I Loathe Dublin Bus

RayM · 21-10-2014 5:57pm

punisher5112 wrote: »

Hold on there chief.

The bus was not at the stop think the argument is getting a bit old.

In the city this is a common problem and it is crazy and dangerous but report away for the nerve of a driver actually picking up and dropping people off at a stop.

I don't get what it is about who I should report and sue.

As I said before trams don't re open doors if closed or pulled away and trains are the same so I can't wait till the doors are linked to god and only open when he says so.....

So we agree that it would be unacceptable for drivers not to use a bit of common sense at city centre termini, if the bus stop is blocked, and it means that they have to stop in the middle of a busy city street. Is it honestly acceptable for a driver to stare straight ahead, refusing to even acknowledge or make eye-contact with somebody who is knocking on the door at a bus stop, albeit a few feet from the kerb?

Dublin Bus drivers are well trained and are surely capable of judging, on a case-by-case basis, whether or not it's safe to open a door when stationary. Thankfully, plenty of drivers have no problem with this - even (shock, horror!) at non-designated bus stops (sack them!). It adds a friendly 'human touch' to the service.

And if a driver judges that it isn't safe to open the doors, it wouldn't kill them to communicate this fact to the intending passenger via a simple head-shake or mouthing the words "no, sorry".

punisher5112 · 21-10-2014 6:40pm

RayM wrote: »

So we agree that it would be unacceptable for drivers not to use a bit of common sense at city centre termini, if the bus stop is blocked, and it means that they have to stop in the middle of a busy city street. Is it honestly acceptable for a driver to stare straight ahead, refusing to even acknowledge or make eye-contact with somebody who is knocking on the door at a bus stop, albeit a few feet from the kerb?

Dublin Bus drivers are well trained and are surely capable of judging, on a case-by-case basis, whether or not it's safe to open a door when stationary. Thankfully, plenty of drivers have no problem with this - even (shock, horror!) at non-designated bus stops (sack them!). It adds a friendly 'human touch' to the service.

And if a driver judges that it isn't safe to open the doors, it wouldn't kill them to communicate this fact to the intending passenger via a simple head-shake or mouthing the words "no, sorry".

I'll give it to ya bluntly because you seem to think that all the general public are little angels.

99% of times if I were to look or give eye contact as you say I will in return get a fcuk you, fingers, hand gesture or maybe even a spit at the door or kick and also a punch and be also verbally abused.

If a bus stop is blocked next time you want a bus why not be a good samaritan and help the bus driver by getting the person obstructing the stop to move as if this was done it would make things move much better.

RayM · 21-10-2014 6:56pm

punisher5112 wrote: »

I'll give it to ya bluntly because you seem to think that all the general public are little angels.

99% of times if I were to look or give eye contact as you say I will in return get a fcuk you, fingers, hand gesture or maybe even a spit at the door or kick and also a punch and be also verbally abused.

I don't think the general public are angels. Although I strongly doubt that 99% of us are verbally or physically abusive.

punisher5112 wrote:

If a bus stop is blocked next time you want a bus why not be a good samaritan and help the bus driver by getting the person obstructing the stop to move as if this was done it would make things move much better.

In the city centre, it's usually being obstructed by several other buses.

Ol' Donie · 21-10-2014 7:03pm

Sooo...

Are you saying if he did look me in the eye and say "No, sorry" I would have climbed through the closed doors and assaulted and spat on him?

Good Lord, just as well we have the old regulations.

By the way, I just want to say categorically that I believe with absolute certainty that the vast majority of drivers are very good guys, doing a tough job that is extremely important. And for what it's worth, I always say thanks when I'm getting off.

I just think that fella could have helped me out, and the closing of ranks in this thread brought down the red mist again.

Mongfinder General · 21-10-2014 7:17pm

RayM wrote: »

I don't think the general public are angels. Although I strongly doubt that 99% of us are verbally or physically abusive.

In the city centre, it's usually being obstructed by several other buses.

Members of the general public can be an obnoxious bunch of a**eholes if they don't get what they want. Bus drivers should have a control panel with options that activate ejector seats to rocket any undesirables off the bus. They should also be issued with tazers in case they are attacked. Routes 27, 40, 77/A and 79 should be prioritised to accomodate these changes.

5uspect · 22-10-2014 10:44pm

The simple solution is to just separate the driver from the public as much as possible. Like TFL buses, tag on with your card, pay your flat rate. If you tag on several times your card is only debited accordingly.

I don't see why a city as small as Dublin can't manage a straightforward system.

LXFlyer · 22-10-2014 11:30pm

5uspect wrote: »

The simple solution is to just separate the driver from the public as much as possible. Like TFL buses, tag on with your card, pay your flat rate. If you tag on several times your card is only debited accordingly.

I don't see why a city as small as Dublin can't manage a straightforward system.

At what rate do you set the flat fare at, noting that it would apply equally for someone travelling one stop as going from City Centre to Ballyknockan on the 65 for example?

I suspect that the flat fare required to maintain farebox revenues (i.e. Them key required to run the business) would be far higher than many would be prepared to pay.

London has a congestion charge that means that they can afford a flat fare system.

5uspect · 23-10-2014 12:34am

I'm not sure, about €2 I would think, which mostly covers the 4 to 13 stages range.

The point is that the interaction with the driver is bothersome when you already have a leap card and two different units to tag onto depending on your journey. Drivers seem reluctant to be helpful when you're unsure of the number of stages and get pissy when people get it wrong. Passengers don't like the system because it removes a lot of the convenience of public transport. Why have all this technology and not use it to its fullest?

Perhaps allow an optional tag off where your fare can be calculated based on your actual journey?

crushproof · 23-10-2014 12:07pm

5uspect wrote: »

I'm not sure, about €2 I would think, which mostly covers the 4 to 13 stages range.

The point is that the interaction with the driver is bothersome when you already have a leap card and two different units to tag onto depending on your journey. Drivers seem reluctant to be helpful when you're unsure of the number of stages and get pissy when people get it wrong. Passengers don't like the system because it removes a lot of the convenience of public transport. Why have all this technology and not use it to its fullest?

Perhaps allow an optional tag off where your fare can be calculated based on your actual journey?

I really don't understand why they can't have a flat fare system. It works perfectly in Edinburgh, similar to Dublin in terms of relying on buses to shuttle most commuters.
£1.50 flat fare on Lothian or First buses, whether that be a 5 minute bus journey or a 1 hour journey.

LXFlyer · 23-10-2014 12:16pm

crushproof wrote: »

I really don't understand why they can't have a flat fare system. It works perfectly in Edinburgh, similar to Dublin in terms of relying on buses to shuttle most commuters.
£1.50 flat fare on Lothian or First buses, whether that be a 5 minute bus journey or a 1 hour journey.

I think it is pretty obvious - there would likely be a shortfall in farebox revenue for the company. All of this boils down to who funds the operation of our bus services. While people might not like to hear it, someone has to pay for the buses to operate, and at the moment our government is not too keen to do that any more than necessary. So it's down to the passengers.

Dublin has some very long bus routes, and the reality is that with a flat fare you would end up with a fare that is too expensive for most people making short trips, and probably would be a major discount over the current fare for those making longer trips. That would contribute to a drop in farebox revenue, and in the current financial situation that is unaffordable.

As I said above, London has a congestion charge, and the additional revenue from that helps fund the flat fare operation there.

LeinsterDub · 23-10-2014 1:58pm

lxflyer wrote: »

I think it is pretty obvious - there would likely be a shortfall in farebox revenue for the company. All of this boils down to who funds the operation of our bus services.

Then set a flat fair that wouldn't see a shortfall and allow us all to benefit from a clear pricing structure and deceased dwell times

LXFlyer · 23-10-2014 2:10pm

LeinsterDub wrote: »

Then set a flat fair that wouldn't see a shortfall and allow us all to benefit from a clear pricing structure and deceased dwell times

That I think would be a very very tall order.

devnull · 23-10-2014 7:11pm

punisher5112 wrote: »

I used the underground and Bus in London last year and cost me £2.40 Sterling not € to travel 3 bus stops not 3 stages or 13 stages I mean 3 bus stops so only paying €2.50 here to travel all the way seems extremely cheap to me

Where is this £2.40 fare you speak about?

Bus fares are £1.40 in London to travel all the way on any route and are capped at £4.40 a day.

https://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/fares/bus-and-tram

macroman · 23-10-2014 7:50pm

devnull wrote: »

Where is this £2.40 fare you speak about?

Bus fares are £1.40 in London to travel all the way on any route and are capped at £4.40 a day.

https://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/fares/bus-and-tram

Until the buses went cashless, the cash fare was £2.40 - there was a discount for Oyster PAYG and VISA use.

LXFlyer · 23-10-2014 7:56pm

I'd have to ask why would anyone visiting London pay cash and not get themselves an Oyster card?

iamstop · 23-10-2014 8:11pm

I used to really dislike DB when I still lived in Dublin.
Far too many bad experiences to mention.
I'm still at a loss as to why there is no transfer system at all.
Also, I always thought, if they did have a transfer system, that they should have a bus service that loops around the quays.

Anyway, I used to do a radio show in Dublin city center a while ago. Normally would drive in but the odd time the car was out of action for whatever reason and I'd have to bus it. Anyway oe of those times I recorded this show:
http://www.mixcloud.com/iamstop/passion-of-the-crates-bus-blues-29-nov-2012/

Hope ye like 'er.

LeinsterDub · 23-10-2014 8:40pm

lxflyer wrote: »

That I think would be a very very tall order.

I can't imagine how.

AlekSmart · 23-10-2014 9:04pm

iamstop wrote: »

I used to really dislike DB when I still lived in Dublin.
Far too many bad experiences to mention.
I'm still at a loss as to why there is no transfer system at all.
Also, I always thought, if they did have a transfer system, that they should have a bus service that loops around the quays.

Anyway, I used to do a radio show in Dublin city center a while ago. Normally would drive in but the odd time the car was out of action for whatever reason and I'd have to bus it. Anyway oe of those times I recorded this show:
http://www.mixcloud.com/iamstop/passion-of-the-crates-bus-blues-29-nov-2012/

The Travel90 ticket,formerly the Transfer 90,always offered unlimited bus transfers within a 90 minute window.

However,it involved people actually buying a pre-paid ticket and as a result tended to be regarded as the work of the divil,with peeps preferring to rob themselves blind by paying full cash-fares anyway.

Those who DID use the T90 tended to get VERY good usage out of the product indeed.

The T90 ticket is shortly to be superceeded by the Leapcard equivalent, multi-journey discounting,which will offer substantial savings to those who transfer between buses.

Keep an eye on Leapcard.ie for developments.

Cookie_Monster · 23-10-2014 9:08pm

lxflyer wrote: »

I'd have to ask why would anyone visiting London pay cash and not get themselves an Oyster card?

because the minimum price of an oyster is 13 GBP, @ 2.40 you can get a bus up to 5 times and still be better off.

macroman · 23-10-2014 10:33pm

Kind of going off on a tangent slightly, but the last time I was in London I accidentally let my Oyster card get low on credit, when getting onto a bus and tagging on it automatically printed a ticket informing me that I had insufficient credit on my oyster, but it was allowing me this ONE journey which will be debited from my account next time I top up.

As a DB driver, I thought this was a great idea. As whilst there is a negative balance allowance built into the Leap it doesn't automatically give the user a warning of this as it happens, unless the driver notices the card is going into negative balance and notifies the user. At least if there is a ticket printed, informing them their account is now in negative balance and another journey cannot be completed without topping up it may reduce the instances of trying to get onto the bus without credit, as a previous warning would have been issued.

LXFlyer · 23-10-2014 10:36pm

macroman wrote: »

Kind of going off on a tangent slightly, but the last time I was in London I accidentally let my Oyster card get low on credit, when getting onto a bus and tagging on it automatically printed a ticket informing me that I had insufficient credit on my oyster, but it was allowing me this ONE journey which will be debited from my account next time I top up.

As a DB driver, I thought this was a great idea. As whilst there is a negative balance allowance built into the Leap it doesn't automatically give the user a warning of this as it happens, unless the driver notices the card is going into negative balance and notifies the user. At least if there is a ticket printed, informing them their account is now in negative balance and another journey cannot be completed without topping up it may reduce the instances of trying to get onto the bus without credit, as a previous warning would have been issued.

This came in recently when the buses went cashless, due to concerns that people might not be able to top up their oyster card depending on where they might be and thus be stranded.

Tickityboo · 23-10-2014 11:06pm

macroman wrote: »

Kind of going off on a tangent slightly, but the last time I was in London I accidentally let my Oyster card get low on credit, when getting onto a bus and tagging on it automatically printed a ticket informing me that I had insufficient credit on my oyster, but it was allowing me this ONE journey which will be debited from my account next time I top up.

As a DB driver, I thought this was a great idea. As whilst there is a negative balance allowance built into the Leap it doesn't automatically give the user a warning of this as it happens, unless the driver notices the card is going into negative balance and notifies the user. At least if there is a ticket printed, informing them their account is now in negative balance and another journey cannot be completed without topping up it may reduce the instances of trying to get onto the bus without credit, as a previous warning would have been issued.

They just need to look at the readout on the machine to see their balance.
Not that hard to do!!

dirtynosebeps · 24-10-2014 1:50am

lets end the debate about not being let on after the driver has closed his doors and here is the reason why most wont open them again.
driver picks up his passengers closes his doors.
here comes
LX banging on the doors, driver opens lets LX on issues fare closes doors,waits to pull out
here comes
alek banging on the doors, driver opens lets alek on, issues fare closes doors,waits to pull out.
heres comes
tickity banging on the doors, driver opens lets tickity on, issues fare closes doors,waits to pull out.
here comes
macro banging on the doors, driver opens lets macro on, issues fare closes doors,waits to pull out.
ohhhh wait , here comes
cookie banging on the doors, driver opens lets cookie on, issues fare closes doors,waits to pull out.
ohhh crap now we have dirtynose
banging on the doors 5 minutes later at the same stop. driver refuses to open doors.
now the driver is the biggest thing under the sun dirtynose can think of because he cant get on the bus. steam coming out of his ears ,foaming at the mouth, cant wait to report the driver for doing his job, cant wait to get on boards looking for all the sympathy he can get.

LeinsterDub · 24-10-2014 9:44am

AlekSmart wrote: »

Keep an eye on Leapcard.ie for developments.

As always I wait with bated breath for the latest crumb which will eventually form the ITS cake

Ol' Donie · 24-10-2014 10:12am

dirtynosebeps wrote: »

lets end the debate about not being let on after the driver has closed his doors and here is the reason why most wont open them again.
driver picks up his passengers closes his doors.
here comes
LX banging on the doors, driver opens lets LX on issues fare closes doors,waits to pull out
here comes
alek banging on the doors, driver opens lets alek on, issues fare closes doors,waits to pull out.
heres comes
tickity banging on the doors, driver opens lets tickity on, issues fare closes doors,waits to pull out.
here comes
macro banging on the doors, driver opens lets macro on, issues fare closes doors,waits to pull out.
ohhhh wait , here comes
cookie banging on the doors, driver opens lets cookie on, issues fare closes doors,waits to pull out.
ohhh crap now we have dirtynose
banging on the doors 5 minutes later at the same stop. driver refuses to open doors.
now the driver is the biggest thing under the sun dirtynose can think of because he cant get on the bus. steam coming out of his ears ,foaming at the mouth, cant wait to report the driver for doing his job, cant wait to get on boards looking for all the sympathy he can get.

I'm sorry, I really don't want to drag this on, but are you saying he doesn't open the doors in case more people want to get on the bus?

Bearing in mind the only reason the bus exists in the first place is to bring the citizens of the city around the city.

You think the doors shouldn't be opened in case it gives someone else a chance to catch the bus before it pulls off?

If the mentality wasn't clear before, it certainly is now.

And, while I'm at it, f*ck all regulations mentioned in that explanation.

hollypink · 24-10-2014 10:26am

Tickityboo wrote: »

They just need to look at the readout on the machine to see their balance.
Not that hard to do!!

Am I the only one who finds it difficult to read the display on the machine on the driver's side? Auto topup is great; I only use my leapcard a few times a week, so I often used to ended up with a negative balance without realising till I tried to board the bus.

I've found Dublin Bus drivers fine in general; the main issues I've found are timetabled buses not turning up occasionally (I rang once when that happened and was told they had no driver), which is very inconvenient at times of the day when the next bus isn't scheduled for 20 - 30 minutes, and the RTPI showing phantom buses that never appear or alternatively not showing buses that do actually arrive at the stop.

dirtynosebeps · 24-10-2014 11:31am

Ol' Donie wrote: »

I'm sorry, I really don't want to drag this on, but are you saying he doesn't open the doors in case more people want to get on the bus?
Bearing in mind the only reason the bus exists in the first place is to bring the citizens of the city around the city.

would you like the bus to sit at the stop until it's full?

Ol' Donie wrote: »

You think the doors shouldn't be opened in case it gives someone else a chance to catch the bus before it pulls off?

If the mentality wasn't clear before, it certainly is now.

And, while I'm at it, f*ck all regulations mentioned in that explanation.

well just in case you didn't read my example properly. plenty of people were given the chance to get on and they did. but because ol donie didn't get on the bus he comes on here ranting.

Ol' Donie wrote: »

If the mentality wasn't clear before, it certainly is now.
And, while I'm at it, f*ck all regulations mentioned in that explanation.

Ol' Donie, just curious do you work for a living with an attitude like that?

and people wonder why drivers have an attitude towards some passengers.
everyone is quick enough to come on here crying ,whinging, foaming etc that the driver wont break the rules and regulations. yet most of you going home have just come from work where there are rules and regulations , yet you know you'd be all fired if you broke them.
just to put it simply, if you miss the bus ,wait for the next one or even better just get a taxi and ask him to break all the rules and regulations when taking you home.

Tasden · 24-10-2014 11:40am

Tbh its just like everywhere else, you can't please everyone.

It's like the til at the shop, if the til is closing at ten and there's a queue they'll put the sign up on the end of the til so no more people join the queue, otherwise ten o clock will pass and there will still be people joining the queue. The odd time they might make allowances if there is one person with a pack of gum or whatever but generally there has to be a cut off point.

Same with the bus, everyone is let on and the doors are closed, ready for bus to take off, the odd time if someone comes running along they might allow him on but there's always a cut off point otherwise the bus could never leave.

Ol' Donie · 24-10-2014 11:42am

I'm not saying it should wait at the stop until it's full. I didn't say anything remotely like that. I'm saying where it's reasonable and safe a commuter & paying customer should be helped out, rather than ignored.

Yes, as it happens, I do work for a living. In fact I was trying to get home from work on the day the original incident I mentioned happened. What's the relevance?

dirtynosebeps · 24-10-2014 12:02pm

Ol' Donie wrote: »

I'm not saying it should wait at the stop until it's full. I didn't say anything remotely like that. I'm saying where it's reasonable and safe a commuter & paying customer should be helped out, rather than ignored.

but what you are saying is you want the bus to wait for ol donie.
let me tell you about something i witnessed yesterday evening
i go on a bus in westmoreland street ,driver closed his doors pulled out a couple of inches and wouldn't let anyone else on (sound familiar,with me so far?) some gob****e decides he's getting and opens the doors from the outside, just as the same gob****e is about to step off the kerb a motor cyclist comes flying up on the inside of the bus blowing it's horn and barely misses mr. gob****e. if the gob****e had been knocked down the bus and all it's passengers would be going nowhere for the rest of the evening.

Ol' Donie wrote: »

And, while I'm at it, f*ck all regulations

I Loathe Dublin Bus

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