Aircoach Dublin-Cork express

devnull · 31-03-2012 9:53am #1

Looks like they have pipped GoBus to being the first to launch with this service:
http://www.aircoach.ie/news.article.php?ID=346

Aircoach, Ireland’s leading private bus and coach operator, and provider of luxury coach services operating to and from Dublin Airport, will shortly be making improvements to its Cork – Dublin City Centre – Dublin Airport service.

Following trials at key times alongside our regular service, we are very pleased to be the first coach operator to announce the introduction of an All-New Scheduled Express Service between Cork City Centre, Dublin City Centre and Dublin Airport.

We are pleased to confirm that we will be offering hourly services to and from Cork during parts of the day. Our coaches have complimentary WiFi access, leather seating and extra legroom, to help make your journey more comfortable.

The journey time between Cork and Dublin City Centre is scheduled to be just 3 hours, whilst the journey time between Cork and Dublin Airport is scheduled to be only 3½ hours.

Commencing from 07:00 on Monday 2nd April 2012, Aircoach will be offering Express services between Dublin and Cork at the following times:

From Cork to Dublin City Centre and Dublin Airport
01:00 04:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00

From Dublin Airport to Cork
07:30 09:30 11:30 13:30 15:30 17:30 19:30 23:30

From Dublin City Centre to Cork
08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 23:59

Please note that, in response to demand, our current service at 01:00 from Cork will become an Express service and will no longer serve intermediate towns heading to Dublin. Our current service at 19:30 from Dublin Airport and 20:00 from Dublin City Centre will also become an Express service and will no longer serve intermediate towns heading to Dublin.

Please check our website, www.aircoach.ie, for more details and complete timetable information. Booking for these new Express services will also open very soon at www.aircoach.ie. In the meantime, don’t forget you can still book online for all our services, including our existing Cork – Dublin City Centre – Dublin Airport service at www.aircoach.ie

If would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Service Team, between 09:00 and 17:30, 7 days a week, on +353 (0) 1 844 7118 or by email at info@aircoach.ie

You also keep up to date with the latest developments through our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/aircoach.ie or through Twitter at www.twitter.com/aircoach. Don’t forget to ‘Like’ us on Facebook to be notified of changes and offers.

We are very pleased to be able to offer these improvements on the services linking Cork and Dublin. We look forward to welcoming you onboard our existing Cork – Dublin City Centre – Dublin Airport and our new Express service in the near future.

Aircoach Team

Judgement Day · 31-03-2012 9:55am

How long will it last?

invinciblePRSTV · 31-03-2012 10:36am

That is excellent news on there being a 23.59 service Dublin - Cork. FINALLY a late night service to appease gig goers & sports fans.

Aka Ishur · 31-03-2012 10:44am

invinciblePRSTV wrote: »

That is excellent news on there being a 23.59 service Dublin - Cork. FINALLY a late night service to appease gig goers & sports fans.

Agree completely!

KCAccidental · 31-03-2012 11:16am

the late night bus from Dublin is much needed and will be a success. Twice I had to sleep in T2 in the airport last year because my flight got in at 9pm

coylemj · 31-03-2012 4:02pm

Judgement Day wrote: »

How long will it last?

Aircoach is a not a 'here today, gone tomorrow' company, they run several services to and from Dublin airport from all around Dublin city. The drivers are civil and courteous, the buses are clean and they have Wi-Fi on board.

Given a choice between Aircoach and a 1996 Toyota Corolla taxi which reeks of air freshner and cigarete smoke, I know which one I'd take to the airport.

foggy_lad · 31-03-2012 4:16pm

The express bus will beat the socks off the train for city centre to city centre timings!

What are Irish rail going to do now?

Judgement Day · 31-03-2012 6:17pm

foggy_lad wrote: »

The express bus will beat the socks off the train for city centre to city centre timings!

What are Irish rail going to do now?

In the time honoured fashion they will jack up the fares for an ever diminishing number of passengers.

greenbicycle · 31-03-2012 6:24pm

Wish they would bring back their belfast route now!

That's a great service to cork though.....

devnull · 31-03-2012 7:58pm

Judgement Day wrote: »

In the time honoured fashion they will jack up the fares for an ever diminishing number of passengers.

Not really - nothing to back this up and who knows what the fare structure will be. They tend not to jack their prices up very often, before the changes earlier this month, the time before was in 2008 and the time before that 2005.

greenbicycle wrote: »

Wish they would bring back their belfast route now!

The co-operation between two publicly owned transport operators in each country and their resources, as well as blocking access to the Europa bus centre meant that the Belfast route was frequently losing passengers and was pretty empty in the last year or two of it's running meant that the axing is not going to change.

foggy_lad wrote: »

What are Irish rail going to do now?

This is a bigger issue for Bus Eireann than Irish Rail as it stands at the moment, because quite frankly at 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm you have a Bus Eireann stopping service taking 4hrs 25 mins with an Aircoach one taking three hours. I can't see any sense for people using Bus Eireann now between the two cities although some no doubt will.

Mushy · 31-03-2012 8:26pm

Can't wait to use this. Much handier now, au revoir to the train for me anyway.

n97 mini · 31-03-2012 10:37pm

The irony that you can travel week nights from Dublin city centre to Cork (and Galway, Belfast etc) after 11:30pm for a lot less money than you can to somewhere in Dublin like Lucan, Balbriggan etc.

foggy_lad · 31-03-2012 11:43pm

Judgement Day wrote: »

In the time honoured fashion they will jack up the fares for an ever diminishing number of passengers.

They can't jack them up much more surely or all they will have travelling are board members and political wannabees in first class and free pass holders in steerage:D

devnull wrote: »

Not really - nothing to back this up and who knows what the fare structure will be. They tend not to jack their prices up very often, before the changes earlier this month, the time before was in 2008 and the time before that 2005.

They cant do much more damage than a standard fare of €60 single and €80+ open return(booked on-line)

This is a bigger issue for Bus Eireann than Irish Rail as it stands at the moment, because quite frankly at 8am, 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm you have a Bus Eireann stopping service taking 4hrs 25 mins with an Aircoach one taking three hours. I can't see any sense for people using Bus Eireann now between the two cities although some no doubt will.

Those Bus Eireann stopping services are pretty well patronised by people travelling between intermediate stops and there are not so many people travelling to cork because of the distance and the current aircoach service being cheaper and more comfortable and having WiFi.

dowlingm · 01-04-2012 12:04am

without realtime vehicle location accessible from a cellphone I wouldn't chance an Aircoach service ex Dublin City Centre originating from DUB. The other way would be a different story as it would simply being a question of being on time to be in the queue in Cork.

Just looked at Aircoach's realtime info on the website - requires IE (actually says "IE5.5 on a PC". As Ross O'Carroll Kelly would say: Fock off.

devnull · 01-04-2012 12:18pm

Interestingly on their twitter account they are calling this the first phase so perhaps more to come.

LeftBlank · 01-04-2012 2:32pm

Do Aircoach buses have a toilet on board? 3 hours is a long time to go without access to one.

Slugs · 01-04-2012 3:28pm

Was actually just coming on boards to see if anyone knew of a late night bus service from dublin to cork, perfect timing really. I hope this service lasts, at least til May!

devnull · 01-04-2012 4:12pm

LeftBlank wrote: »

Do Aircoach buses have a toilet on board? 3 hours is a long time to go without access to one.

There's a couple that do (the two white coaches) but the majority of them do not. The ones without the toilets are more comfortable though and have leather seats and better legroom but obviously that is not really helpful if you desperately need a slash!!

The Cork to Dublin existing service had a stop half way on the trip for toilet breaks etc, I'm not sure if the new one would have such a stop, I guess it is something you could ask them on Facebook, twitter or email them etc?

KCAccidental · 01-04-2012 4:13pm

LeftBlank wrote: »

Do Aircoach buses have a toilet on board? 3 hours is a long time to go without access to one.

maybe they might still have a comfort break in urlingford. I know when BE run an express service they still stop in urlingford for 15 mins.

dowlingm · 01-04-2012 4:55pm

All jokes aside - (haha very funny RUI on twitter/Victor here) - IE need to respond now. They surely knew those applications were in/granted. They still retain a competitive advantage to Charleville/Mallow/Tralee/Killarney but faffing around with services through Nenagh when there is a seeming more obvious market leaving Dublin to make Cork and Limerick before 9 is inexplicable.

devnull · 01-04-2012 7:38pm

I think the majority of people who are going to use bus over train are going to do so on cost grounds more than anything else, sure you can still get some good fares with Irish Rail, but at the end of the day the bus allows more flexibility and no need to book far ahead to get the cheapest prices and with the new services there is no longer the time difference there once was.

However those who like tables to be able to work at, and value toilets will probably prefer a train if they feel the cost is worthwhile. I personally never use the train, because of the reasons I gave above.

toadpenguin · 01-04-2012 8:24pm

Excellent news, really hope this stays going! Does anyone have any ideas what kind of price increase this will have over the Dublin - Cork service they're currently running?

SandyfordGuy · 01-04-2012 8:40pm

I'm not sure why there would be any issue getting a coach from Dublin Airport at Dublin City Centre to Cork, I have relatives down there and have been using the service about a dozen weekends there and back in the last 12 months or so and have never had a problem. There was once instance when the Quays were closed and there was heavy delays but that was the only issue - Of course I've seen 2-3 people turned away before on one or two occasions where the coach is full, but then again Aircoach have not recently been shy pushing the fact if you book online you are sure of a seat.

In any case as has been said in the other thread, they are using the 2009 registered Volvo Coaches which are very nice, great legroom, wifi and leather seats, a cut above anything that Bus Eireann have ever offered, although if rumours about the new coaches Bus Eireann are going to get in stock are true then that may not be the case for much longer. But then again the BE timetable is far less attractive so I don't think that is going to be a big winner on it's own for BE.

I think only the one coach had a toilet on it, a white Setra, but I am not sure if that is still around as I have not seen it for a few months or so.

What I will say though is Aircoach need to improve their marketing if they want this route to be a success, as at the moment it is diabolical and their website needs a re-design.

dowlingm · 01-04-2012 10:52pm

SandyfordGuy - it may be that my experience was atypical (being left in Westmoreland St and arriving at destination over two hours down on a time-sensitive trip having preferred AC over BE for exactly that reason) where a DUB bus simply bypassed the city centre without another one being ready to do (and with a driver who had a scooby what the route was). That was January 2011, maybe things are better now.

AlekSmart · 01-04-2012 10:54pm

SandyfordGuy wrote: »

I think only the one coach had a toilet on it, a white Setra, but I am not sure if that is still around as I have not seen it for a few months or so.

Coach Toilets are a fantastic idea,as long as you do not choose to sit within 3 rows of seats from them.........:o

devnull · 02-04-2012 8:29am

I've only been on one coach that hasn't suffered from the problems thar AlekSmart has alluded too, this was a very high end Setra 431DT double decker which had the toilets under the back stairwell, sealed off in a very comprehensive way almost like a proper compartment rather than a cupboard like most!

bk · 02-04-2012 9:18am

I'm obviously delighted to hear this news

As I said before this will mean big trouble for Irish Rail and BE.

However I look forward to the launch of GoBus's service. I much prefer to have a toilet on board.

I hope GoBus intersperse their timetable with AirCoachs, so we end up with an hourly service between Cork and Dublin.

Very happy news and just in time for my trip down to Cork next weekend. After 10 years of use, I'll not be using Irish Rail again.

bk · 02-04-2012 9:49am

Yes the Aircoach website is fairly awful and in desperate need of a redesign.

The GoBus site is much better, however it could do with one or two bug fixes and it would be great if it had a Real Time Arrival info and Map.

Judgement Day · 02-04-2012 9:58am

bk - does that mean you'll stop posting about Irish Rail then?

jaspertheghost · 02-04-2012 10:04am

thats great!! screw you irish rail...time to drop ye`re prices....only bad thing about aircoach is no jax on the bus....

devnull · 02-04-2012 10:34am

The Aircoach site does need updating - it was nice when it was introduced, but it must have been in place for about 6-7 years now and they really could promote Twitter and Facebook more etc which maybe would help drum up extra business and spread the word better.

No toilets is not a problem for me, maybe they still have a rest stop, it would be nice to find out if that actually is the case or not I do prefer the newest Aircoach vehicles to the GoBus ones though, the seating layout, as mentioned before on Gobus, is not as roomy or as comfortable, especially down the back.

bk · 02-04-2012 10:44am

Judgement Day wrote: »

bk - does that mean you'll stop posting about Irish Rail then?

I will stop posting about Irish Rail, just as soon as they stop taking a 200 million a year in subsidies. Even if I never use IR again, it is still going to cost me in taxes.

But I'll admit I'll have less first hand experience of IR's services in future.

mydiscworld · 02-04-2012 11:33am

3 hours non stop. This is great news.

Does it cost any more? Couldn't tell from website.

I do wonder that if GoBus run a similar timetable, will they take some of AirCoach's passengers with their on board toilet feature.

GoBus should def run the hour AirCoach isn't, giving an hourly service Cork to Dublin.

IE will need to react, no doubt. Their avg train time is 2hrs 45 to 2hrs 50. You must get to/from train station too.

So quicker now Dublin city centre to Cork city centre on AirCoach, traffic dependant.

Kumsheen · 02-04-2012 11:52am

This is great news. Aircoach need to do a bit of marketing now to promote this new service.
It's the 2nd Apr already and even the website is not up to date, just a mention in the news section.
The revenue they are now not getting because of lack of awareness could easilly been spent on a bit of Pre-Launch advertising.

Roll on the GoBus service so we can have some healthy competition.

devnull · 02-04-2012 12:05pm

I've seen this happen before with Aircoach on other route launches, in particular the Greystones one which had a banner linking to the timetable for about 6 months but nothing in the timetables section itself, parts of the website such as live position were broken for a while before they were removed and there are still a few bits of the site that are outdated even before the new route launch.

The impression I get that there is nobody there who is really dedicated to the web side of things, be that the website, social networking, or that kind of thing and if there is there is only perhaps one person who is able to do certain tasks, as the news is always well updated but other things are only done in batches I presume as the news is done through an administration interface and the rest needs some kind of web/development skills which may not be in wide supply in the company which causes the slowdown.

Having worked in IT myself, the above is not that uncommon, particularly in small companies that are based mostly outdoors with very if any full-time few office staff - however it's not something that is quite hard to address. just a few hours work on that website would make a big difference almost immediately, even I could do it!

SandyfordGuy · 02-04-2012 12:13pm

Oh come on, we both know that it is not so simple, what exactly is going to help in the short term without some investment that is no doubt tight?

devnull · 02-04-2012 12:32pm

Well it doesn't require investment really, whilst a total redesign would be nice, just some small few minute tweaks to the current one would make a huge difference.

EG:
- More interaction on Twitter and Facebook, offer a free tickets to a random person when a milestone of followers or fans on Facebook are reached.
- Links to Facebook and Twitter via a little logo at the bottom of every page
- Update of 'Our Service' page to look a little less boring and outline what the coaches offer (Wifi, extra legroom, leather seating, etc) with graphics.
- Make it clear wireless is offered - this isn't mentioned anywhere on the site!!
- Aircoach have lovely new 2009 coaches, but do not feature a single picture of them on their site?! In fact there is no picture of any coach apart from on the front page.
- Travel Shop Belfast - does this exist any more, the service does not?
- Replace the current heavily outdated logo with the Travel in Luxury one and make it slightly bigger.
- You can then move the list of routes in the image under the logo to the top right hand corner beside the logo and also use this top right area as an advertising space for offers/services as well as the list of routes*
- Use the freed up space under logo to use pictures of coaches the aircoach desk etc to break the text up*

* = Already done before, see an old page style here:
http://www.bookassist.com/affiliate/aircoach/ba_ireland.html

None of that requires investment, none of it requires a total redesign, but it makes a damn good bit of difference for no cost outlay. Of course ideally it would go further, but they're a good start if you are going to use the current design as a basis.

Ronnie Binge · 02-04-2012 12:55pm

Good for Aircoach, I find their service to the airport to be excellent and their parent company, First, have reasonably deep pockets to make it a success.

Personally however, if I was travelling to Cork I would use the train in almost any circumstance, unless I needed to use the late night service. I find long distance coach travel to be claustrophobic. Having a work space and access to coffee and sandwiches is for me an infinitely better way to travel.

However, choice is good and BÉ's offering on the coach route is poor and unattractive.

SandyfordGuy · 02-04-2012 1:34pm

They've updated the site now.

munchkin_utd · 02-04-2012 1:51pm

SandyfordGuy wrote: »

They've updated the site now.

pure scandal though hidden on the terms of the new service.
pensioners or other vunerable people with free travel passes (but plenty enough cash to be...) jetting off to the sun cant use the express bus to Dublin airport to do so.
After loosing their free passport last year and all ......
Terrible. :rolleyes:

mock pity aside.
The late services leaving Dublin airport are a great addition.
For those of us on the continent (or beyond) relying on evening flights to Dublin in order to get to Cork, they are literally a godsend as the only alternative is to fly to Cork via Heathrow/ Amsterdam or hire a car one way from Dublin to cork after the last bus had left at 7pm.
Or take days off work and get one of the few direct connections that may exist to Cork.

devnull · 02-04-2012 1:56pm

That Cork Timetable page is absolutely shocking.

It is the most unfriendly page to the eye I think I have ever seen. You have the paragraphs of text at the top that tries to be all things to everyone but just makes the thing look too complicated. Then as for the tables down below, they are not much nicer.

Really all they need to do is to stick the information about the Express service on one page, the information about the stopping service on the other page (like citylink), with a note at the top of each saying <click here> for details on the other one. Either that or put them on the same page but in different sections but right now it's not user friendly in the slightest.

They also should get rid of all of those rogue < signs that appear randomly and make the link to the PDF actually work. At least they've got rid of the initial banner though that was there, which truly was shocking, the current one is better for sure even if the spelling of Ballinteer is wrong!

n97 mini · 02-04-2012 3:01pm

What is the latest service before midnight that departs Cork for Dublin city centre? It still seems to be the train at 2030?

mydiscworld · 02-04-2012 3:39pm

So the express service appears to be same price as the slower one.

€22 Adult return Cork to Dublin city. Add €6 if going to/from Dublin airport.

devnull · 02-04-2012 5:09pm

n97 mini wrote: »

What is the latest service before midnight that departs Cork for Dublin city centre? It still seems to be the train at 2030?

Still the 7pm (commuter) service is the last bus. First one is 1.00am next morning (express) However they do state on Facebook and also on Twitter that this is the first phase of the new route and they appear to be still advertising for extra drivers, so maybe they will add later services a short while down the line.

mydiscworld wrote: »

So the express service appears to be same price as the slower one.

€22 Adult return Cork to Dublin city. Add €6 if going to/from Dublin airport.

It would seem that way - It will be interesting to see if returns bought on bus can use the return journey on a differing type of service, be that express or commuter from the initial one. Hopefully they will.

When they update the online booking for the new service it should give us a good idea from the options it allows you to select.

SandyfordGuy · 02-04-2012 5:24pm

Relax - there is nothing wrong with the website, you can read it easily I don't see what the problem is, christ it's not the end of the world. What they want to do with it at the end of the day is up to them, if you feel so strongly about it why don't you email them with it rather than posting it here, perhaps we could even get back on topic?

The mis-spelling and the broken link are purely just an oversight, don't you ever make mistakes yourself? Come on, lighten up and lets discuss the topic at hand rather than trying to nit pick as much as possible it's great to have a new service, and I'm sure that running a bus company is more about operational quality rather than how good your website is, because after all the first thing someone thinks of when using a company is not how good their website is, it's all about the service.

The rest of you - if you have questions why not pick up the dog and bone and actually call the guys at Aircoach or email them or something like that, you know they're not going to post replies to your nit picking comments here, so why criticize!

SandyfordGuy · 02-04-2012 7:14pm

You will all be happy to know the issues now appear to be fixed so you grammar nazi's can sleep easily tonight.

The PDF also now works:
http://www.aircoach.ie/media/Cork%20Flyer%20120402.pdf

It is easier to read than the website, which should hopefully help the people who are unable to make out the table on the site.

double jeopardy · 02-04-2012 11:06pm

There is no room for any other operator on this route now.Aircoach has actualy planned all this very well.They are head to head on bus eireanns times which will guarantee them all dublin/cork bound "Bus Eireann" passengers and they have the multi stop at the other hour.Irish rail run on the half hour so whoever the other operator is supposed to be i wouldnt fancy their chances.The passenger flow isnt there for half hour services and First will put resources on this if needs be, that no operator here or in the UK could even imagine.
I was of the impression that this new transport authority was goin to be the bee's Knees.Why would they flood this route with licences again where its sufficiently serviced with bus eireann and aircoach already?

bk · 03-04-2012 12:00am

double jeopardy what a load of bull.

If Galway can sustaining three operators operating four routes in addition to rail, then there is plenty of room in Cork for similar:

Galway:
Gobus hourly direct
CityLink hourly direct
CityLink bi-hourly stopping
Bus Eireann bi-hourly stopping

Cork currently has:
Aircoach bi-hourly direct
Aircoach bi-hourly stopping
Bus Eireann bi-hourly stopping

So you see there is plenty of space for a third operator. If GoBus even put on a hourly direct service, there would still actually be less services then to Galway! So plenty of room for another operator to our second largest city.

GoBus shouldn't have much trouble competing, with their onboard toilets and superior website and advertising, they shouldn't have much trouble against Aircoach, BE and IR. Given that they successfully compete in Galway against CityLink, who are frankly far more aggressive and savvy then Aircoach, I don't think they will be too worried.

As for why the NTA would "flood" this route. I would ask you, why shouldn't they?

Let the companies compete, it will force them to provide better services and keep prices low. We have seen that in Galway where due to GoBus/CityLink, BE have been forced to introduce newer, much nicer buses and free wifi and Irish Rail actually reduced their train ticket prices and introduced free wifi.

Great news for the consumer. I can't understand why anyone would be against this unless they have a vested interested in one of the older operators.

This is all well within the NTA policy documents which recommend the licensing of two hourly (i.e. every 30 minutes) direct services on intercity routes and two bi-hourly (i.e. every hour) stopping service on intercity routes.

In fact per this policy, if GoBus enter with an hourly service and assuming Aircoach only got a license for a bi-hourly service, we could actually see a fourth service provider offering a bi-hourly direct service *

* I actually doubt this, I assume Aircoach have a license for an hourly direct service, but are running only bi-hourly at the moment and will expand to hourly in time.

devnull · 03-04-2012 8:29am

Glad that they have fixed the errors up, looks better now for sure.

First are going through a tough time in the UK right now and are having to sell of numerous parts of their bus empire to meet their financial targets, they certainly do not have such deep pockets as they did before which has seen their share price going flying in the wrong direction. So I wouldn't expect mass investment, especially when Aircoach was apparently loss making in their last accounts.

Saying that I'm sure Aircoach themselves have some reserves and a little investment from First is likely.

foxyboxer · 03-04-2012 9:16am

Trying to book the westmoreland street to cork and can't book the 6pm express service. Sigh. It just shows the normal routes. (i.e. 5pm, 7pm etc)

Is there are seperate link for the express?

SandyfordGuy · 03-04-2012 9:51am

Some answers for you all (based on confirmed information from Aircoach)

Toilets:
If a passenger requires a toilet break, the driver will be happy to stop in Urlingford or elsewhere if necessary, for example a petrol station.

Online Booking:
The online booking system is being updated and fares for the express service should be able to be booked online very soon. Until then you should buy your ticket from the driver as normal - the price is the same as buying online.

Timetable News:
Phase 2 of the New Cork Express service will see a further big increase in the number of Express services. This will be launching in the quite near future. No dates confirmed as yet, but likely to relate to recruitment as they still are advertising for extra staff.

Aircoach Dublin-Cork express

Comments