90 (SINGLE!!!) to Ranelagh. 3 stops that would take maybe half an hour to walk, and they think it’s ok to charge that? Come on now…
I do have to defend one aspect of it that’s coming under fire however… the fact that the red and green lines don’t match up. That’s because they want to cross the line in front of Trinity on College Green. Forgive me, but I would prefer to walk for 5 minutes than see the desecration of Trinity’s façade. You’d think the planners could come up with some other idea (must have gone to UCD), but until they do, let’s not let our desire for convenience get in the way of the view of Trinity when walking down Dame St…

The Luas is a microcosm of how we messed up the Celtic Tiger. It cost a wad of public money, but remains privately owned. It skips around housing estates which it was originally designed to serve. Fares are extortionate. Even if they wanted to link the lines up they’re different sizes, and so can’t.
But most of all, it goes nowhere near my house and is therefore completely useless to me. Unless of course I brake my legs or develop chronic laziness and can then somehow justify getting it around town.

Dublin Light Rail, light fingered you mean! From Dundrum to Stephen’s Green it is 2.30euro for an adult one way ticket! Get on yer bike! OK, it is a cool design and comfortable to ride and it looks slick but it is expensive and it is not very convenient for many people! What it needs is more lines, more passengers and then maybe it can afford to lower its prices and allow more people to make use of this service!

I feel very lukewarm about the Luas and oscillate between appreciating and disliking it depending on the day.
Called affectionately the Daniel Day (get it? Daniel Day Lewis!) by some Dubs, this rail system was built less than four years ago with the goal of facilitating travel to the major hubs of the city.
In my opinion though, it hasn’t reached its maximum potential. I know that the city is still working on improving it by adding more stations and prolonging its circuit but I think that they should work on connecting the red and green lines. It’s very annoying when you find yourself at one Luas station wanting to connect to another but you can’t. Although you paid for one line, you have to pay for another and the worse is you have to get off at some random stop and walk far to catch the Luas elsewhere. C’mon people!
Also, the prices for the Luas are ridiculous, the minimum being 1.40 and that doesn’t even pay for your return or for a transfer.

The Luas, Dublin’s light rail tram system, is an efficient and fast way of getting around the city and its outer-​reaches. It is clean, both environmentally and aesthetically, and it connects nicely with important points like Connolly Station, Heuston Station, St. Stephen’s Green, Dundrum and Tallaght. Its biggest flaw is that it fails to connect up with itself in the city, forcing commuters to traipse across the city to meet the next Luas line.
It’s not cheap and, as with all public transport options, buying monthly or weekly is advised. The Luas line continues to expand in all directions so it could be coming to a neighbourhood near you!

Ok, it’s not really fair to review something like this when you’re not a local and have only ridden it a handful of times, but I think Dubliners should remember if they are ever feeling down on their system (all citizens of major cities do it!) that it takes dedication to put in a new public transportation system. We need more public transport and I think it’s great that Dublin took the plunge, keeping the mix of old and new.

It’s not expansive, and the two lines really NEED to connect to one another, but it is a good option for getting around Dublin City as a tourist. It is clean and fast.

Luas apparently means ‘speed’ in Irish and this light rail system, Dublin’s most modern piece of public transport infrastructure, is certainly speedy, efficient, and great to use. There are two lines: red, which runs from the city centre west towards Tallaght, and green, which runs from Stephen’s Green south towards Sandyford. The only problem is that the two lines are in no way interconnected (although it’s in the pipeline), but if you live on one of the lines and want to go into town it’s fantastic. Tickets are between € 2 and € 5, depending on how far you’re going. The trams are modern and clean, and the frequency is amazing. They do get crowded at peak periods and there are stories of infrequent pickpocketing, especially during busy times. Keep an eye on your valuables, relax, and ride in style.