Dublin Bus disgrace

darkman2

Hi,


I was coming through Dublin Airport today, as I do relatively frequently, and I am absolutely appalled by the disgraceful service of Dublin Bus. The distain this company has for its customers is unrivalled in the Western World I would think.


The Driver see's fit to take his 20 minute break (at the behest of the unions) at the Airport every single bloody time I get the bus from there and decides - wait I will extend that to 35 minutes. To rub salt into the wounds of cold, disheartened passengers I will stand right beside them smoking my ciggerette and drinking my coffee in complete disdain and ignorance that they expect me to cheuffeur them around.

Then you get on the bus to be greeted by fowl language because someone has not prepared the proper change upon boarding. This person could not even speak English! I was completely embarrased and ASHAMED at this miserable excuse for transport from the country's main airport. Shocking and Dublin Bus should be ashamed of themselves.

Then when we were stuck in traffic the driver starts rambling on to me (as I was waiting to leave the bus) about how that 'bastard' Cullen wants to privitise 'us'. As if I, as a customer, owe him a debt of f'ing gratitude!:mad: What a complete disgrace and an overwhelming embarrasment to the Irish ppl this excuse of a transport company is. I honestly can not wait until this company is smashed into smiderines and privitised.:mad: :mad: BTW I could go on as something stupid like this seems to happen every time I get the bus fromm the airport. Im not over reacting by the way. I was genuinely appalled and humiliated as an Irish person in front of our foreign guests:mad:

P.S Cullen Get a metro out there QUICK!

Metrobest

The biggest scandal is that this taxpayer-subsidised company has the nerve to charge passengers several times the normal fare to board this terrible service which doesn't even cross the Liffey.

The shambolic running of the 747 is the first impression many tourists get of the Dublin Bus network. Cead Mile failte how are ya!

There is a machine beside the 747 stops which purports to sell single and one-day tickets. I remember a couple of years ago trying to slot my 5 euro note into the thing to no avail. When I asked the customer service person standing around, he mumbled something like "sure that machine has never worked". I thought to myself, why is it there then? And you not put up a sign "machine not working - ever."

And by the way, a one-day pass (unlimited travel all day) is the same price as a single ticket on the 747. Why does Dublin Bus insist on ripping off tourists by not selling them a daily ticket for the same price?

There's nothing more depressing than arriving into Dublin from a place like Holland and being greeted with the Dublin Bus shambles.

The only saving grace is the excellent AirCoach for which I always happily fork out the extra euro or two.

Victor

darkman2, what route did you get and did you make a complaint (writing is better).

darkman2

I am going to write a letter Victor probrably over the weekend or send them an email. Im sure there are many who frequent this forum with similar and worse stories. This is a complete embarrasment coming into Dublin Airport for our tourists as Metro Best says. Its probrably more to do with the monopoly the company enjoys at Dublin Airport. They need a serious kick up the back side and if the unions revert to type and threathen strikes then ignore them IMO. This is definately in the National interest to see this company gone for good and privitised. There is no competition at the Airport. Hence why I really want the metro to begin ASAP.

vandermeyde

darkman2 wrote:

There is no competition at the Airport.

in fairness, there's Aircoach or a Taxi as a public transport alternative so that statement is erroneous...

steve-o

darkman2 wrote:

Then you get on the bus to be greeted by fowl language

Clucking? Or just general squawking?

secret_squirrel

So there was one driver on one service and the whole bus company is a disgrace?

Lets try and keep a sense of proportion shall we?

Which service was it for a start?

I get the bus from the Airport every single day and have for years and have yet to see a driver behave as you describe. The worst I have seen is a driver short temperly explaining how they only take exact fares or travel cards on the non-74x services.

Blaming the whole company for 1 drivers behaviour is a major overreaction imo.

KC61

I have to say that I frequently take Dublin Bus services to/from the Airport and I've experienced nothing of the above. Maybe I was fortunate, I don't know.

It does sound like you had a particularly bad experience and as Victor says, you should certainly write into Dublin Bus with the date, time and the number of the bus if you have it, as this sort of behaviour is inexcusable.

Regarding the taking of extended breaks - none of routes 16A, 746 or 747/748 have driver breaks as such at the airport. They all have scheduled departure times, for which they may arrive early depending on traffic, and it's perfectly reasonable for a driver to take a short break within the time permitted. If, however, in this case the driver didn't leave at the time he was scheduled to do so, then unless he was so instructed by the route controller, he would be in breach of the rules. Did you check the scheduled departure time on the timetable?

To clarify Metrobest's post - the 747/748 is not subsidised by the taxpayer - it has to pay for itself - hence the higher fares.

As for appalling service, I've never had a problem with it operationally - it runs as scheduled certainly anytime I've got it and has been very quick.

We go back to our previous discussions on the topic of DB operational flexibility - DB can only operate where they are licensed to do so - I would imagine Aircoach wouldn't be too happy if it went southside! Remember that DB did try to increase the frequency and go 24-hour on route 746 to Dun Laoghaire and as Aquavid pointed out were prevented from doing so at the very last minute by the Department.

The ticket machine has worked - I've bought tickets at it only last summer - but it's not excusable to leave it unserviceable or for a member of staff to be apathetic to it.

markpb

Metrobest wrote:

The biggest scandal is that this taxpayer-subsidised company has the nerve to charge passengers several times the normal fare to board this terrible service which doesn't even cross the Liffey.

If it was to cross the river, where do you think it should run? It's not a fair compairson but here in LA, the MTA airport bus runs from Union station. In London, the Heathrow express runs from Paddington. In Paris, the Ryanair bus runs from Place de Concorde. In all cases they run to the city centre where they connect with the rest of the (admittedly better than Dublins') public transport network.

Also, most airport express services cost more than regular services. Dublin is hardly an exception.

There is a machine beside the 747 stops which purports to sell single and one-day tickets. I remember a couple of years ago trying to slot my 5 euro note into the thing to no avail. When I asked the customer service person standing around, he mumbled something like "sure that machine has never worked". I thought to myself, why is it there then? And you not put up a sign "machine not working - ever."

I've used that machine countless times and never saw both of them out of order (except when one is being reloaded) or had any problems with it. Of course, the DB guy sees it far more often than me but it's also true that he wouldn't be aware of them when they're not working.

And by the way, a one-day pass (unlimited travel all day) is the same price as a single ticket on the 747. Why does Dublin Bus insist on ripping off tourists by not selling them a daily ticket for the same price?

I think you're grasping for something to criticise. One day tickets are valid for 747 and 748 routes. So the way I look at it, customers pay for their bus into town and can then use any city bus they like for the rest of the day to get to their hotel, etc. It also counters your earlier argument about airport buses not crossing the river.

SickCert

I was coming through Dublin Airport today, as I do relatively frequently, and I am absolutely appalled by the disgraceful service of Dublin Bus. The distain this company has for its customers is unrivalled in the Western World I would think.


The Driver see's fit to take his 20 minute break (at the behest of the unions) at the Airport every single bloody time I get the bus from there and decides - wait I will extend that to 35 minutes. To rub salt into the wounds of cold, disheartened passengers I will stand right beside them smoking my ciggerette and drinking my coffee in complete disdain and ignorance that they expect me to cheuffeur them around.

Then you get on the bus to be greeted by fowl language because someone has not prepared the proper change upon boarding. This person could not even speak English! I was completely embarrased and ASHAMED at this miserable excuse for transport from the country's main airport. Shocking and Dublin Bus should be ashamed of themselves.

Then when we were stuck in traffic the driver starts rambling on to me (as I was waiting to leave the bus) about how that 'bastard' Cullen wants to privitise 'us'. As if I, as a customer, owe him a debt of f'ing gratitude! What a complete disgrace and an overwhelming embarrasment to the Irish ppl this excuse of a transport company is. I honestly can not wait until this company is smashed into smiderines and privitised. BTW I could go on as something stupid like this seems to happen every time I get the bus fromm the airport. Im not over reacting by the way. I was genuinely appalled and humiliated as an Irish person in front of our foreign guests

P.S Cullen Get a metro out there QUICK!

The unions insist we take a minimum of 45mins break and i dont think the 747's OR other services (maybe 230's) take it at the airport.

What time did you arrive at? Stance inspector was present until early evening and wouldnt allow a 35min gap to open.

spareman

darkman2 wrote:

I was coming through Dublin Airport today, as I do relatively frequently, and I am absolutely appalled by the disgraceful service of Dublin Bus. The distain this company has for its customers is unrivalled in the Western World I would think.

Your one unlucky member of the public, you travel frequently and it's always this bad? As other people who have posted say they travel frequently and have never come accross the stuff you have to put up with.

darkman2 wrote:

The Driver see's fit to take his 20 minute break (at the behest of the unions) at the Airport every single bloody time I get the bus from there and decides - wait I will extend that to 35 minutes. To rub salt into the wounds of cold, disheartened passengers I will stand right beside them smoking my ciggerette and drinking my coffee in complete disdain and ignorance that they expect me to cheuffeur them around.

Firstly no driver's on Dublin bus route's take any official breaks at the airport that I am aware of, If a driver arrives 35 mins before his sceuduled departure time, then he has a 35 min break, and yes during this time the driver is allowed to get himself a cup of tea/coffee or have a ciggerette, unfortunatly Dublin bus dont have a canteen out there and as a result the driver may spend this 35mins in the bus loading area with passengers, most of the time answering question's about which bus goes where and what time. You want the driver to load up and leave because you are ready to go, but the other passenger who has forked out €2 for a timetable and has checked it hasn't arrived yet.

darkman2 wrote:

Then you get on the bus to be greeted by fowl language because someone has not prepared the proper change upon boarding. This person could not even speak English! I was completely embarrased and ASHAMED at this miserable excuse for transport from the country's main airport. Shocking and Dublin Bus should be ashamed of themselves.

Ive never used foul language to any passenger's in any situation, and I would be the first to report a driver like this as he gives the rest of us a bad name, but your alway's going to get some bad apples in every walk of life, I do get pretty annoyed sometimes when passenger's who have been waiting 10/15 mins for a bus dont have the fare ready, but I would never use foul language.

darkman2 wrote:

Then when we were stuck in traffic the driver starts rambling on to me (as I was waiting to leave the bus) about how that 'bastard' Cullen wants to privitise 'us'. As if I, as a customer, owe him a debt of f'ing gratitude!:mad: What a complete disgrace and an overwhelming embarrasment to the Irish ppl this excuse of a transport company is. I honestly can not wait until this company is smashed into smiderines and privitised.:mad: :mad: BTW I could go on as something stupid like this seems to happen every time I get the bus fromm the airport. Im not over reacting by the way. I was genuinely appalled and humiliated as an Irish person in front of our foreign guests:mad:

To be honest I can't wait till it is broken up either, because Im sick to my teeth of listening to people like you, who have no idea how a bus company is or should be run, going around telling us privatisation would be great and everything would run smoothly etc etc blah blah. Only then we will know if you pro privateer's were right and judging from whats happening in other cities around the world I wouldn't be too confident.

Flukey

I've often got the bus to or from the airport and not had any major problems. I've never had long to wait. I've often advised visiting friends to get them too, rather than getting a taxi. Oh and Darkman, some of the airport buses do cross the Liffey. The 746 goes to Dún Laoghaire and the 16A to Rathfarnham. They charge regular fares too, not like the 747. You'll get rude drivers on any bus and rude people in any job. As a regular bus user, overall I am happy with the service and it is a major improvement on what we used to have, though undoubtedly there is scope for improvement. It is coming. One time, before Aircoach proved there was a demand, there was no buses to the airport by Dublin Bus. Whatever about 35 minutes, back then people would have been literally waiting years for a bus!

AlekSmart

One interesting factor in Mr Darkman2`s post is the general realization shown in the replies that things ain`t too bad out at Collinstown.
Given that the Airport has been allowed to develop in somewhat of a vacuum half way between the major population centre of Swords and the City it`s a revelation that Dublin Bus manages to service it at all.
One thing`s for certain very few major EU Capital City Airports outside of the accession states will have public transport available for as little as €1.90 OR €5 for a Day Pass.
Now as for the Metro.....well,that`s going to be a hoss of a different colour.....time for a DarkMan3 perhaps ...???

spurious

AlekSmart wrote:

One thing`s for certain very few major EU Capital City Airports outside of the accession states will have public transport available for as little as €1.90 OR €5 for a Day Pass.

Or €1.65 if you happen to have a Travel 90 handy - the secret weapon of the regular bus user.

Red Alert

OP Did you actually buy a timetable?

The Swordsman

I was downstairs on a bus one time going from Ballsbridge to town. It was an awful day - end of the world weather.

The bus stopped at Clare Street and this guy gets on and folds up his umbrella. The bus was packed so he had to stand downstairs near the front door and near the driver.

Suddenly the driver launched into a tirade giving out that the guys umbrella was dripping on the floor and making it wet. All the passengers were looking at each other in disbelief and the poor guy was absolutely mortified. I think if it had been me, I would be doing a stretch for it now.

Anyway, as a matter of interest (I'm not trying to wind anyone up here), are Dublin Bus drivers required to do training in customer service?

spareman

The Swordsman wrote:

I was downstairs on a bus one time going from Ballsbridge to town. It was an awful day - end of the world weather.

The bus stopped at Clare Street and this guy gets on and folds up his umbrella. The bus was packed so he had to stand downstairs near the front door and near the driver.

Suddenly the driver launched into a tirade giving out that the guys umbrella was dripping on the floor and making it wet. All the passengers were looking at each other in disbelief and the poor guy was absolutely mortified. I think if it had been me, I would be doing a stretch for it now.

Anyway, as a matter of interest (I'm not trying to wind anyone up here), are Dublin Bus drivers required to do training in customer service?

As I said above you will always get a few bad apples in every walk of life, Ive met them myself, they are everywhere, look around your workplace and tell me honestly that everyone there love's thier Job and is always nice to people, and yes all drivers are sent on course's for customer service, it doesn't make a difference to some though.

spareman

Red Alert wrote:

OP Did you actually buy a timetable?

Or even read the free one provided at the Airport?

SickCert

Anyway, as a matter of interest (I'm not trying to wind anyone up here), are Dublin Bus drivers required to do training in customer service?

The last course was a few years ago at the Montrose if i remember correctly.
Many drivers do have a bad day and pass it on to the passenger which they shouldnt. But you dont know whats happened a few stops earlier, road rage, druggie removal, handbags at 10 paces etc.

My personal hate is the DLRCC offices and the staff in there when buying the house. As rude as ever!
We all have hates of certain employees.

Back to another point of the main post, i cant see a gap of 35mins at the airport.
Unless theres major delays, then your boy wouldnt have arrived 35mins up the field anyway.

The Swordsman

spareman wrote:

As I said above you will always get a few bad apples in every walk of life, Ive met them myself, they are everywhere, look around your workplace and tell me honestly that everyone there love's thier Job and is always nice to people, and yes all drivers are sent on course's for customer service, it doesn't make a difference to some though.

The majority of bus drivers I've encountered do their job very well. They are at the front end of a less than perfect service and they generally get the abuse for it. Watch the reaction a driver will get if the bus before his hasn't turned up.

Unfortunately, as you say, there are some bad apples in Dublin Bus as there are in most organisations. However, in my experience, I would say the proportion of bad apples to good apples in Dublin Bus is a bit higher than in most other organisations.

spareman

The Swordsman wrote:

However, in my experience, I would say the proportion of bad apples to good apples in Dublin Bus is a bit higher than in most other organisations.

How do you come to that conclusion?

biZrb

Flukey wrote:

One time, before Aircoach proved there was a demand, there was no buses to the airport by Dublin Bus. Whatever about 35 minutes, back then people would have been literally waiting years for a bus!

The 41 & 41C to and from Swords (to the city centre) have been going through the Airport for at least 20 years. Only recently has the 41C stopped going through the Airport.

The Swordsman

spareman wrote:

How do you come to that conclusion?

Like I say, from experience. It's just my opinion.

For example, a driver of a 45 wouldn't let me on the bus one day because there was a 7 ahead of him at the bus stop and that he thought that I should get on the one in front. I mentioned this incident to work colleagues the following day and was told that this sort of thing is common.

Another day a bus with no number stopped and starting picking up passengers. I asked him politely where the bus was going to and he totally blanked me. So I asked him again politely - same thing. Like an idiot, I gave up after the third time - I just couldn't have been bothered.

Maybe I have just been unlucky and happened to encounter too many of the bad apples and not enough of the good ones. I can't imagine attitudes like those I have portrayed being tolerated in most organisations. Having said all that I still think the majority of the drivers are fine.

secret_squirrel

Flukey wrote:

One time, before Aircoach proved there was a demand, there was no buses to the airport by Dublin Bus. Whatever about 35 minutes, back then people would have been literally waiting years for a bus!

Thats utter rubbish. The 747,748 and 746 were running way before Aircoach started up.

In addition to the normal routes mentioned above the 230 and 58x have been running for donkeys.

SickCert

Even until the late hours there is a 30min service on the 16a, 41's and the expresses so thats 6 buses an hour at night alone.

The driver has to deal with lost foreigners, paper money and guys and gals that know very little english - i think we do a great job.

Metrobest

SickCert wrote:

The driver has to deal with lost foreigners, paper money and guys and gals that know very little english - i think we do a great job.

Based on what you've written, I detect a case Stockholm syndrome.

SickCert

For those who dont know http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome

shltter

darkman2 wrote:

Hi,


I was coming through Dublin Airport today, as I do relatively frequently, and I am absolutely appalled by the disgraceful service of Dublin Bus. The distain this company has for its customers is unrivalled in the Western World I would think.


The Driver see's fit to take his 20 minute break (at the behest of the unions) at the Airport every single bloody time I get the bus from there and decides - wait I will extend that to 35 minutes. To rub salt into the wounds of cold, disheartened passengers I will stand right beside them smoking my ciggerette and drinking my coffee in complete disdain and ignorance that they expect me to cheuffeur them around.

Then you get on the bus to be greeted by fowl language because someone has not prepared the proper change upon boarding. This person could not even speak English! I was completely embarrased and ASHAMED at this miserable excuse for transport from the country's main airport. Shocking and Dublin Bus should be ashamed of themselves.

Then when we were stuck in traffic the driver starts rambling on to me (as I was waiting to leave the bus) about how that 'bastard' Cullen wants to privitise 'us'. As if I, as a customer, owe him a debt of f'ing gratitude!:mad: What a complete disgrace and an overwhelming embarrasment to the Irish ppl this excuse of a transport company is. I honestly can not wait until this company is smashed into smiderines and privitised.:mad: :mad: BTW I could go on as something stupid like this seems to happen every time I get the bus fromm the airport. Im not over reacting by the way. I was genuinely appalled and humiliated as an Irish person in front of our foreign guests:mad:

P.S Cullen Get a metro out there QUICK!

That is the biggest load of lies I have seen in a long while

IMO it is a completely invented story it is full of holes and stereotypes not to mention complete lies.


Darkman2 is a troll trying to start a flame


No shock that the other troll Metrobest jumps in in support straight away


This kind of trolling behaviour just makes a mockery of the commuting and transport forum.

AlekSmart

Nah Shllter.....I think the performers you mention add greatly to the gaiety of nations.
It didn`t take a great deal of forensic analysis to spot the stitch marks in the Darkman2`s clothes which, when coupled with the regular support cast,all go to fuel a whizzo of a Conspiracy Theory...(I`m too laid back for Wiki so I`ll leave that to somebody far sicker than I ...)
I for one would wish the process to continue as it serves to reveal far more about the supposed nirvana which awaits us all in the lap of the Private God.....Was this their Darkest Hour,,???

shltter

AlekSmart wrote:

Nah Shllter.....I think the performers you mention add greatly to the gaiety of nations.
It didn`t take a great deal of forensic analysis to spot the stitch marks in the Darkman2`s clothes which, when coupled with the regular support cast,all go to fuel a whizzo of a Conspiracy Theory...(I`m too laid back for Wiki so I`ll leave that to somebody far sicker than I ...)
I for one would wish the process to continue as it serves to reveal far more about the supposed nirvana which awaits us all in the lap of the Private God.....Was this their Darkest Hour,,???

Unfortunately alot of people seem to give this **** credence and cannot seem to spot the obvious troll.
My 9 year old would come up with a more believable story than that.

Its got the unions, smoking, taking 35 minute breaks, insulting the tourists, swearing, and to top it off the driver cant speak english but turns to a passenger to have a foul mouthed moan about the Minister for Transport.
(Are you sure he did not take his todger out and chase the female passengers as well)

Then at the end we get the real agenda lets privatise.


Of course no detail is provided like what route what time pesky facts like those only get in the way of a good troll.



( Maybe we can look forward to the privatise the ESB troll in which the meter reader comes around to Darkman 2s house beats his mother with a blunt object adds 500 units to his ESB bill before buggering his dog insulting the nearest Foreign national and pissing in his flowerbed.)

luckat

99pc of bus drivers give a great service - no, a good service - but that doesn't mean that the actual bus service is good. The whole thing has a shambolic feel.

I often get buses into town to start my evening shift at anything from 3.30 to 4pm. At 3.30 the buses usually arrive fast enough; at 4pm you can wait three-quarters of an hour - on a corner with five routes passing it!

And while most drivers are polite, and some are even friendly, the ones who are rude have more impact. Example: I had a shocking migraine one day about three months ago (three months: shows how rudeness sticks with you!) and was told to leave early, which in this case meant about 10.30. So I walked down O'Connell Street looking for a bus stop, and eventually found one in d'Olier Street.

One of the buses I could take pulled up at the next stop down and I waited for the passengers to get off then stepped up.

"Where do you think you're going?" said the driver.

Baffled, I told him my destination.

"Set-down only," he snapped, and turned his face away.

There was absolutely no need for sarcasm and nastiness. I made a mistake, and didn't realise, in the dark with a pounding head and sick stomach, that it was a set-down stop. So I got out, and waited another 25 minutes for the next bus.

It was a real sickener, and didn't make me love his employers, or want the best for busmen.

darkman2

shltter wrote:

Unfortunately alot of people seem to give this **** credence and cannot seem to spot the obvious troll.
My 9 year old would come up with a more believable story than that.

Its got the unions, smoking, taking 35 minute breaks, insulting the tourists, swearing, and to top it off the driver cant speak english but turns to a passenger to have a foul mouthed moan about the Minister for Transport.
(Are you sure he did not take his todger out and chase the female passengers as well)

Then at the end we get the real agenda lets privatise.


Of course no detail is provided like what route what time pesky facts like those only get in the way of a good troll.



( Maybe we can look forward to the privatise the ESB troll in which the meter reader comes around to Darkman 2s house beats his mother with a blunt object adds 500 units to his ESB bill before buggering his dog insulting the nearest Foreign national and pissing in his flowerbed.)

FYI it was the 16A. Oh and btw Ive got far better things to be doing with my time then coming on an internet forum and telling lies. Dont call me a liar over internet. I am not a liar. Show a little more respect.

Do you work for Dublin Bus?

If you do maybe you should take on board the criticisms levelled at the company. Im not the only one btw who thinks the entire organistion is a joke. I as a taxpayer in this country am entitled to my point of view. What I saw the other day was attrocious. Ive no symphathy left for Dublin Bus and therefore I welcome any plan to break up the company and end this Union ridden monopoly.

I hope you do work for Dublin Bus because your attitude is ironically quite relevant to this discussion.

BTW when did I ever say the driver could not speak English? Read before you reply.

Ray777

darkman2 wrote:

Ive no symphathy left for Dublin Bus and therefore I welcome any plan to break up the company and end this Union ridden monopoly.

Oh yes, that'll solve everything. Those wonderful philanthropic private operators, whose very raison d'etre is to provide a perfect service to the customer, as opposed to making a quick buck.

Jesus wept. :rolleyes:

Metrobest

Ray777 wrote:

Jesus wept. :rolleyes:

Didn't realised Jesus got so emotional about the break up of CIE.

Maybe (s)he's got Stockholm syndrome too :rolleyes:

AlekSmart

Snippety Snip>>>>>

Didn't realised Jesus got so emotional about the break up of CIE.

Maybe (s)he's got Stockholm syndrome too <<<<

I`ve cracked it !!!!!

It`s all about having RESPECT for the Swede`s......!!

shltter

darkman2 wrote:

FYI it was the 16A. Oh and btw Ive got far better things to be doing with my time then coming on an internet forum and telling lies. Dont call me a liar over internet. I am not a liar. Show a little more respect.

Do you work for Dublin Bus?

If you do maybe you should take on board the criticisms levelled at the company. Im not the only one btw who thinks the entire organistion is a joke. I as a taxpayer in this country am entitled to my point of view. What I saw the other day was attrocious. Ive no symphathy left for Dublin Bus and therefore I welcome any plan to break up the company and end this Union ridden monopoly.

I hope you do work for Dublin Bus because your attitude is ironically quite relevant to this discussion.

BTW when did I ever say the driver could not speak English? Read before you reply.

So it was the 16A and the time of the alleged event.

darkman2

shltter wrote:

So it was the 16A and the time of the alleged event.

For very obvious reasons I cant tell you the time. Wish I could but I cant over the internet.

Ham'nd'egger

darkman2 wrote:

For very obvious reasons I cant tell you the time. Wish I could but I cant over the internet.

I wonder why, I wonder why... :rolleyes:

darkman2

hmmm :rolleyes: could it be there are Dublin Bus contributers here that might be able to identify the driver?:rolleyes:

_Kaiser_

Maybe we should have a sticky....


Outraged passenger comes on to vent about their latest experience with Dublin Bus.

Usual band of drivers and union members/supporters jump in and accuse the OP of lying through his teeth cause sure Dublin Bus do a great job, and it's all the Minister's/Department's fault for not giving them even MORE money to squander on buses to replace ones that are still perfectly fine, or to hire more drivers rather than try to get the ones they have to do the job properly, or to pay for the union's latest wage demand because someone changed fish n chips day in the cafeteria to Thursday instead of Friday.

OP comes back to substantiate the story a bit more with times/route numbers etc.

Drivers/Union gang come back on throwing abuse at the OP and going totally off-topic just so they can feel big on the Internet (I can't think of any other legitimate reason for it)

OP gets sick of this and leaves them to it...

(and the cycle continues... open question to the Mods - why???)

KC61

darkman2 wrote:

For very obvious reasons I cant tell you the time. Wish I could but I cant over the internet.

Fair enough, and as I said above there is no excuse for a driver being rude or obnoxious.

However, you haven't answered the question that I posed above - did you check the scheduled departure time of the bus on the timetable at the stop, and did the bus leave late?

You referrred to the driver taking a 35 minute break. As I said, none of routes 16A, 746 or 747/748 have driver breaks as such at the airport. They all have scheduled departure times, for which they may arrive early depending on traffic, and in such circumstances the driver is perfectly entitled to take a stroll or go to smoke a cigarette. The bus could have been starting his duty there direct from Summerhill, and the driver could have pulled out of the garage early. The key question is what time was the bus due to leave the Airport.

Again if the driver didn't leave at the time he was scheduled to do so (without being instructed to do so by the route controller), he would be in breach of the rules. I would find it difficult to believe that a driver would deliberately leave 15 minutes late - it would be far too noticeable.

Edit:
I have no connection with Dublin Bus whatsoever other than being a daily passenger.

darkman2

KC61 wrote:

Fair enough, and certainly there is no excuse for being rude or obnoxious.

However, you haven't answered the question that I posed above - did you check the scheduled departure time of the bus on the timetable at the stop, and did the bus leave late?

You referrred to the driver taking a 35 minute break. As I said, none of routes 16A, 746 or 747/748 have driver breaks as such at the airport. They all have scheduled departure times, for which they may arrive early depending on traffic, and in such circumstances the driver is perfectly entitled to take a stroll or go to smoke a cigarette. The bus could have been starting his duty there direct from Summerhill, and the driver could have pulled out of the garage early. The key question is what time was the bus due to leave the Airport.

Again if the driver didn't leave at the time he was scheduled to do so (without being instructed to do so by the route controller), he would be in breach of the rules. I would find it difficult to believe that a driver would deliberately leave 15 minutes late - it would be far too noticeable.

OK,

Firstly, I dont object at all to Drivers taking breaks. Not at all. That would probrably be downright dangerous.

The bus was scheduled to leave 6 minutes after the hour. It ended up leaving just after the half hour but the bus was parked there since I arrived which was about 5 or 10 minutes earlier. So it was there quite a while. Initially I thought, fair enough, its probrably broken down or was put out of service. However 15 minutes after I arrived 2 bus drivers came out of the arrivals area onto the road (now maybe one of them was a conductor or something, I dont know) but they were chatting away. Meanwhile there was a number of us waiting for the bus and it was cold so we were not exactly happy to see this empty 16A just parked there. Anyhow the driver came toward us, got on the bus. When we were trying to get on the bus he said to wait so we got back off. He then spent a couple of minutes going up and down the bus as they do searching for bags or whatever. However he then got off the bus with a coffee in his hand and walked over to that ticket dispenser near the 16A stop, parked his coffee on top of it and sparked up. Then we must have spent the guts of 15 minutes wondering when the bus is going to leave. This is absolutely true. I was waiting 35 minutes for this bus to leave that was meant to leave 25 minutes earlier.

As regards the drivers behaviour when we actually got on the bus - fair enough maybe he was having a bad day but it was very distasteful to see that man get on the bus without the proper change practically been given out too. On top of that you know people had bags, some were quite big but they get no help from the driver (thats a common occurance anytime I go through the airport). Anyway got on our way then. Stopped at lights waiting to get off the bus I said something about dublin traffic (Never said a thing about Dublin Bus!) to the driver and somehow he managed to get to his mini rant about the transport minister before I said thank you and left the bus. Now yes it is the exception im sure but that does not excuse it IMO. I know many bus drivers do their jobs very well and Ive had positive experience with Dublin Bus as has everybody. However when you see sheer ignorance like that on display, you want to see things change.

KC61

darkman2 wrote:

OK,

Firstly, I dont object at all to Drivers taking breaks. Not at all. That would probrably be downright dangerous.

The bus was scheduled to leave 6 minutes after the hour. It ended up leaving just after the half hour but the bus was parked there since I arrived which was about 5 or 10 minutes earlier. So it was there quite a while. Initially I thought, fair enough, its probrably broken down or was put out of service. However 15 minutes after I arrived 2 bus drivers came out of the arrivals area onto the road (now maybe one of them was a conductor or something, I dont know) but they were chatting away. Meanwhile there was a number of us waiting for the bus and it was cold so we were not exactly happy to see this empty 16A just parked there. Anyhow the driver came toward us, got on the bus. When we were trying to get on the bus he said to wait so we got back off. He then spent a couple of minutes going up and down the bus as they do searching for bags or whatever. However he then got off the bus with a coffee in his hand and walked over to that ticket dispenser near the 16A stop, parked his coffee on top of it and sparked up. Then we must have spent the guts of 15 minutes wondering when the bus is going to leave. This is absolutely true. I was waiting 35 minutes for this bus to leave that was meant to leave 25 minutes earlier.

As regards the drivers behaviour when we actually got on the bus - fair enough maybe he was having a bad day but it was very distasteful to see that man get on the bus without the proper change practically been given out too. On top of that you know people had bags, some were quite big but they get no help from the driver (thats a common occurance anytime I go through the airport). Anyway got on our way then. Stopped at lights waiting to get off the bus I said something about dublin traffic (Never said a thing about Dublin Bus!) to the driver and somehow he managed to get to his mini rant about the transport minister before I said thank you and left the bus. Now yes it is the exception im sure but that does not excuse it IMO. I know many bus drivers do their jobs very well and Ive had positive experience with Dublin Bus as has everybody. However when you see sheer ignorance like that on display, you want to see things change.

As regards the last paragraph, I, in the main, agree with you!!! However, regarding baggage, drivers are instructed that they are not permitted to leave the driver's cab. They are not covered by insurance if they do.

In this case, to be honest, it sounds like that there was a bus missing. I would think that the bus that you got on was the next bus rather than the one that you were waiting on. What happened to the first bus I don't obviously know, but I really cannot imagine that a bus driver would risk departing 15 minutes late. That is a serious disciplineray offence. It does sound rather like he had arrived from the garage and was starting his duty at the Airport, and in that case it would be quite possible for him to arrive early and go for a stroll. Did the bus operate at the time that the following departure was scheduled? (you can check online at www.dublinbus.ie)

You're entitled to be annoyed - a bus did not operate as scheduled, but perhaps it was stuck in traffic somewhere. The 16/16A suffer from traffic congestion frequently, despite having 90-105 minutes to complete their journey. If this were the case, then I would have expected the controller to perhaps move the next bus up, but this obviously did not happen. There are no excuses for the driver's manners or lack of them, but it's quite possible that there was a valid reason for the particular bus that you were waiting for not operating.

shltter

darkman2 wrote:

OK,

Firstly, I dont object at all to Drivers taking breaks. Not at all. That would probrably be downright dangerous.

The bus was scheduled to leave 6 minutes after the hour. It ended up leaving just after the half hour but the bus was parked there since I arrived which was about 5 or 10 minutes earlier. So it was there quite a while. Initially I thought, fair enough, its probrably broken down or was put out of service. However 15 minutes after I arrived 2 bus drivers came out of the arrivals area onto the road (now maybe one of them was a conductor or something, I dont know) but they were chatting away. Meanwhile there was a number of us waiting for the bus and it was cold so we were not exactly happy to see this empty 16A just parked there. Anyhow the driver came toward us, got on the bus. When we were trying to get on the bus he said to wait so we got back off. He then spent a couple of minutes going up and down the bus as they do searching for bags or whatever. However he then got off the bus with a coffee in his hand and walked over to that ticket dispenser near the 16A stop, parked his coffee on top of it and sparked up. Then we must have spent the guts of 15 minutes wondering when the bus is going to leave. This is absolutely true. I was waiting 35 minutes for this bus to leave that was meant to leave 25 minutes earlier.

As regards the drivers behaviour when we actually got on the bus - fair enough maybe he was having a bad day but it was very distasteful to see that man get on the bus without the proper change practically been given out too. On top of that you know people had bags, some were quite big but they get no help from the driver (thats a common occurance anytime I go through the airport). Anyway got on our way then. Stopped at lights waiting to get off the bus I said something about dublin traffic (Never said a thing about Dublin Bus!) to the driver and somehow he managed to get to his mini rant about the transport minister before I said thank you and left the bus. Now yes it is the exception im sure but that does not excuse it IMO. I know many bus drivers do their jobs very well and Ive had positive experience with Dublin Bus as has everybody. However when you see sheer ignorance like that on display, you want to see things change.

Now your story has completely changed you refuse to say what time of the day this alleged incident happened .
Now you say that the 16A was due to leave at 6 minutes past some unknown hour however there is no such bus on the 16A timetable.
http://www.dublinbus.ie/your_journey/viewer.asp?route=16a
You also originally alleged that the driver had taken a 20 minute union mandated break which he then extended to 35 minutes of course no such break exists.
It now transpires that the driver was waiting for his timetabled departure time.

You originally alleged that the driver used fowl (sic) language to a passenger without the correct fare
Now it has changed to practically been given out to ( practically not actually)

You then suggest that as you stood waiting to get off the bus the driver launched into an abusive tirade about the Minister for Transport( Sounded like the guy had some mental issues)
Now it transpires that you engaged the driver in conversation about the traffic situation in Dublin which is a completely different situation than a driver turning to random passengers callg the Minister for transport a "Bastard".

Your story has absolutely no credibility either you wanted to beef up the fact that you were waiting for a bus or you made the whole thing up.

Since you wont say what time the alleged incident happened their is no point speculating on what may have happened to a particular bus.

darkman2

Its obvious you have serious issues with complaints about Dublin Bus.

I already told you why I will not give the time of the bus departure. Now either that timetable is wrong or the one at the airport is wrong. Quite frankly your not prepared to act like an adult and until you do ive got no intention of having this discussion with you anymore. Calling people liars with generally obnoxious and targeting posts im sure must be questionable under the charter for this forum. You also have not said whether you work for Dublin Bus or not. I would harzard a guess and say your connected with the company in some way because if you are not, with the posts you have posted, then you are the only troll here. So when you grow up, get back to me;)

spareman

shltter wrote:

Now your story has completely changed you refuse to say what time of the day this alleged incident happened .
Now you say that the 16A was due to leave at 6 minutes past some unknown hour however there is no such bus on the 16A timetable.
http://www.dublinbus.ie/your_journey/viewer.asp?route=16a
You also originally alleged that the driver had taken a 20 minute union mandated break which he then extended to 35 minutes of course no such break exists.
It now transpires that the driver was waiting for his timetabled departure time.

You originally alleged that the driver used fowl (sic) language to a passenger without the correct fare
Now it has changed to practically been given out to ( practically not actually)

You then suggest that as you stood waiting to get off the bus the driver launched into an abusive tirade about the Minister for Transport( Sounded like the guy had some mental issues)
Now it transpires that you engaged the driver in conversation about the traffic situation in Dublin which is a completely different situation than a driver turning to random passengers callg the Minister for transport a "Bastard".

Your story has absolutely no credibility either you wanted to beef up the fact that you were waiting for a bus or you made the whole thing up.

Since you wont say what time the alleged incident happened their is no point speculating on what may have happened to a particular bus.

Agree 110%, No consistency what so ever, How can we try to explain why something happen's when it's complete Bull****. and before you go accusing me of calling you a liar Mr. Darkman you said and I quote

The bus was scheduled to leave 6 minutes after the hour

If you check the timetable you will notice no such bus exists, that to me is a liar.
END OF THREAD PLEASE MODS........
NEXT PLEASE

darkman2

spareman wrote:

Agree 110%, No consistency what so ever, How can we try to explain why something happen's when it's complete Bull****. and before you go accusing me of calling you a liar Mr. Darkman you said and I quote If you check the timetable you will notice no such bus exists, that to me is a liar.
END OF THREAD PLEASE MODS........
NEXT PLEASE

Wonderful - you MUST be from Dublin Bus. As I said earlier your attitude is quite relevent to this thread. By the way there is absolutely nothing inconsistent in what I said and I have only stated what I saw and heard. You choose to ignore things that you find uncomfortable, thats up to you, nothing to do with me. Cherrio now - NEXT!

BTW just checked your timetable and supprise, supprise the bus is there and it does exist. So it wasnt imaginary after all..........:rolleyes: :rolleyes: Ive only been getting this bus occasionally for the last year or so!

KC61

darkman2 wrote:

Wonderful - you MUST be from Dublin Bus. As I said earlier your attitude is quite relevent to this thread. By the way there is absolutely nothing inconsistent in what I said and I have only stated what I saw and heard. You choose to ignore things that you find uncomfortable, thats up to you, nothing to do with me. Cherrio now - NEXT!

BTW just checked your timetable and supprise, supprise the bus is there and it does exist. So it wasnt imaginary after all..........:rolleyes: :rolleyes: Ive only been getting this bus occasionally for the last year or so!

Without getting into abuse, I am curious as a regular 16/16A user to just figure out whether my earlier hypothesis could be a possibility?

Could there have been a bus missing and the bus that you travelled on was the next bus?

darkman2

KC61 wrote:

Without getting into abuse, I am curious as a regular 16/16A user to just figure out whether my earlier hypothesis could be a possibility?

Could there have been a bus missing and the bus that you travelled on was the next bus?

Its possible I suppose but we were not told anything.

shltter

darkman2 wrote:

Its obvious you have serious issues with complaints about Dublin Bus.

I already told you why I will not give the time of the bus departure. Now either that timetable is wrong or the one at the airport is wrong. Quite frankly your not prepared to act like an adult and until you do ive got no intention of having this discussion with you anymore. Calling people liars with generally obnoxious and targeting posts im sure must be questionable under the charter for this forum. You also have not said whether you work for Dublin Bus or not. I would harzard a guess and say your connected with the company in some way because if you are not, with the posts you have posted, then you are the only troll here. So when you grow up, get back to me;)

I have serious issues with people making wild allegations that then turn out to be full of ****.

The link is the published timetable and is the same as the one in the Dublin Bus timetable book I have here. Apparently you have your own timetable that you expect DB to operate to.


Look you have been caught out telling lies when I point these out to you have no explanation.

shltter

darkman2 wrote:

Wonderful - you MUST be from Dublin Bus. As I said earlier your attitude is quite relevent to this thread. By the way there is absolutely nothing inconsistent in what I said and I have only stated what I saw and heard. You choose to ignore things that you find uncomfortable, thats up to you, nothing to do with me. Cherrio now - NEXT!

BTW just checked your timetable and supprise, supprise the bus is there and it does exist. So it wasnt imaginary after all..........:rolleyes: :rolleyes: Ive only been getting this bus occasionally for the last year or so!

You are completely inconsistent as I have already pointed out

Your original story was far fetched when I called you on it you changed it.