Bus Éireann On-Line Ticket Sales

Champ

Hi,
I've been considering purchasing national tickets online since there's a discount(10% + also due to the recent price hikes) in doing so.

https://www.buseireann.ie/ecommerce/Coverpage.asp
Part of the process is:

National Tickets
To buy your National Ticket on line you simply select the origin and destination for your journey, the date you wish to travel and the ticket type(s) you wish to purchase

Once your credit card details have been processed, you will be sent an e-mail confirmation with a validation code.

You then print that e-mail and present it at the Bus Éireann ticket office or to the bus driver before travelling on the bus. The ticket clerk or bus driver will check the validation code electronically and then issue you with the appropriate travel ticket in exchange.

Customers please note you may also be asked to produce photo identification when collecting your e-ticket, e.g. Valid Passport, Driver's licence with photo, International Student Identity Card, CIE Photo ID Card, National ID Card, Bus Pass with photo or Work ID with photo.

Anyone been doing this on a regular basis? Specifically I'm wondering whether the drivers(getting on from a stop as opposed to a station) would be proficient in dealing with e-tickets? Namely I'm hoping there won't be any "WTF?" situations...

marmurr1916

Champ wrote: »

Hi,
I've been considering purchasing national tickets online since there's a discount(10% + also due to the recent price hikes) in doing so.

https://www.buseireann.ie/ecommerce/Coverpage.asp
Part of the process is:


Anyone been doing this on a regular basis? Specifically I'm wondering whether the drivers(getting on from a stop as opposed to a station) would be proficient in dealing with e-tickets? Namely I'm hoping there won't be any "WTF?" situations...

Done it loads of times. A few years back when it was first brought in the odd driver would sratch the head in puzzlement, but they're all well used to it by now. Doesn't matter whether you're getting on at a stop or a bus station - sure who takes the ticket at the stop will be the same driver who takes the ticket at the bus station!

Don't worry too much about the ID either - I've never been asked for ID and I doubt I ever will be.

If you're buying a ticket for someone else you can easily change the name on the email ticket they send you - just copy and paste it into Word, change the name and print it off.

John R

The confirmation e-mail contains instructions on how to enter the code in to the ticket machine in case a driver that is unfamiliar with the procedure gets one.

You must present the full confirmation e-mail, the driver/ticket office need to retain it.

If for any reason the driver cannot issue the ticket and it is a return/10 journey then you need to get it issued on the day of the first journey, go into a ticket office or get another driver to issue it. AFAIR the code won't work once the booked date is passed.

marmurr1916 wrote:

Doesn't matter whether you're getting on at a stop or a bus station - sure who takes the ticket at the stop will be the same driver who takes the ticket at the bus station!

If you are getting on at a bus station with an open ticket office then you should get your ticket from the office not the driver, that goes for cash or e-tickets. Issuing tickets takes time, the less the driver has to do the less time the bus will waste at stops.

kelzer

You can't buy a ticket online if you final destination is in the North which is pretty crap. Even though Bus Eireann buses are on those routes - to Belfast/Derry etc.

markpb

kelzer wrote: »

You can't buy a ticket online if you final destination is in the North which is pretty crap. Even though Bus Eireann buses are on those routes - to Belfast/Derry etc.

Maybe thats why none of the route 30 stops (Dublin, Cavan, Enniskillen, Donegal) can be bought online either. Very annoying.

John R

kelzer wrote: »

You can't buy a ticket online if you final destination is in the North which is pretty crap. Even though Bus Eireann buses are on those routes - to Belfast/Derry etc.

Only some of the services on Dublin-Belfast and Dublin-Derry are run by Bus Eireann, those routes are jointly run with Ulsterbus.

The e-ticket system is incompatible with Ulsterbus so their ticket offices and bus drivers are unable to issue tickets from the MAC codes. It would cause more trouble to offer the tickets and try to explain that they can only be used on the departures run by Bus Eireann.

markpb wrote: »

Maybe thats why none of the route 30 stops (Dublin, Cavan, Enniskillen, Donegal) can be bought online either. Very annoying.

Tickets for route 30 and 32 (Dublin - Letterkenny) except for stops in NI are available on-line.

markpb

John R wrote: »

Tickets for route 30 and 32 (Dublin - Letterkenny) except for stops in NI are available on-line.

Ah... they've added some since the last time I checked. Several towns from Cavan and Donegal are still missing unless they've been relocated to Fermanagh since I checked last

Champ

Thanks for the replies, sounds good.

Mmm refunds might be a bit of a hassle since you have to post the ticket back to Dublin....

Not that I'm going to purchase a ticket and not use it but... in Limerick we've had some incidents of "unoffical strikes"(no warnings) so been locked into a specific day to use the ticket could be problematic.

RadioCity

The Ulsterbus timetable books now state that Bus Eireann online tickets are not valid for travel on Ulsterbus services.

It would be more helpful if it was pointed out that the tickets can be used initially on BE buses, but the return journey can be used on an Ulsterbus service.