The Dart (Or Dort)

Fratton Fred

I recently changed jobs and I am now fortunate enough to be able to catch the Dart every morning rather than spend god knows how long on the M50.

Can anyone explain why I can either get a 3 day ticket or a 7 day ticket, surely a 5 day one would make sense.

Also, why the hell do they have the heating turned on full blast all the time. This morning was particularly bad because the train I caught was about three carriages shorter than usual so we were even more packed in than normal, it was boiling in there.

Is there any point in getting off at a "Main" station and transfering to a commuter train, or do they just follow the Dart so travel the same speed?

Thanks.

El Stuntman

Irish Rail don't do sense

the heating thing is insane and dangerous, God knows why they do it

Alun

I don't know if it's my imagination, but the heating thing seems to be worse on the newly refurbished Dart carriages. There's a heater under every seat as well, so it's not as if you can avoid them. Maybe someone should introduce IrishRail to the concept of a 'thermostat'.

Ham'nd'egger

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I recently changed jobs and I am now fortunate enough to be able to catch the Dart every morning rather than spend god knows how long on the M50.

Can anyone explain why I can either get a 3 day ticket or a 7 day ticket, surely a 5 day one would make sense.
.

The 3 Day ticket is €15.30 for rail only; the weekly is €23. The weekly ticket is €8.30 more for 4 days additional travel, and it is a rolling ticket; you can buy it on any day of the week and use it for the next 7 days afterwards. I would guess it is to encourage use off peak DART use; the price difference between a 5 day and 7 day ticket may also render it hard to price to the public.

One option you should look at it a 3/7 day ticket that covers you between the two stations you will commute to, it may be of use to you.

loyatemu

Alun wrote: »

I don't know if it's my imagination, but the heating thing seems to be worse on the newly refurbished Dart carriages. There's a heater under every seat as well, so it's not as if you can avoid them. Maybe someone should introduce IrishRail to the concept of a 'thermostat'.

on the old-style darts, the seats at the very end of each carriage don't have heaters beneath them (beside the door to the next carriage or the door to the cabin).

Fratton Fred

Hamndegger wrote: »

The 3 Day ticket is €15.30 for rail only; the weekly is €23. The weekly ticket is €8.30 more for 4 days additional travel, and it is a rolling ticket; you can buy it on any day of the week and use it for the next 7 days afterwards. I would guess it is to encourage use off peak DART use; the price difference between a 5 day and 7 day ticket may also render it hard to price to the public.

One option you should look at it a 3/7 day ticket that covers you between the two stations you will commute to, it may be of use to you.

I pay €3.80 a day return, €10.30 for three days of €17something for a 7 dayer so it does make finacial sense, just doesn't sound logical to me. It is cheap thgu compared to my old commute of spending one hour driving 20 miles to work and then the same back again.

Fratton Fred

loyatemu wrote: »

on the old-style darts, the seats at the very end of each carriage don't have heaters beneath them (beside the door to the next carriage or the door to the cabin).

people who get on a train have just been stood on a cold platform, why do they need heating in the first place? it seems crazy to me.

cor

It seems to me that the heat is worse on the trains where there are windows that can be opened.

D.L.R.

Try getting a monthly ticket.

Commuters are quicker cause they stop less, but the time you'd spend waiting to transfer makes it pointless. Unless you can work out some 007 timetable sh*t..

The Real B-man

I never got the 3 & 7 Day Tickets yet on Dublin Bus you can get a 5Day Rambler

tonc76

Try geting an annual ticket. I have gotten one through my employer which covers all rail and buses within the greater Dublin area. They paid for the ticket in full and deduct half of its price from me over 12 monthly payments. It costs me only €41 per month for unlimited travel.

Fratton Fred

tonc76 wrote: »

Try geting an annual ticket. I have gotten one through my employer which covers all rail and buses within the greater Dublin area. They paid for the ticket in full and deduct half of its price from me over 12 monthly payments. It costs me only €41 per month for unlimited travel.

I have asked my boss to do this, (who conveniently is me) and it looks like a very good system. From what I gather, a company can buy you a monthly or annual ticket and give it to you without attracting any benefit in kind tax. It's a win win all round.

Nostradamus

That lobby group which represents the old lobbied IE to crack up the heating.

KC61

Nostradamus wrote: »

That lobby group which represents the old lobbied IE to crack up the heating.

That was on the new 22000 Class Intercity railcars, which has been adjusted.

Riskymove

well in my days on the DART about 10 years ago a ten-journey ticket was basically a 5 dayticket

do they not have them any more?

Ernest

Yes there used to be a time when you could buy a book of ten tickets for the DART - ideal for anyone who is an irregular or occasional DART user. They stopped this convenient ticketing system about ten or fifteen years ago. You can buy such books or packets of tickets for Dublin Bus in newsagents and they are very handy. I suppose that IE would have a problem with making life easy for rail commuters! For the irregular or occasional user of DART all that is possible is to queue at the window if the guy behind the counter is not on the phone or else use one of their ticket vending machines which must be the SLOWEST such ticket dispensers in the world!!

Doctor DooM

Ernest wrote: »

Yes there used to be a time when you could buy a book of ten tickets for the DART - ideal for anyone who is an irregular or occasional DART user. They stopped this convenient ticketing system about ten or fifteen years ago. You can buy such books or packets of tickets for Dublin Bus in newsagents and they are very handy. I suppose that IE would have a problem with making life easy for rail commuters! For the irregular or occasional user of DART all that is possible is to queue at the window if the guy behind the counter is not on the phone or else use one of their ticket vending machines which must be the SLOWEST such ticket dispensers in the world!!

Very tellingly, they are the same ones which are used for the luas. The UI does seem really quite complicated.

Victor

I imagine they don't do 5 day tickets to stop half the users showing up at 08:XX on Monday morning and buying them, thereby preventing anyone else from buying a ticket.

Abrean

hey does anyone know if I buy a 7day dart ticket between say bray and connolly can I still get on or off at other dart stations in between them if I have to, using the same ticket??

sorry prob sounds like a stupid question but I haven't used the dart in years!

Creamy Goodness

yes you can

Ham'nd'egger

Abrean wrote: »

hey does anyone know if I buy a 7day dart ticket between say bray and connolly can I still get on or off at other dart stations in between them if I have to, using the same ticket??

sorry prob sounds like a stupid question but I haven't used the dart in years!

The ticket should just limit you between the named tickets on it so you ought to be fine

Abrean

Thanks Cremo and Ham'nd'egger:D

Fratton Fred

Abrean wrote: »

hey does anyone know if I buy a 7day dart ticket between say bray and connolly can I still get on or off at other dart stations in between them if I have to, using the same ticket??

sorry prob sounds like a stupid question but I haven't used the dart in years!

I get a ticket from Dalkey to Grand Canal, but usually get off at Sandycove on the way home, or on at Sandycove some mornings. It's the same price so I always get the longest possible journey I could take.

BTW, I quite often buy a 3 or 7 day Dalkey to GCD ticket at Sandycove.