Improvements needed to BE Route 109

Since the opening of the M3 the 109 route has tried to be all things to all people. Dedicated express routes for Dunshaughlin and Navan are required. Going through sheaf of wheat, Clonee, blanch, Mater etc is so frustrating. Greater reliability in times for non commuting times is required. Even at commuting times no bus will turn up or will be full on a fairly regular basis.

gazzer wrote: »

I got the 109 bus from Busarus on Saturday morning at 11.30am. It got stuck in traffic going into Blanch S.C which meant it was almost 12.40 before we even got to Dunshaughlin. Arrived in Cavan Town at the rediculous time of 2.20. A full 40 minutes after the advertised arrival time.

You should be aware then, that the person who started this discussion wants you and other passengers for Cavan at Bus Aras to be charged a higher ticket price if you take the number 30 to Cavan from Bus Aras, to discourage you from using the 30 bus and force you to take the 109.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=93055441&postcount=23

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=93058223&postcount=25

CVH24 wrote: »

Horseburger would you go and get a life, thats on a different tread, you improve on service and you can improve the integration of all services. The 30 is not 109 and belongs in its own tread, I said i would leave you to your beliefs as your holding no logic, Good bye Horseburger unless you have something constructive to say, circle do not solve problems.

So you are on here asking 109 users what improvements they want implemented on the 109 service but you don't want in highlighted that in another thread that you suggested forcing more people for Virginia and Cavan to use the 109 instead of the 30.

You argued that there wasn't much difference in the times taken on both the 109 and 30 to get to Cavan.

It has been shown by the post I replied to here, that the 109 takes much longer to get to Virginia and Cavan during the day.

It is on the services later at night, for example the midnight Donegal service from Dublin, that there is not much more difference, in the time it gets to Virginia and Cavan, when there is no traffic congestion. This midnight service always has space and will also bring 109 passengers for Navan and Kells from Bus Aras and the airport.

The various towns on the midnight 30 service from Dublin are drop off points, since 16th November, and will take people from Dublin and the airport to those towns; Navan, Kells, Butlersbrige, Belturbet, Derrylin, Bellanaleck, Enniskillen, Belleek and Ballyshannon.

Virginia and Cavan are pick up and drop off points on all the 30 bus services including the midnight service.

You said before that they go only go through Virginia on the 30 bus because they can't avoid it. Well, if they wanted to, they could just drive through it without stopping, in the same way as various train services between Cork and Dublin and Belfast and Dublin don't stop at certain intermediate train stations in the various towns they go through.

Obviously, therefore, Bus Éireann find that people from Virginia are using the 30 service to and from Dublin City centre and also to and from the airport.

You are expecting Cavan and Virginia passengers to use a service that takes longer during the day. I suggested in the other discussion, because the Cavan fares are not much cheaper from Dublin than the fares from Dublin to Donegal that they would be contributing greatly to the 30 service. All you did was to suggest they pay more to use that service, even though they would be using that 30 service up and down to Dublin throughout the week. I suggested that because Bus Éireann makes available the option of a 10 journey ticket for Cavan passengers on the 30, that this is an indication that they use the 30 bus very regularly.

You ignored all those points.

All your suggestion - of discouraging passengers for Virginia and Cavan to use the 30 - will do is to cause more people on the 109 to be inconvenienced as those buses will fill quicker. You don't seem to mind that passengers of another service get left behind when the bus they intended to get fills.

Your suggestion to make anyone for Cavan and Virginia at Bus Aras use the 109, would then mean that the because there's more people getting on at Bus Aras, that as a result people at the other stops on the 109 route, for example Blanchardstown, would then be left less certain of space being available. If the bus they hoped to get is full, they then would have to wait for the next bus.

You did not consider that by ensuring there was more space on the 30 bus by making Cavan passengers use the 109, that all you are doing is shoving those passengers onto another service, so the issue of people having to be left behind when buses fill, waiting for the next service, would not be solved.

You also ignore the fact that is has been demonstrated clearly that Bus Éireann accommodate the Donegal passengers on the 30 route, by requesting anyone for Cavan take the 109 when there's a 109 departing at the same time.

You have a damn nerve telling me to get a life. You started this discussion here and also asked people for their views on your suggestion in the other thread.

So what if I mention above, what you stated in another thread.

Obviously, you only wanted people to reply - in both threads - who agreed with you.

gazzer wrote: »

Im my experience it is impossible to get the 30 to Cavan from Dublin anyway. Anytime I have tried the driver has refused to let me on and has told me that I need to get the 109.

I have found that on the midnight bus, it is never a problem.

They state on the 30 bus pdf timetable during busy periods that they ask passengers for Cavan to use the 109 where there is a 109 leaving Dublin at the same time.

"During busy periods, customers travelling from Busáras to Virginia and Cavan will be requested to use route 109 services where these are departing at the same time as route 30 services".

http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1415719270-030.pdf

What I was saying in my earlier post was how making more Cavan and Virginia customers use the 109 - who would prefer to use the 30 if there is space - would only push the problem of buses filling to capacity, with people left waiting for the next bus, onto the 109 Cavan service.

So the problem of the 30 bus not being able to take Donegal passengers at the airport, might be solved if Cavan people are not let use the 30 bus, but it would only result in the possibility of 109 buses filling quicker and passengers being left behind waiting for their next bus. You have detailed clearly in the other discussion, and here, that Donegal passengers get priority at the airport as well as Bus Aras. The person to whom I responded, suggested otherwise, that Cavan passengers were taking up space on the 30 service that Donegal passengers could use.

You have also shown how getting to Cavan, by taking the 109A, is not very convenient.

The poster to whom I replied before, suggested Cavan and Virginia passengers be charged more for taking the 30 bus from Bus Aras to make them take the 109 instead. I'm guessing those passengers would be less than enthused if such a measure was introduced.

Surely to god theres a good 500 of those passengers getting on at Busaras or before, looking to goto Navan or beyond not needing to get a tour of the Cabra road/ Dunshaughlin - meaning you could fill 6 double deck expresses via the tunnel.

I'd agree with alot of this, however I also think that there needs to be some access to these buses for Dunshaughlin passengers otherwise you end up with the same situation as currently the case with the 5:30 express which gets passengers quicker to Navan then the 5:15 get passengers to Dunshaughlin.

There is an issue in Dunshaughlin with commuters taking up all the street parking spaces all day. The 2 extra stops were added to try relieve this. Perphaps a solution could be a Park & Ride hub on the M3 for the Dunshaughlin. Long term solution obviously

Oh, and its a good bit cheaper to get the train.
Currently its €2,075 for an annual bus ticket for Dunshaughlin - Dublin.
Train from M3 Parkway is €1,420 - and free parking, and you can use the Dart for free (should that be of use to you).

foggy_lad wrote: »

They can "request" that passengers use the 109 service but can't really insist on it or the NTA might have something to say on that. If I was refused boarding on the 30 and was going to Virginia or Cavan I would request the reasons for the refusal in writing from an inspector in Busáras. They can't just force passengers to use a service that is much slower service when there is a better service provided for them.

They just say that they need to keep the seats free for passengers at the airport and that customers travelling to Donegal are priority.

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Oh, and its a good bit cheaper to get the train.
Currently its €2,075 for an annual bus ticket for Dunshaughlin - Dublin.
Train from M3 Parkway is €1,420 - and free parking, and you can use the Dart for free (should that be of use to you).

Timetable doesn't suit my work hours at all, its very slow and you need to factor in petrol costs etc. The other disadvantage is I can no longer have the odd drink after work cos my commute would include driving. A flexi ticket would be ideal.

CVH24 wrote: »

Horseburger you are trolling again.

Vic-08 gave you that pretty much the 30 is off bounds at peak times, leaving you the 109 and also stated how it is managed to ensure virginia and cavan passengers get seat on 109.

Now the xpresso in Dublin bus is more expensive to the same place as a normal city route so why not and expressway.

If cavan and virginia paid the higher fare they could not be refused and the full numbers would become clear and BE would be forced to either resolve the problem as regards capacity or inconvience more people.

You think I am trying to be unfair, I am not People should have access to an express bus as possible based on demand, CIE as a company can give very detailed figures on passenger number and ticket sales, but as i said look at venting machine tickets in Busaras for cavan it has R109, the money is linked to that route so you travel route 30, it is still linked to route 109 but you went on the 30. Expressway carried you but the cost was offset route 109.

I prefer to incentive something the (carrot) not the stick, so that's why I looked at this way. like an accountant. Look at your takeaway menu, price for chicken curry say 6 Euro, Chicken Breast Curry 7.50 Euro. In other words you pay a premium for a premium service, you pay for what you get, the faster you want to travel the more you pay.

Now before you hit the roof I people do not want to pay that's not a problem either you can maintain the current situation where by you travel a peak periods you will still be on the slow bus to china, I thinks that not satisfactory either so i change tactics and said how can you make 109 work for everyone's benefit!

I like to keep all people happy, but you can not do that but I would settle for the majority, but as i see it the current situation does not do that either. I looked for ways to change you went and dug your heels in and still are to a lesser degree! Cheer up and look to improve things, the only constant in life is change, there can always be a better way.

No, I am not trolling.

Again by accusing me of trolling, you have proved once more, that you only wanted people to reply to both threads, who were in agreement with you.

As you well know, what I was stating was, that your idea of charging people more to use one service, to force them use another, is only moving the problem of buses filling and people being left behind, onto another service.

You also know very well, that what I said was unfair, was the idea of charging people more to use a service from Bus Aras to Cavan on the 30 bus.

What then, if the 30 bus picked up at the airport and left other passengers for Cavan behind, despite already having Cavan passengers on the bus, who got on at Bus Aras, by paying more.

You would then be in a situation - in cases where buses fill - where Bus Éireann are treating passengers heading to the same town totally differently on the same bus because of the fare they are paying.

By your logic, if a passenger for Cavan at the airport were to argue that if they paid a higher price than their normal fare, they could argue that because they are paying pretty much equal to what Donegal passengers pay, that they should get priority over Donegal passengers.

With regard to your comment about the vending machines, the same argument could be made of Cavan passengers paying for a return ticket on the 30 bus from Cavan or Virginia to the airport or Dublin City Centre, that their money goes towards the 30 service. That is why I made the point before that considering that Cavan is a drop off and pick up service in both directions on the 30 bus, that Cavan and Virginia passengers contribute to the 30 service.

CVH24 wrote: »

You are simply arguing a point not trying so look for a solution, may i wish you a very long and many trips on the 109 as it really is all you deserve and I honestly have better things to do with my time. You have very little indeed to do than, to keep going over a point, it solves nothing, build a bride and get over your Complex of entitlement.

It was a point that you made, that has since been disproved.

You can't seriously expect me to consider that your concern for all the passengers, of the various different bus services, is in any way sincere, when you reply with an ignorant response like this?

Another point on the 109 route is the ticketing situation. Currently I believe the "internet ticket" gives students the cheapest option for purchasing tickets. This results in a huge delay especially on Mondays with processing these tickets. An option to purchase off the bus is great but the current one only adds to the hassle for everyone.

BE needs to encourage the use of Leap and Annual tickets and offer students a way to use either or another option to avoid delays buying tickets on the route.

It would help if the buses actually turned up. Again this morning no 7:55 or 8:10 for Dunshaughlin. Bus passed at 8:20 full leaving a lot of angry passrngers behind