bus full bus following

dsane1 · 15-02-2008 8:44pm #1

hi people just wondering about this one .If you buy a weekly ticket from a bus company (guess who ?) and are left standing for 2 hours (as 8 buses go by full) every 15 mins have they broken any contract ?

Ham'nd'egger · 15-02-2008 10:29pm

dsane1 wrote: »

hi people just wondering about this one .If you buy a weekly ticket from a bus company (guess who ?) and are left standing for 2 hours (as 8 buses go by full) every 15 mins have they broken any contract ?

No, the weekly ticket merely covers you for your fare in the event of traveling on their services; it doesn't cover you for a seat or travel on a specific service nor goes it oblige you carriage. In the same way, if you chose not to travel for a day of your ticket, you can't ask for a part refund.

ardmacha · 15-02-2008 11:01pm

if public transport is to be taken seriously in this country then there must be regulation and bus/train companies must be required to compensate passengers if they don't adhere to their published timetable with a service capable of picking up passengers at that point.

corktina · 16-02-2008 9:38am

ardmacha wrote: »

if public transport is to be taken seriously in this country then there must be regulation and bus/train companies must be required to compensate passengers if they don't adhere to their published timetable with a service capable of picking up passengers at that point.

introduce that and you will get a rapid decrease in services as companies pull out of routes they cant guarantee that on (ie like any route with likely traffic delays...or any rail line with engineering works))

L1011 · 16-02-2008 9:48am

corktina wrote: »

introduce that and you will get a rapid decrease in services as companies pull out of routes they cant guarantee that on (ie like any route with likely traffic delays...or any rail line with engineering works))

Ahem... Ulsterbus/NIRailways have such a guarantee system and operate a far fuller service than Bus Eireann do....

Ham'nd'egger · 16-02-2008 2:31pm

MYOB wrote: »

Ahem... Ulsterbus/NIRailways have such a guarantee system and operate a far fuller service than Bus Eireann do....

Two points about this policy to take into account.

1) Translink will be tied to UK transport laws, which has a system of fines in place to try control private companies. In many cases in the UK, companies pay fines for not running services at off peak times to save money so that can tell you how effective this system is.

2) A quick breeze through their policy and it really is not any better or comprehensive than CIE's own charter. It may have additional benefits in places, refer to point one for same.

corktina · 16-02-2008 3:42pm

MYOB wrote: »

Ahem... Ulsterbus/NIRailways have such a guarantee system and operate a far fuller service than Bus Eireann do....

what oiuld happen is if you have a 15 minute service now...you'd end up with a half hourly service plus a couple of untimetabled extras....which may or may not run...

John R · 17-02-2008 2:40am

ardmacha wrote: »

if public transport is to be taken seriously in this country then there must be regulation and bus/train companies must be required to compensate passengers if they don't adhere to their published timetable with a service capable of picking up passengers at that point.

That is ridiculous and unworkable. There is no way any operator can guarantee that every person that turns up at every pick-up point can be accomodated on every service.

MYOB wrote: »

Ahem... Ulsterbus/NIRailways have such a guarantee system

Link please.

As far as I am aware Ulsterbus (or any other bus company in the UK that operates turn up and go services) do not offer any compensation for people left behind by a full bus, in fact they do not offer compensation for anything only fare refunds for cancelled services.

L1011 · 17-02-2008 2:48am

John R wrote: »

Link please.

Third sign board down, Platform One, Portrush train station. Almost sure I saw it in Foyle Street bus station and Belfast Central too.

Not everything is discovered/discoverable online. On the actual Translink network theres details of their service guarantees - there may be on their website too but I'm not going searching for you.

ardmacha · 18-02-2008 12:07am

That is ridiculous and unworkable. There is no way any operator can guarantee that every person that turns up at every pick-up point can be accomodated on every service.

What is ridiculous about having a timetable that actually means something? Now of course there would be unusual and totally unexpected situations arising, but presently transport operators in Ireland routinely plan to leave people behind when expected situations arise. There is no economic incentive for them to adhere to the timetable, as spare buses etc cost money, a system of penalties would ensure that they had such an incentive. I would recycle the penalties back into the subsidy regime so that operators making an attempt at service would benefit.

talkingclock · 18-02-2008 12:31am

John R wrote: »

That is ridiculous and unworkable. There is no way any operator can guarantee that every person that turns up at every pick-up point can be accomodated on every service.

It's neither ridiculous nor unworkable. Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) gives you compensation in vouchers or free tickets if their state-of-the-art InterCityExpress (nothing in common with the irish choochoo trains with the same name) has late arrivals of a certain amount of minutes.

But maybe that makes only sense in Germany where public transport is usually working quite very well and efficient...

Victor · 18-02-2008 1:54pm

talkingclock wrote: »

It's neither ridiculous nor unworkable. Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) gives you compensation in vouchers or free tickets if their state-of-the-art InterCityExpress (nothing in common with the irish choochoo trains with the same name) has late arrivals of a certain amount of minutes. But maybe that makes only sense in Germany where public transport is usually working quite very well and efficient...

Irish Rail have a similar scheme. Note with ICE, you probably need a reservation.

SeanW · 18-02-2008 6:07pm

Victor wrote: »

Note with ICE, you probably need a reservation.

Nope. It may be different for some of the more sensitive ICE tilting trains that have a physical limit of passenger-weight, but on the normal ICE people just pile in. And it works beautifully.

MOH · 22-02-2008 5:16pm

Victor wrote: »

Irish Rail have a similar scheme. Note with ICE, you probably need a reservation.

Irish Rail give you 50% after an hour or 100% after two hours. And don't really advertise the fact.

the_syco · 22-02-2008 5:22pm

You see, the buses have a max number of people that they're allowed to bring, and once they hit that max number, they skip bus stops until they drop off enough people that makes it safe to allow more on.

Match Me Sidney · 22-02-2008 6:09pm

MYOB wrote: »

Ahem... Ulsterbus/NIRailways have such a guarantee system and operate a far fuller service than Bus Eireann do....

No they don't... I was all set to make a trip to Galway a few weeks ago and arrived at Europa Bus Station (by train from Coleraine) with an intention of travelling Bus Eireann Belfast to Dublin and then Dublin to Galway. The girl at the information desk suggested I catch the Ulsterbus service to Galway instead, and handed me a timetable. Seemed like a good idea (I would save an hour or so and it was a few pounds cheaper) so I bought a ticket and I borded the first bus I had to catch (there were a few changes to make).

I could turn this into a very long story (including the clueless bus drivers I encountered at every station who didn't seem to know when their own busses ran) but I'll keep it brief... A couple of hours later and after few changes it became clear that the timetable I was given was an old one and I was left stranded in Cavan, as the bus I was scheduled to catch was no longer running anymore. The lady at the helpdesk in Cavan was fuming and told me that this was not the first time it had happened, and suggested I write to them! In the end, a mate of mine had to DRIVE up from Galway to collect me!

Upon my return home - I made sure to get the correct timetable from the internet and NOT their staff, I wrote a letter to Ulsterbus telling them my story and including a copy of the reciept and the old timetable I had been given by their staff. I recieved a letter back only a few days ago telling me that their timetable was on the internet and there was nothing they could do to compensate me/ refund me. I am furious with them as it was THEIR staff that gave me the timetable in the first place. So, I find it almost laughable that someone should suggest the company a model of customer service and operate a 'far fuller' timetable. Lets face it, with busses running every hour both ways, I would have certainly reached my destination hassle free with Bus Eireann.

L1011 · 22-02-2008 7:48pm

Match Me Sidney wrote: »

So, I find it almost laughable that someone should suggest the company a model of customer service and operate a 'far fuller' timetable. Lets face it, with busses running every hour both ways, I would have certainly reached my destination hassle free with Bus Eireann.

I'm going to be rather backward and suggest that you got a bloody minded unionist customer support rep who took offence at a southern address. As when something similar has happened to me with Irish Rail I've got a taxi there and then, and I've had refunds off Bus Eireann... and Translink's divisions do have markedly better customer service across the board than CIEs.

I got a fare refunded by Ulsterbus due to the bus (a Chambers one under contract at that) having faulty aircon and being uncomfortably warm!

You've one bad experience from how many times using UB? I've probably made a good few hundred journeys on UB and probably similar on NIR.

Match Me Sidney · 22-02-2008 8:27pm

I hear your point. It sounds like you've probably made more journeys on the nationwide service than me. That said, here's another one for you...

I travel down to Dublin a lot and I've noticed they seem to split the bus schedule between Bus Eireann and Ulsterbus. As it happens, I almost always happen to catch the Bus Eireann service down, but last week I was waiting at the stance and an Ulsterbus showed up. Although a bit raw after the previous experiance with them, I got on anyway as the digital timetable in the station said it was going direct to Dublin Airport and then Busaras. Unfortunatley no one seemed to have informed the driver of his route as he proceeded to make three further stops on the way down adding almost another hour to the journey! Not only that, but he let some fella smoke on the bus, only saying afterwards as we reached Busaras and the guy had gotten off, "Did anyone see how long he was smoking on the bus for?"

I don't know... maybe I'm just unlucky with them. That said however, the above story of my trip down to Galway I think is still completlely unacceptable.

P.S. As for the southern address thing, I actually live in Derry so it must have been some other reason

L1011 · 22-02-2008 8:32pm

I suspect the sign board was wrong as those three stops are scheduled - they even do them at night when nobodies likely to get on/off but that adds very little to the time... maybe the Europa bus centre detects you coming and changes the timetables?

As goes Derry, your location currently says Dublin so I assumed... oh well, assumptions are never good.

John R · 23-02-2008 1:32am

Match Me Sidney wrote: »

I hear your point. It sounds like you've probably made more journeys on the nationwide service than me. That said, here's another one for you...

I travel down to Dublin a lot and I've noticed they seem to split the bus schedule between Bus Eireann and Ulsterbus. As it happens, I almost always happen to catch the Bus Eireann service down, but last week I was waiting at the stance and an Ulsterbus showed up. Although a bit raw after the previous experiance with them, I got on anyway as the digital timetable in the station said it was going direct to Dublin Airport and then Busaras. Unfortunatley no one seemed to have informed the driver of his route as he proceeded to make three further stops on the way down adding almost another hour to the journey! Not only that, but he let some fella smoke on the bus, only saying afterwards as we reached Busaras and the guy had gotten off, "Did anyone see how long he was smoking on the bus for?"

I don't know... maybe I'm just unlucky with them. That said however, the above story of my trip down to Galway I think is still completlely unacceptable.

Out of date timetables for Bus Eireann services appearing in Ulsterbus booklets has been a regular thing for some time, usually on the peripheral connections.

The departures on the Belfast-Dublin route are split between the two companies, you can tell which is scheduled to operate it by looking at the service number on the timetables. 001 is Bus Eireann, 200 is Ulsterbus.

Most of the departures are scheduled to pick up in Sprucefield, Banbridge and Newry and some will set down in Dundalk and Drogheda on request. Sprucefield only adds a couple of minutes, Banbridge takes about 5m minutes extra but the traffic in Newry is atrocious and it can often take a long time to crawl through it in both directions.

At busy times services run with a relief bus, one will take all the Belfast passengers non-stop to Dublin while the other takes care of the intermediate stops.

Regarding smoking passengers; often the driver is the last one to notice, especially as they all know it isn't allowed so they hide out on the back row. If someone is smoking or doing anything else they shouldn't then inform the driver or tell the ignorant feckers to put it out yourself. All too oftem people sit in silence and then wait until they are leaving to berate the driver for not doing anything.

RadioCity · 23-02-2008 1:16pm

As was said earlier the Belfast-Dublin calls at Sprucefield, Banbridge and Newry to Pick up.
If these were listed on the departure board, passengers for these towns would attempt to get on the Dublin bus when a more frequent service to Newry is provided.
I'm open to correction but I think the information board in Europa shows "first set down Dublin Airport" rather than "first stop Dublin Airport". Announcements always reflect this also.

The only services southbound that do not operate into Newry are those that commence in Downpatrick.

As for travelling to Dublin from NI, I tend to avoid travelling by Bus Eireann after a few dodgy experiences.

Regarding complaints to drivers, for example about heating or another passenger, complain to the driver when an incident happens, not at the end of a journey. That puts the onus on the driver to do something about it.

In respect of out of date timetables, this one is a cracker. The 1850 from Omagh to Derry hasn't operated since 2004. The 0900 from Derry to Omagh (showing as 274) hasn't operated since August 2005.

John R · 23-02-2008 8:06pm

RadioCity wrote: »

In respect of out of date timetables, this one is a cracker. The 1850 from Omagh to Derry hasn't operated since 2004. The 0900 from Derry to Omagh (showing as 274) hasn't operated since August 2005.

True, however although it is inaccurate it will not leave unsuspecting passengers stranded. The southbound 273 from Derry and 296 from Omagh both run 15 mns later and still connect at Longford with the Monaghan-Athlone interlink. Northbound from Omagh there are connections to Derry earlier at 18.35 and later at 19.25.

It is just the internet version that is wrong, the printed table has the correct times.

bus full bus following

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