Aircoach Dublin-Cork express

chill pill to the Foggy Lad residence stat!

And Foggy - having hung around Westmoreland St as JD describes on a gloomy Sunday for about an hour I would have valued a seat and/or shelter if not for me than for my missus.

Judgement Day wrote: »

foggy_lad - I assume from your outburst that there will be two extra seats on Dublin/Cork services from now on?

Doubt it, he'd have to pay to use the Aircoach non-stop.

bk wrote: »

One thing, I really hope that Aircoach can get their marketing and pr act together and actually promote this service and drive some business to it, to make it a success.

I was shocked that they can't even get basic PR right, that when the new service launched, that there was no articles about it in the press and no mention of it on talk radio.

The launch so far seems almost like they don't care, they need to do a far better job, they are totally leaving BE and IR get off the hook with the lack of advertising.

In fairness to IR, they as much as fart and it gets national press and radio coverage, even if it does end up negative (e.g. the recent article about IR's inflexibility with taking a different train).

BTW Westmoreland St really is an excellent location, my bus into town stops literally across the road from it and I can sit in a nice warm pub or cafe until the bus arrives, no need to be milling about in the cold. Much better location then Hueston.

Bk makes a valid point re the strange almost inexplicably soft-launch of the Cork Express.

I am of the opinion that the issue is somewhat of an indication of how Aircoach (Irl) has slipped down the to-do list of FirstGroup plc.

I have little doubt but if the original Irish Aircoach Management Team were in place this service would have been marketed far more effectively and in a much more targeted manner.

The current First Group situation globally,is far from stable, this is demonstrated clearly by the lack of focus relating to what,in Irish public transport terms,is a major new initiative.

It's almost as if First Group plc don't really know what,in business terms, Aircoach Irl has been given.



Reading the various posts relating to the Cork-Express services,it's sad,but to be expected,that it rapidly dissolves into a CIE vs The Rest food-throwing contest.

I've no problem,as a Dublin Bus employee,in praising the new Express nauture of the service,equally I'd have no problem using it should it fit with whatever travel requirements I have on the day.

I'm far more concerned at whats NOT being attended to in relation to this (and other) NEW services introduced under the NTA's remit.

It's the basic infrastructural stuff which is being ignored here,that causes me so discomfort.

The Dublin Terminus,Westmoreland St,whilst suitable in location,has now become a Safety Nightmare for the pre-existing Dublin Bus city services expected to utilize the same Kerbline.

It defies belief that a group of Transport and Traffic "Professionals" could totally disregard the safety requirements of Low-Floor Wheelchair Ramp equipped City Service Vehicles (and their customers) by simply tacking-on new Long Dwell Coach Services at the same location.

At the very least,the NTA,The City Council and particularly,An Garda Siochana,should have been able to recognize the basic conflict between a Long Dwell Coach Stop vs a Short Dwell City-Service Stop.

I believe there are now 7,yes 7 different Bus Poles now standing at this Bus Bay.

7 different companies,with 7 different sets of access requirements,using a variety of vehicles some of maximum permitted length.

To expect all of these vehicles (and Drivers) to operate their respective duties safely in this environment is ridiculous,if not tantamount to reckless endangerment on the part of the authorities.

It is plain simple good safety practice to segregate the different pasenger groups and allow each to have their own dedicated kerb space.

None of the respective "Statutory Bodies" appears to have the stomach to isue a directive to reassign the Bus Bay Space on Westmoreland St.

At it's simplest,remove some of the Dublin Bus Westbound Routes altogether,as their other Stop along the College Wall is,IMO,close enough to utilize.

Then bring all of the Private Long-Dwell services forward to the vacated DB stops with the N7 bound ones to the front and the Airport bound ones nearest Fleet St.

This would free up the rearmost stops for DB use only and allow City Service drivers to avoid the dangerous conflicts which currently occur by the minute.

At the moment the entire City Centre area has been wilfully turned into a Health & Safety Minefield by the actions,or non-actions of what we traditionally recognized as the responsible agencies for Traffic and Transport regulation.

It now appears that the City Council and particularly The Gardai have been relived of these responsibilities in favour of redistributing them to a variety of independent agents,such as Taxi Drivers,Coach Operators,Tour Operators and anybody who wishes to erect a tent at a specific location.

It is particularly noticable that The Garda Traffic Corps have largely disappeared from the City Centre location,and that beat Gardai have no interest in enforcing any of the RTA's requirements.

There is a long running rumour that Gardai have been told to "Go easy" on the Taxi Fraternity in the face of a supposed,Cork City based,Supreme Court,Constitutional Challenge threat regarding the Taxi Deregulation process.

In the absence of any Official Garda statements on the non-enforcement of the RTA at high-profile locations in the City this rumour's veracity becomes greater by the day.

bk wrote: »

In other words BE are a typical CIE company. Do what suits the staff, not what suits the customer.

exactly. if they did start to care about the customers the unions would probably be up in arms. oh well

I gave the Cork-Dublin airport service a try. I'd normally use the train and get a cab from Heuston to the airport for that journey, but I was tempted by the direct route.

My 8am coach left on time from Cork, after a few arguments between the driver and some confused tourists who had the wrong tickets. No folding tray or reading light as promised on the website, but the wifi worked fine. After another prolonged argument between a passenger and the driver en route, we made a quick unscheduled stop on the side of the motorway. I'm not sure exactly what was going on, but the driver was possibly the rudest I've ever seen in action. I know the service is not supposed to stop, but he insisted on making a big song and dance about it, before stopping anyway.

We passed Heuston around 10:45 I'd say, which is around the same time most off-peak trains take to do the journey. We arrived ahead of time in Dublin airport (around 3h 15m total journey time). There's no stop in Terminal 1, you have to walk from Terminal 2 (only around 5 minutes, but there's no covered walkway, thanks DAA).

Overall, it was a very efficient service, and €18 one-way is a complete bargain (the cab from Heuston to the airport alone costs more than that). They won't win any customer service awards based on that journey, and the train is far more comfortable, but it's good value for money.

PS: Cork Coffee Roasters is around the corner on Bridge St, very nice coffee and they are open early!

I did see what looked like some kind of partial walkway but it was blocked off with fences and bollards. Why can't Aircoach add another stop at T1 though?

I probably didn't see the reading light... for some reason I never thought of looking in the most obvious place.

lxflyer wrote: »

There is a covered walkway from the coach station to the terminals.

After a spend of several hundred million € and what amounted essentially to a total refit of the Airport's public access perimeter,I should bloody well hope they could stretch to a covered walkway.

It should be Heated,Airconditioned,Fully Carpeted and with seating to allow weary strollers to rest mid-commute.

I'm with Kumsheen on this,what was required was a comprehensive functional public-transport interchange of the simple functional type found elsewhere......what we have is...well...a covered walkway

They are planning to increase the frequency of express buses due to rising demand. Here is the article.

I'd imagine there's nothing to stop Bus Eireann increasing the 008 frequency to hourly now given Aircoach have all but abandoned the intermediate market.