Bus Eireann N3/M3 Corridor Route & Timetable Changes - Phase 3

LXFlyer wrote: »

For clarity I said that the previous notices that were on the website are in the archive.

Those NX service cancellations weren't on the website at all in the first place which clearly isn't good enough.

And in the interests of clarity I was agreeing with you that the NX cancellations were certainly not notified . Tks

tom23 wrote: »

It seems that way. Not a great time for commuters of Navan if you ask me.

Not a great time for commuters to and from Dublin and Dunshaughlin, Kells, Cavan, Ashbourne, Ratoath, Wicklow, Athboy, Dublin Airport, Kildare, or anywhere else in between - which have all been affected - either.

The 111, 126 and 133 services have been affected by the recent cancellations, as well as the 109, NX, 109X and 109 services. There were cancellations between Kildare and Dublin, Wicklow and Dublin, Wicklow and Dublin Airport, and Athboy and Dublin.

Now that it has been clearly established that listings of cancellations are available on the website for perusal, what I have just stated can be easily verified.

devnull wrote: »

It goes without saying though the the levels of sickness being 12% is massive.

What is the sick scheme like in Bus Eireann. Do things like self certified days with full pay still happen there?



Do Dublin Bus really have spare drivers to be able to do that?

It's 4 days per year only with 2 in each quarter. Anything after that is unpaid.

That 12% figure was not an issue before, taking into account long term sick etc, it's nothing new to anyone until they introduced these new routes and times

Dublin bus do have spare drivers in summerhill, there will be a timetable change on the airlinks for winter I believe

devnull wrote: »

It goes without saying though the the levels of sickness being 12% is massive.

What is the sick scheme like in Bus Eireann. Do things like self certified days with full pay still happen there?



Do Dublin Bus really have spare drivers to be able to do that?

I would doubt it very much. Why would BE bring in such a huge change to 109 without be adequately resourced?

Ryanair have a target on time arrival of 90%. Surely BE have targets and surely the NTA are monitoring BE service standards?

Whoever is monitoring BE service standards should be challenged to look at the appalling service levels on the Navan - Dublin route.

From what I hear on this thread there is definite issues that have only arisen in the past weeks. I never heard of these levels of cancellations before.

Cannon_fodder wrote: »

Ryanair have a target on time arrival of 90%. Surely BE have targets and surely the NTA are monitoring BE service standards?

Whoever is monitoring BE service standards should be challenged to look at the appalling service levels on the Navan - Dublin route.

From what I hear on this thread there is definite issues that have only arisen in the past weeks. I never heard of these levels of cancellations before.

It would appear, going by what was stated in the following posts, by the poster Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime, that not all the resources were put in place before the NX began operating:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=104774399&postcount=27

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=104818669&postcount=159

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=104774572&postcount=30

tom23 wrote: »

I would hope if people are complaining to BE they are including NTA and their local public representatives. Damien English and Regina Doherty Should be taking close interest in this.

Regina Doherty isn't even familiar with the routes of her own local bus services so I wouldn't be expecting too much pro-activeness from her.

Bus users own testimony, sent in by bus users, I think, would be far stronger.

Public representatives who don't use bus services, wouldn't be able to speak with any authority, as they wouldn't be familiar with how the services operate each day.

I saw Damien English on the 109N, once or twice, about 12 or 13 years ago, but that service is no more, now that the 109A leaves hourly at night to and from Kells and Bus Áras!:)

Here is Regina Doherty in January 2016 telling us how awful it is that the 105 will no longer serve Kentstown and Duleek, to and from Dublin, despite the fact that the 105 did not serve Kentstown or Duleek, at the time she issued this press statement, in January 2016.

What she said, would be like saying how terrible it is that, that with the recent changes to the 109, that the 109 will no longer serve Trim!:)

The statement begins as follows:

"Fine Gael TD for Meath East, Regina Doherty, has called on Bus Eireann to reverse proposed changes to Route 105 which will see the new terminus at Connolly Hospital and will no longer bring commuters from Duleek, Kentstown, Ashbourne, and Ratoath to the city centre".

http://reginadoherty.blogspot.ie/2016/01/doherty-calls-for-reversal-of-proposed.html

devnull wrote: »

Today's update

Would be great if DB had a page on their website that you could check for cancellations rather than having to wait for the RTPI to count down, bus disappear from the screen and then be told the bus did not operate due to operational reasons when you contact them on twitter.

tom23 wrote: »

I would hope if people are complaining to BE they are including NTA and their local public representatives. Damien English and Regina Doherty Should be taking close interest in this.

Couldn't agree more Tom. All email correspondence to NTA and BE should be ccing the powers that be.

They are public representatives and this is a public service affecting their constituents regardless of whether they have first hand experience of the issues or otherwise

The fact that they mightn't use the services themselves is all the more reason to keep then in the loop , and educate them as to the issues people are facing day to day.

As an aside a neighbor told me they were opposite Shane Cassells on it last week

Commuter109 wrote: »

Couldn't agree more Tom. All email correspondence to NTA and BE should be ccing the powers that be.

They are public representatives and this is a public service affecting their constituents regardless of whether they have first hand experience of the issues or otherwise

The fact that they mightn't use the services themselves is all the more reason to keep then in the loop , and educate them as to the issues people are facing day to day.

As an aside a neighbor told me they were opposite Shane Cassells on it last week

I can see your point about keeping public representatives informed, but in the case of Regina Doherty, she was receiving correspondence from bus users, and still managed to get her January 2016 public statement arseways.

In her first press statement on Friday 15th January 2016, about the 105 service, she seemed to think that Bus Éireann was going to end completely, a service between Ratoath, Ashbourne and Dublin City Centre.

She talked of passengers being stranded in Blanchardstown!:) Ludicrous stuff altogether!

She didn't make any reference - in that first statement - to the existing 103 service, that covered Ratoath, Ashbourne and Dublin:

http://reginadoherty.blogspot.ie/2016/01/doherty-calls-for-reversal-of-proposed.html

http://reginadoherty.blogspot.ie/2016/04/bus-eireann-finally-listening-to.html

Here is an item by LXFlyer, from February 2016, which is an item issued by Bus Éreann in February 2016, detailing changes to the Ashbourne, Raotath Dublin routes, that would commence on Sunday 3rd April 2016.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=98886417&postcount=12

http://www.buseireann.ie/news_timetable.php?id=1961&month=Feb

It indicates that Regina Doherty was incorrect, in saying in her second statement on 26th April 2016, that Bus Éireann had not notified passengers of route changes. In this statement she said: “Over the last number of months, when changes to our bus services were mere rumours, there was a great deal of worry amongst commuters".

She didn't seem to know that Bus Éireann had detailed the changes to the routes, two months earlier, in the Bus Éireann statement in February 2016.

That second press statement, by Regina Doherty on Tuesday 26th April 2016, was only issued three weeks after the revised and improved 103 and 105 timetables began. The revised 103 and 105 timetables began on Sunday 3rd April 2016.

Clearly, Bus Éireann had published details of changes to the Ashbourne, Ratoath routes, two months before she issued that second press release, where she suggested that Bus Éireann had not been informing passengers of changes to the routes.

She said in the first and second paragraph of the first statement, dated Friday 15th January 2016, that the 105 changes, would mean that people from Duleek, Kentstown, Ashbourne, and Ratoath would be unable to travel to Dublin with Bus Éireann:

"Fine Gael TD for Meath East, Regina Doherty, has called on Bus Eireann to reverse proposed changes to Route 105 which will see the new terminus at Connolly Hospital and will no longer bring commuters from Duleek, Kentstown, Ashbourne, and Ratoath to the city centre".

"Doherty said “it is absolutely ludicrous for Bus Eireann to make proposed changes to this route which will see hundreds of Meath unable to travel directly to Dublin city centre every day".

The first statement in January 2016 was written in such a way that she didn't know there was another service already covering Dublin city centre, Ratoath and Ashbourne - the 103.

What Bus Éireann did with the 103 and 105 routes was to increase services between Ratoath, Ashbourne and Dublin, and alter the 105 to provide a regular service between Drogheda Duleek, Kentstown and Blanchardstown, an extra bus service for places like Duleek and Kentstowm. Regina Doherty was calling on Bus Éireann and the NTA not to run this service!:)

The two press statements she released regarding these timetable changes were just assuming the negative of Bus Éireann and the NTA, in terms of the changes that were made to the 103 and 105 by Bus Éireann, in co-operation with the NTA.

What ended up happening was that the 103 service was made more frequent. She just assumed the negative.

At least when Shane Cassells had issued statements about the 109 services on various occasions over the last 8 or 9 years, he used the 109 buses regularly, so he was familiar with it. Dominic Hannigan used the 109 regularly also.

tom23 wrote: »

Excellent post Commuter109 and if everyone took the time to email them when complaining about the disruptions to BE and NTA (including minister Doherty) it will go along way to getting help to resolve the disruptions.

Perhaps Regina Doherty won't release another press statement, that unintentionally exposes her ignorance, one that might mention how awful it is that the NX no longer serves Ballivor, or something along those lines.

Considering that Navan isn't in her constituency, she wouldn't, I suggest, have much interest in receiving correspondence from Navan based passengers, as she wouldn't get any votes from them, and as a result would not do a whole lot, to highlight the concerns of Navan based bus users.

She might get votes from Ratoath and Ashbourne passengers, if they started calling for more services between Ratoath, Ashbourne and Navan, an increase of services that wouldn't be of much interest to passengers who just want to go between Dublin and Navan!!:)

tom23, I noticed that you thanked a post by Commuter109, as have I, which was in agreement with a post that I had written, in response to a post by you.

Just curious to know, does that mean you also agree with what I had written, about commuters to and from Dublin and various locations, in response to your post, about it not being a good time for commuters to and from Navan and Dublin?:D:)

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=104819663&postcount=167