Dublin Bus Mythbuster

s8080 · 21-10-2014 11:45am #1

You will be delighted to know this forum has developed a bit of a cult following in the dublin bus canteen.
The hate for dublin bus drivers that jumps off the screen is palatable, along with the complete ignorance of how things work, some really don’t have the foggiest idea how real world is.

So i see two discussions here today, the first one about smelly food on the bus, people complain about it and in the same post admit that they bring on smell food as well. Why complain when you do it as well?

second one is about a passenger wanting to travel for free on the bus, the driver would not let them. passenger was offended that they did not get to travel for free. Please tell us where you do your grocery shopping, so we can fill our trolly up and walk out of the shop without paying.
The same posters who believe the passenger should have been let on for free will be on here complaining about fare increases .Well what do you want, if people travel for free ,someone has to pay for it.

When a passenger trys to get on without out paying they usually go on a rant about how” rude the driver is , you so aggressive, i feel scared.”
here is how it really went down, passenger has no money on leap card,
Driver- there is no money on the card
Passenger- i just put 20 on it in the shop
D- well it on on it now
P- this is ridiculous i put the money on it 10 minutes ago in the shop
D- well don’t be angry with me , go back to the shop and sort it out there
P- your so rude, no need to be so aggressive ,(if a woman) your scaring me with your anger)
D-well there is no money on the card, you will have to buy a ticket
P- (Oscar worthy display on righteous indignation). no need to be so aggressive
D-(thinking to themselves , here we go the big oscar worthy scene is coming,they will make a scene, try embarrass the driver and they will let me on for free.)

When the driver don’t let them on for free they usually blow a fuse call the driver names, and possible come here to spout lies.

Not once in the whole event will the driver have done anything wrong, no anger, no aggression, just a familiar weariness of how this will play out.
Thats the truth of the matter, you know it as well, if you are a passenger you have most likely seen it play out exactly like this dozens of times.

So put up more uninformed lies and i shall shoot them down.

LuckyLloyd · 21-10-2014 12:04pm

Bear in mind that some regulars on the forum such as myself generally post positively about Dublin Bus services. I personally think a good and ever improving service is offered and feel that many of the criticisms recycled on here are often incorrect.

Just in the interests of balance - we aren't all wielding pitchforks!

Tiger Mcilroy · 21-10-2014 12:59pm

This is a perfect example of the attitude from drivers that put people off using the bus.

pclive · 21-10-2014 1:35pm

s8080 whats your take on operating the rear doors?

s8080 · 21-10-2014 1:43pm

Tiger Mcilroy wrote: »

This is a perfect example of the attitude from drivers that put people off using the bus.

these type of post are why a drivers have a good laugh at some of the post here.

What was wrong with the drivers attitude?
He would not let a passenger travel for free, do you think those passengers who already payed or those in the queue waiting to buy a ticket will be happy he traveled for free while they paid?
Driver done nothing wrong , yet some wont accept it.

A perfect example of the double standards on display here,
"i should be able to eat smelly food, i should be able to travel for free" but no one else

JustAddWater · 21-10-2014 1:46pm

s8080 wrote: »

these type of post are why a drivers have a good laugh at some of the post here.

What was wrong with the drivers attitude?
He would not let a passenger travel for free, do you think those passengers who already payed or those in the queue waiting to buy a ticket will be happy he traveled for free while they paid?
Driver done nothing wrong , yet some wont accept it.

A perfect example of the double standards on display here,
"i should be able to eat smelly food, i should be able to travel for free" but no one else

It's not what you say but how you say it

messrs · 21-10-2014 1:53pm

Going on personal experience of using Dublin Bus, id say its 90% good 10% bad, your always going to get some drivers who are rude ect but for the most part they are fine. The amount of abuse drivers have to put up with from passengers is unreal, the '13' would be the bus I use the most and there have been times where I don't know how the driver kept calm and didn't abuse the passenger, at the end of the day bus drivers are just doing their job. They can have bad days 2, just like the rest of us, but if they take that out on anyone then then they are considered rude/abusive ect

Tiger Mcilroy · 21-10-2014 1:54pm

s8080 wrote: »

these type of post are why a drivers have a good laugh at some of the post here.

What was wrong with the drivers attitude?
He would not let a passenger travel for free, do you think those passengers who already payed or those in the queue waiting to buy a ticket will be happy he traveled for free while they paid?
Driver done nothing wrong , yet some wont accept it.

A perfect example of the double standards on display here,
"i should be able to eat smelly food, i should be able to travel for free" but no one else

I have no issue with the driver your talking about and never said or posted that, its your attitude that stinks.

solomafioso · 21-10-2014 1:55pm

This thread is going to end in disaster. It's already starting off as a us vs them argument.

Posting here will just feed any trolls who will want to derail this thread as a personal vendetta against Dublin Bus.

s8080 · 21-10-2014 1:59pm

JustAddWater wrote: »

It's not what you say but how you say it

i not using fancy words that could not be misinterpret, just plain english, my answers donthave a hidden meaning or cannot be twisted to back up a agenda.
I have nothing to hide, you know most of the storys here are exaggerated, totally ridiculous fantasy only in the head of the posters.

s8080 · 21-10-2014 2:02pm

Tiger Mcilroy wrote: »

I have no issue with the driver your talking about and never said or posted that, its your attitude that stinks.

so you have a issue with the truth?
no bad attitude from me, just want to give you the honest truth.

s8080 · 21-10-2014 2:04pm

pclive wrote: »

s8080 whats your take on operating the rear doors?

rear doors are great, if you can pull the bus in close to the kerb. Not possible at a lot of stops in city centre.

s8080 · 21-10-2014 2:05pm

solomafioso wrote: »

This thread is going to end in disaster. It's already starting off as a us vs them argument.

Posting here will just feed any trolls who will want to derail this thread as a personal vendetta against Dublin Bus.

i dont want this to be a us v them discussion, i just want to inform people here on what is really happening. i have no hidden agenda

biko · 21-10-2014 2:06pm

It seems to me many passengers have a general problem with rude drivers.
The problem is (sometimes) that the driver may not be rude at all but the passenger feels hard done by for whatever reason and contributes this to "rudeness".

And of course happy passengers won't log on to boards to share how they have travelled with the same bus for months with no complaints, whereas all you need is one angry passenger to do so.

Tiger Mcilroy · 21-10-2014 2:07pm

solomafioso wrote: »

This thread is going to end in disaster. It's already starting off as a us vs them argument.

Posting here will just feed any trolls who will want to derail this thread as a personal vendetta against Dublin Bus.

This thread will end in disaster as the OP has come out on the offensive straight away and his stance is very clearly outlined in the quote below. If there is to be an open and respectful exchange of views then maybe the OP should start again.

The hate for dublin bus drivers that jumps off the screen is palatable, along with the complete ignorance of how things work, some really don’t have the foggiest idea how real world is.

biko · 21-10-2014 2:10pm

Bold and underlined - easy there Tiger

JustAddWater · 21-10-2014 2:12pm

s8080 wrote: »

i not using fancy words that could not be misinterpret, just plain english, my answers donthave a hidden meaning or cannot be twisted to back up a agenda.
I have nothing to hide, you know most of the storys here are exaggerated, totally ridiculous fantasy only in the head of the posters.

Not saying you, but have seen cases where the bus driver says, ain't my problem, basically, walk home and deal with it.
Issues happen and some drivers seem to be lacking any sympathy to people with problems

Driving a bus is on part of the job. Dealing with customers seems to be forgotten as another part of the job

messrs · 21-10-2014 2:12pm

biko wrote: »

It seems to me many passengers have a general problem with rude drivers.
The problem is (sometimes) that the driver may not be rude at all but the passenger feels hard done by for whatever reason and contributes this to "rudeness".

And of course happy passengers won't log on to boards to share how they have travelled with the same bus for months with no complaints, whereas all you need is one angry passenger to do so.

I am a happy passenger & I commented above to say that, and that majority of drives are nice.

Tiger Mcilroy · 21-10-2014 2:13pm

biko wrote: »

Bold and underlined - easy there Tiger

Well apparently anybody posting a negative experience about dublin bus or a driver is tantamount to hate and they are liars and not in the real world..:eek:

jimmii · 21-10-2014 2:16pm

I use the 40/140 a fair bit and haven't got a bad word to say about any drivers over the last 2 years using that service often amazed how well they keep their cool with all the people who just try and quickly push on or those who think they can just put a euro in and go to Ikea and then when asked pretend oh thought it was a euro thats all I have. It would save drivers a lot of hassle to just let them all go so fair play to them for taking these people on when they are trying it.

Mikros · 21-10-2014 9:08pm

Well for what it's worth I find Dublin Bus drivers are generally helpful and considerate. It's been a long while since I remember seeing anything other than professionalism and I get a bus several times a week.

My problems would be with the fare structure, excessive bus stops on some routes, policing of bus lanes, timetables and the lack of late night buses. But none of that is down to the driver so I wouldn't hold it against them.

MattD1349 · 21-10-2014 9:38pm

Tiger Mcilroy wrote: »

I have no issue with the driver your talking about and never said or posted that, its your attitude that stinks.

if you think his attitude stinks then maybe you should smell his fingers... ðŸ˜†

Couldn't resist! Seriously though, people have a job to do. Bus drivers aren't there to be used as other people's voodoo dolls anymore than passengers are. Good and bad everywhere.

s8080 · 21-10-2014 10:34pm

so the dublin bus rush hour post.

People complaining about no room on the bus as it passes by without stopping, "dublin bus are a disgrace not putting on extra buses to carry the passengers, they are leaving loads of money at the side of the road."

Dublin bus are well aware of this and would like nothing better than to put on extra buses. Truth is they are forbidden by the NTA to put on extra buses.

Remember folks dont let the truth get in the way when you want to give out about dublin bus.

keith16 · 21-10-2014 10:37pm

My experiences with Dublin bus are generally good. The network / timetabling / payment system could always be better. But that's hardly the fault of the bus driver.

BabysCoffee · 21-10-2014 10:40pm

Today I was on a bus. There was a lady standing at the middle door. When the bus stopped she shouted "Middle Door". The driver didn't open it so she went up front and got off there.

What's that about?

ClovenHoof · 21-10-2014 10:41pm

I do not hate Dublin B us drivers.

I just expect a level of customer service across the board with the scumbag and incompetent drivers sacked for their often disgusting behaviour towards passengers and not the 90% of the decent drivers forming a protective ring around these dirtbags/deadbeats and screaming 'Larkin!!! Larkin!!!' towards any hint of personal accountability for wrong doing.

Kalimah · 21-10-2014 10:45pm

Have to say I find Dublin Bus a very good service. Polite helpful drivers on the 15 route anyway! One even had classical music on one morning heading into town. Kept him sane I'd say!
Not an easy job by any means.

RobbingBandit · 21-10-2014 10:45pm

Had an issue a while back two buses turned up at once, one stopped about 20 metres behind the other let his passengers off and wouldn't let any on closing his door and drove off, the other bus was crowded and ended up leaving many behind me included. Stupid imo to have two buses in such close proximity timewise(17:45 iirc) on the same route(39a btw).

21-10-2014 10:51pm

have to say generally have good experiences on DB,
I do feel for the drivers in those situations where people want to get on for free or don't have enough change no matter what its always going to end up with them saying the drivers attitude stinks or something to that effect,
its like people getting ID 'd for smokes or drink in shops they don't have ID so they give abuse $:\$

s8080 · 21-10-2014 11:11pm

i will post in broad terms to try keep it simple

Dublin bus has never been busier, the NTA will say passengers numbers are down, the reality is different.

NTA will say 1,000,000 passengers a week 5 years ago, only 900,000 today.
sounds good but dig deeper 5 years ago the fleet was 1,000 buses , today 800.
The NTA are not lying jut economical with the truth.

Free travel pass users has exploded, they are not counted.only fare paying passengers.

Now this is where the piece of junk ticket machines come into it.
Just as the bus services of europe where scrapping these machines, the NTA where spending million to bring them to dublin bus.
As everyone who has ever used one can see they are not up to the job, well not the job you would expect them to do.
If you wanted a way to under report the number of passengers they are perfect, at a conservative estimate i would say 6 hours a week they dont work, validator beside door out of service, and leap card users travel for free.
Then you have the leap tranactions at the drivers machine, dozens of times per day, Bad read/faulty update messages pop up after a ticket has supposedly been purchase and the passenger has walked away. Passengers traveling for free. None of these passengers are recorded as using the bus.

Great news you say , free travel. Think again.

ESB was the only source of electrity in ireland, govermnent said competition would be good for all of us.
ESB ordered to raise price of electricy from 10c a unit to 15c.
Now new companies sell electricy at 14c a unit, government says look competition good, you get electricty cheaper than of ESB.
We are paying 40% more than we would if the ESB did not have "competition"

Whats this got to do with dublin bus you ask, well if passenger numbers are down (they are most definatly not)
More free travel passes and faulty ticket machines ensure the numbers appear to be down.The NTA will raise ticket prices to balance the books.
So next year the max fare will be E3.50. Then the private operators appear to save the day with competition and bring cheaper fares, expect around E3.30.
You will be delighted you are paying less than the dublin bus fare, but fail to see if the NTA and government where not interfering you would only be paying E2.50

s8080 · 21-10-2014 11:13pm

Mikros wrote: »

My problems would be with the fare structure, excessive bus stops on some routes, policing of bus lanes, timetables and the lack of late night buses. But none of that is down to the driver so I wouldn't hold it against them.

These are all out of dublin buses control, blame the NTA for them all except the policing of bus lanes.

Dublin Bus Mythbuster

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