RV479 and RV573 on the first day of Route 78
On Monday 11th August 2003, Dublin Bus introduced a new Route 78 service linking the Liffey Valley Centre in Clondalkin with the City Centre. This was an addition to the existing Route 78A but with a quicker routing via Heuston Station and the Quays at peak times on weekdays.
The number used was resurrected from a former 78 service between Ballyfermot and the City Centre which operated from 1953 to 1994 and never disappeared from Conyngham Road scrolls even when the original service was cancelled.
It took a little time for the new service to establish its own identity.
For years, many people referred to the existing 78A as simply '78'.
I heard a story one day from my sister who used the service into the city centre.
When the 78 proceeded up Con Colbert Road, as opposed to the 78A turning right at Sarsfield Road,
one unenlightened denizen asked the driver:
'Where ya goin' bud, is this not a 78?' to which the bemused driver replied, simply and correctly 'Yes'!