Anyone read about this in the paper on Sunday?

LuckyStar

An article about some guy's 8 hour commute. He lives in Longford and works in Rathfarnham. He gets up at 4 in the morning and doesn't get home til 10 at night. He made some valid points about the state of the trains but he seemed to completely blame CIE for the fact he works nearly 100 miles from his home. He is 28 and lives in Longford with his mother.He was giving out because it would take 2 hours each way to drive. However he doesn't drive. He spends €38 A DAY on train fares. I thought it was mad. Maybe his mother is unwell and he has to live with her but if she isn't then I can't see his problem. He is the one that does not drive and nobody is forcing him to live 100 miles from his job either. If he can afford €38 a day on train fares he can afford a car or rent for a house!

murphaph

nutter. :eek:

mikemac

€38 a day?
For that kind of money he could get a flat in the Rathfarnham area all for himself and still go home at weekends.

Edit: Do you mean €38 a week?

LuckyStar

no, €38 a DAY!!!!!!!!

Feckin mad.

I mean we all complain about commuting but he was taking the piss. For many of us it takes longer than it should because of traffic, he lives with his mother 100 miles away from his workplace and he doesn't drive. No mention of the mother being sick or something but even if she was, he is only home from 10pm to 4am so I doubt he'd have much time to look after her.

mike65

Learn to drive. Simple enough.

Mike.

Tails142

he could stay in a B&B for that - maybe even a crappy hotel if they gave him a good rate for being permanent...

John R

Hold on. He gets up at 4 in the morning and gets home at 10. First train is at 06.20 and last returns at 08.45 so he lives 1h15m (walk?) from the station and it takes him an hour to get out the door every morning?

A monthly tax saver Longford-Connolly would be approx €14 per day, an annual approx €10 add a bus ticket (c€3.50) and it would still be alot less than €20 a day.

Total nut. I wonder what the job is that is worth an apparent 8 hour daily commute and would it not be wiser for him to apply to the Longford McDonalds instead?

mike65

Hmmm is he one of those poeple who makes stuff up?

Which paper was this in?

Mike.

fricatus

Maybe his mother's sick, maybe he's so specialised that he can only work in that one place in Rathfarnham, maybe he has some sort of condition that doesn't allow him to drive, but that is absolutely nuts. Unless he's on €150k in Rathfarnham, he'd be better off working in his local Dunnes or Centra and not spending €38 a day on fares and God knows how much of his time sitting on a train.

Sometimes I think the papers are in some sort of sick thrall to the red-eye commuter. "Look how crazy Ireland has become!", "Look how much worse a Dublin commute is than one in Tokyo or London!", "Look, Dublin's commuter belt stretches to Belmullet!"

In fairness I didn't read the article, but if they're trying to pass this off as somehow representative of commuting in Ireland, then it's bad journalism.

LuckyStar

Just found ther paper now

Edit: he lives in Leitrim, not Longford (i always get them mixed up!)

4:30, he gets up

5.25- gets lift with friend to Longford

6.10am- gets train to Dublin

8.30- Gets taxi to Rathfarnham (how much would this cost???)

9.00- Gets to work

5.10pm- gets a bus into the city centre

6.30- gets Luas to Connolly

7.05- Gets Sligo train- no seats available for the first hour and 10 mins

9.10pm- Arrives in Leitrim and gets a lift home

9.30- Gets home

10.00- Goes to bed

I couldn't believe this. Not counting his lunch break (i assume he gets one), he has 1 1/2 hours to himself all day. Jesus he must have no social life.

He is a legal secretary, no idea how much they earn but holy god would he not just get a house!

He says "Irish rail incompetence makes my journey even longer" (I don't think he has much to lose as it is).

He says his travelling experiences frequently leave him fearing for his safety and feeling physically sick.

He has been doing this 8 hour commute for the past FOUR YEARS.

He has written to Irish Rail, numerous TDs, and 6 letters to Bertie Ahern about it.

BendiBus

LuckyStar wrote: »

He has written to Irish Rail, numerous TDs, and 6 letters to Bertie Ahern about it.

I suppose it's something to do while he's on the train

5.10pm- gets a bus into the city centre

6.30- gets Luas to Connolly

Luas from where? Abbey St? To catch a 7:05 train?

cazzy

Nutter ! id sleep under my desk or in a caravan in the work car park.

That train every day prob sent him a bit loopy. That would make me physically sick. Id say he s a bungle of joy on a Sunday evening.

LuckyStar

it didn't say where exactly.

probably from heuston but the rest of his day is so ridiculous he probably gets it from Busarus!!!

I don't see why he cant take matters into his own hands and either buy a car or rent. What does he want, CIE to give him a limo to work? Jesus i've been in my current job a week and a half and am getting a car tomorrow cos i can't stick the trains any longer. And my commute is 3 hours- nothing compared to his 8.

cast_iron

LuckyStar wrote: »

He has been doing this 8 hour commute for the past FOUR YEARS.

He has written to Irish Rail, numerous TDs, and 6 letters to Bertie Ahern about it.

How are Bertie, the TDs and IR responsible for this?

By not locking him up in a lunatic asylum??

Wishbone Ash

mike65 wrote: »

Learn to drive

LuckyStar wrote: »

either buy a car or rent

He may not be medically fit to drive (I mean physically not mentally!) e.g severe epilepsy etc. - two of my work colleagues are not permitted to drive, even though they have passed a test and have previously driven.

cazzy wrote: »

Id say he s a bungle of joy on a Sunday evening.

LOL

LuckyStar

there is no mention of him having any illness or disability. The paper was the Sunday Mirror, usually if someone has so much as a broken fingernail the Mirror will milk it as a sob story for all it's worth.

"DISFIGURED HAND VICTIM'S COMMUTING HELL" and the like

murphaph

mike65 wrote: »

Which paper was this in?

LuckyStar

"hardworking taxpayer"- this could describe most of us! Any chance of a bigger photo so I can have a read of it?

murphaph

LuckyStar wrote: »

"hardworking taxpayer"- this could describe most of us! Any chance of a bigger photo so I can have a read of it?

Eh?

SeanW

LuckyStar wrote: »

Just found ther paper now

Edit: he lives in Leitrim, not Longford (i always get them mixed up!)

Ah, yes, because it's so easy to confuse the two :mad:

Anyone living in Longford and working in Dublin is extreme commuting. End of story. If you were working in the Docklands or near O'Connell St and you lived near the train station, that might work - you'd only have a 1hr 50 min commute each way.

I know a guy who lives a few miles away from me and commutes to Leixlip but he gets a B&B many week nights.

But living in Leitrim and commuting to Rathfarnham (thats way on the Southside, isn't it?).

I'm sorry, that's just fscking bonkers.

I'm not exactly Bertie's or IE's greatest fan, but I'd have a hard time blaming them for this individual's nonsensical decisions.

lostexpectation

probably voted FF too

There used to be someone in the UK who commuted from Leeds to London each day. :eek: Don't know whether she still does or not!

jlang

Surely there are opportunities for a legal secretary somewhere closer to Leitrim than Rathfarnham? Or, legal secretaries aren't badly paid - he should be able to afford to rent closer to Rathfarnham. He could get a 2-bedroom and have hours extra free time to look after his mother/his epilepsy/whatever. In summary, living like that is his choice and it is not the job of CIE to make his life any easier. In fact having a "commuter" branded service from Longford only contributes to people thinking this should be acceptable.

fricatus

jlang wrote: »

In fact having a "commuter" branded service from Longford only contributes to people thinking this should be acceptable.

Quite a good point...

strassenwolf

Even in countries with very good public transport systems, that sort of commute (i.e. a distance similar to Leitrim-Dublin) would be utterly absurd.

The guy is clearly a nutcase. Plain and simple.

jkgvfg

Yes, Murphaph, a bigger picture, please!!! My eyesight isn't what it used be but very little on that page seems to be from the Sunday Independent.

steve-o

It's convenient to blame the Sindo, but it was actually the Mirror.
Copy of article

paulm17781

He seems more giving out about the state of our railways rather than the commute. He refers to the state of the trains and the track quite a bit. I'm wondering if that was his point yet the Mirror sensationalized the distance which doesn't seem to be the part he has issue with.

Borzoi

jlang wrote: »

In summary, living like that is his choice and it is not the job of CIE to make his life any easier. In fact having a "commuter" branded service from Longford only contributes to people thinking this should be acceptable.

+1

Or he's insane.

But from the article it's everybody's problem but his :rolleyes:

BendiBus

The Co Leitrim man's train ticket costs EUR3,000 every year - EUR38 a day.

So he's only working 79 days per year?

LegacyUser

what an idiot

paulm17781

BendiBus wrote: »

So he's only working 79 days per year?

Nicely spotted. Does it mention if he does the journey every day or does he only have to do it 79 days per year?

Either way, I reckon it was the paper that blew his commute into the focus and really he meant how bad the trains are, not how bad his commute is.

Teller

That's absolutely ridiculous! He needs his head checked

monument

SeanW wrote: »

I'm not exactly Bertie's or IE's greatest fan, but I'd have a hard time blaming them for this individual's nonsensical decisions.

What he said.

BendiBus wrote: »

So he's only working 79 days per year?

Many journalists don't let facts get in the way of a good story!

delta_bravo

lostexpectation wrote: »

probably voted FF too

Yeh terrible, he should have voted FG. I remember them promising a direct Longford-Rathfarnham TGV line. FF have nothing to do with this mans stupidity

GMP

I have to jump in here and say something. That fellas life is part and parcel of alot of people's lives and it's not them been nutters. They may have no choice in the situation, as cannot get as good job down the country or not everyone wants to live in Dublin or it's surhubs.

I can relate to that man in the paper, as I commute from Mullingar to Dun Laoghaire everyday and I have no choice about it. I have a very good job with semi state and cannot get a transfer back down to the Midlands and believe me i have tried but 5 years on, i am still getting up at 5.30am in the morning and most night not getting home till 8pm at night. I have gone looking at other jobs in the midlands but would have to drop neary10K in salary and who wants to stay in a B&B in dublin on their own during the week, when rather commute all that way to get out of the city and be in your own confortable home.

That man has every right to complain about the trains, the service is terrible. Fpr exmaple if I wanted to go to Galway on the train, I would have to go dublin (Connolly), then down to heuston to get the galway train and also not enough carriages for capacity and that's all you want to do after hard day at the office is stand for most of your way home, as you wouldn't drive it, as the traffic situation would add to your stress levels already their with your long commute.

sorry if i am rambling but this has hit a cord with me, as it seems to be never ending.

aliveandkicking

GMP wrote: »

I can relate to that man in the paper, as I commute from Mullingar to Dun Laoghaire everyday and I have no choice about it.

I am not trying to have a go at you or anything so don't take it the wrong way but I find it hard to believe you have *NO* choice about it. You choose to live in Mullingar yet work in Dublin - that's your choice not the government's not CIE's but yours. Have you investigated moving to or closer to Dublin?

John R

GMP wrote: »

I have to jump in here and say something. That fellas life is part and parcel of alot of people's lives and it's not them been nutters. They may have no choice in the situation, as cannot get as good job down the country or not everyone wants to live in Dublin or it's surhubs.

I can relate to that man in the paper, as I commute from Mullingar to Dun Laoghaire everyday and I have no choice about it. I have a very good job with semi state and cannot get a transfer back down to the Midlands and believe me i have tried but 5 years on, i am still getting up at 5.30am in the morning and most night not getting home till 8pm at night. I have gone looking at other jobs in the midlands but would have to drop neary10K in salary and who wants to stay in a B&B in dublin on their own during the week, when rather commute all that way to get out of the city and be in your own confortable home.

That man has every right to complain about the trains, the service is terrible. Fpr exmaple if I wanted to go to Galway on the train, I would have to go dublin (Connolly), then down to heuston to get the galway train and also not enough carriages for capacity and that's all you want to do after hard day at the office is stand for most of your way home, as you wouldn't drive it, as the traffic situation would add to your stress levels already their with your long commute.

sorry if i am rambling but this has hit a cord with me, as it seems to be never ending.

The point is that it is your choice. You don't want to live in Dublin or it's suburbs. You don't want to stay closer to your job during the week. You don't want to take a pay cut to work closer to your home. You don't want to spend 3-4 hours a day commuting. Those wishes just do not compute, something has to be sacrificed and your choice is a long and difficult commute.

The question that has to be asked is how far from Dublin should the transport providers be expected to provide commuting services from? There are a large % of the population within 10-20 miles of Dublin who have nightmare commutes due to lack of investement and commitment in our transport infrastructure. Should they get priority or shoud you?

As it is the capacity of the Maynooth commuter line is compromised by the provision of commuter services for outer areas, I am sure plenty of people who struggle to get on trains in Leixlip, Clonsilla, etc would not be unhappy if the outer services were cut in favour of more capacity for them.

In choosing how to live and work most people leave have left transport as an afterthought. After setting up their lives they then turn around to the transport providers and complain bitterly that their needs are not being met. Well our leaders have also treated transport as an afterthought, they have encouraged (and profited from) massive housing developments across Leinster with little or no local employment while completely failing to provide any realistic means of transporting the people who buy these houses into the employment centre of Dublin and suburbs.

GMP

I know it's not personal but there are a lot of people in the same boat. I have "no choice" in the matter. I did look at moving closer to dublin and i did try it for awhile but I couldn't afford to buy a house in Dublin or even afford the price of renting on the southside , which is equivalent to my mortage in Mullingar now and plus my husband works in the midlands. As i said in my previouse thread, my job is a good job in semi state, so i cannot walk away from it. Tha government is too blame as with their delay on transferring me and CIE, when they can't run trains on time and plus when there is a demand for an early bird train don't cater for it.

cast_iron

GMP, it seems to me you have an option of taking a 10k salary and having a life, or continue living what must be quite a misery.

Like it or not, the public transport system / roads has done nothing but improve over the years. And it takes quite a number of years for those improvements to come to fruition. It hasn't taken a dramatic change for the worse since you took your job in Dublin, so it's not as if you had no idea what you were getting into, now, is it?

aliveandkicking

aliveandkicking wrote: »

I am not trying to have a go at you or anything so don't take it the wrong way but I find it hard to believe you have *NO* choice about it. You choose to live in Mullingar yet work in Dublin - that's your choice not the government's not CIE's but yours. Have you investigated moving to or closer to Dublin?

One of the main problems can be finding a local job full stop!!! It's more to do with having a decent infrastructure in the first place to encourage business to set up in the regional towns rather than all squatting near the M50.

SerialComplaint

GMP wrote: »

I can relate to that man in the paper, as I commute from Mullingar to Dun Laoghaire everyday and I have no choice about it. I have a very good job with semi state and cannot get a transfer back down to the Midlands and believe me i have tried but 5 years on, i am still getting up at 5.30am in the morning and most night not getting home till 8pm at night. I have gone looking at other jobs in the midlands but would have to drop neary10K in salary and who wants to stay in a B&B in dublin on their own during the week, when rather commute all that way to get out of the city and be in your own confortable home.

Do you work for minimum wage? The value you are placing on your own time is very close to minimum wage. If you save 4 hours per day on your commute, and work in a local shop or petrol station for minimum wage for those 4 hours, you'd still be better off. If I were in your shoes, I'd jump at the chance of a local job and a 10k wage cut. After tax, you'll hardly notice the difference in your take-home.

milltown

Ah c'mon!

Why can't Iarnród Éireann start a TGV type service from Dromod to Dundrum Luas stop?
What do we pay our taxes for?

Dubit10

Dont feel sorry for this idiot one bit.He needs his head examined.I complain about the goverment and transport as much as the next guy but how can this guy blame either:eek:What an idiot.Go on the dole and spend more time in bed...At least he'll get a lie in:)

fitzyshea

OMG! This guy is not well obviously from all the commuting! He used to live in Londan so whats wrong with Dublin? Move to Dublin, if he's spending €38 a day he can well afford to rent there. I cant see how he can blame Irish rail or the government for this.

anotherlostie

Given that we are all speculating about him, I'd say less of a nutjob and more of a Mummy's boy, given the paper did not tuh at the heartstrings over any illnesses.

But I love the idea of a TGV line from Longford to Rathfarnham. No stops along the way either...

A Dub in Glasgo

As an individual, I have structured my work/life decisions around the accessibility of commuting by public transport. I would not expect the transport companies to structure their services around the work/life decisions of an individual.

LuckyStar

I actually had the misfortune of seeing this man recently. Recognised him from the photo in the paper, he is quite distinguishable! Absolute pig. The only seat in the carriage was beside him and he had his bag on it. A few people asked him was there anyone sitting there and he just looked at them. And him in the paper complaining there was no seats, lol!!!

jenizzle

wow... people are actually /kinda/ sticking up for Irish public transport.

This dude is unreal though, it would obviously be cheaper for him to live nearer to Dublin.

And of course people have a choice when it comes to where they live... good job in dublin + no time, longer commute, or less-well paid job down the country + more time, shorter commute.

utick

anotherlostie wrote: »

Given that we are all speculating about him, I'd say less of a nutjob and more of a Mummy's boy, given the paper did not tuh at the heartstrings over any illnesses.

But I love the idea of a TGV line from Longford to Rathfarnham. No stops along the way either...

should also have a tgv line direct to dublin from letrim too

Victor

Deleted User wrote: »

There used to be someone in the UK who commuted from Leeds to London each day.

I read a story like that once in the Reader's Digest, a guy writing about his father. Luckily the father was a train conductor.