Thanks Dublin Bus!

Giblet

Anyone on the 74A this morning? I wasn't!

After waiting 30 mins in the freezing cold, I see a single decker arrive, full of people. This is the second time this bus has arrived late, but at least yesterday there was a chance we could get on. Who sends a single decker bus to replace a double decker, where on this particular stop, every day, without fail, there is a woman with her child in a pram who takes this bus. So thank you, for making me decide to get a car. Hope you lose money next year.

bazzer

For most people, a single decker is better than nothing.

And knowing Dublin Bus, they will lose money next year. But you can blame that on your government for slashing their subsidies. You know what to do at the next election.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

bk

bazzer wrote: »

And knowing Dublin Bus, they will lose money next year. But you can blame that on your government for slashing their subsidies. You know what to do at the next election.

I'd only partly blame the government, I put most of the blame on DB for not innovating and changing how it operated in the good times to attract people out of the cars, instead relying on eastern European immigrants for their growth, many of which have now left the country.

ixoy

bk wrote: »

I put most of the blame on DB for not innovating and changing how it operated in the good times to attract people out of the cars

They have tried something innovative - increase the cost of your journey by 10% whilst simultaneously slashing service by 10%. It's an interesting technique that few others would dare attempt.

seamus

I live right beside the 74A terminus, and I'm fairly sure that the guys driving the 74A are completely taking the piss. The 74 which leaves from the same terminus, seems better, which is odd.

It tends to leave five minutes earlier than scheduled, if there are few people on the bus, the drivers will piss along at well over 60km/h. We've had a couple of incidents with it, most recently was last Friday - I was jogging down to get the 74A, had about 3 minutes to spare (checked my phone and my watch), when I got about ten metres from the bus, he closed the doors and drove off. Clearly a moment of hilarity in his dull life. I did manage to catch it cos my girlfriend drove by shortly afterwards, and he ended up getting pulled in by the Gardai, presumably for his atrocious driving.

We've had other "altercations" with them, including one who remarked, "Why should I give a **** what you think, I earn €25 an hour".

Cookie_Monster

The Hitcher wrote: »

Anyone on the 74A this morning? I wasn't!

After waiting 30 mins in the freezing cold, I see a single decker arrive, full of people. This is the second time this bus has arrived late, but at least yesterday there was a chance we could get on. Who sends a single decker bus to replace a double decker, where on this particular stop, every day, without fail, there is a woman with her child in a pram who takes this bus. So thank you, for making me decide to get a car. Hope you lose money next year.

Your could always cycle instead.

Or a least write a letter of complaint to DB rather than just giving out here where clearly nothing will get done about it

Cookie_Monster

seamus wrote: »

We've had other "altercations" with them, including one who remarked, "Why should I give a **** what you think, I earn €25 an hour".

The correct answer in that situation is: Cos you're still just a bus driver.*

* I have nothing against them at all but in this situation its appropriate:pac:

manafana

yeah some of the a services can be poor enough as their not as regualr. Im on the 121 and 122 line and they run well enough like the odd time doesnt turn up, i would advocate reducing amount buses on roads between peak times like their not goin be as busy at 11am as they where at 8am are they?

Cuddlesworth

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Your could always cycle instead.

There are quite a few days in the year where cycling is not appropriate.


Either way I hear you man. I've bought a motorbike which is costing me slightly more then the bus would have and allowing me nearly a hour and a half more time in my day.

antoinolachtnai

manafana wrote: »

yeah some of the a services can be poor enough as their not as regualr. Im on the 121 and 122 line and they run well enough like the odd time doesnt turn up, i would advocate reducing amount buses on roads between peak times like their not goin be as busy at 11am as they where at 8am are they?

Dublin Bus says that they make money at 11am, but not at 8am, the reason being that fewer vehicles and drivers are needed. It's the peaks that require all the capital investment and extra drivers. Anyway, you have the driver on a shift. You can't really send him home after doing only one spin into town.

Performing on peak is critical, but it's the off-peak services are really the key to building people's confidence in and affection for the service. A good service around the peaks will also spread the peak and improve the profitability.

seamus

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

There are quite a few days in the year where cycling is not appropriate.

The exact same days in the year when a motorbike is not appropriate.

Other than that, it's all in the mind.

manafana

i get what you mean anto but buses my way would run every 10mins between 7am and 6pm i wouldnt like to see the 9pm to 11pm buses taken off as their busy and often suffer from the odd missing one which can lead to quiet a wait.

I really think they just need look at cutting hours alright whatever way they can, but even paying a driver to inspect tickets etc, would be better than driving an empty bus.

Dublin bus need be careful one not to piss off workers and 2 not to piss of its vauled customers

Zebra3

manafana wrote: »

Dublin bus need be careful one not to piss off workers and 2 not to piss of its vauled customers

You make it sound like they give a toss.

Stark

bazzer wrote: »

For most people, a single decker is better than nothing.

They should have plenty of double deckers to spare now with all the service cuts.

meanmachine3

seamus wrote: »

I live right beside the 74A terminus, and I'm fairly sure that the guys driving the 74A are completely taking the piss. The 74 which leaves from the same terminus, seems better, which is odd.

It tends to leave five minutes earlier than scheduled, if there are few people on the bus, the drivers will piss along at well over 60km/h. We've had a couple of incidents with it, most recently was last Friday - I was jogging down to get the 74A, had about 3 minutes to spare (checked my phone and my watch), when I got about ten metres from the bus, he closed the doors and drove off.

if a bus leaves a few minutes early it most like down to the driver being instructed it happens alot. e.g. lets just say there buses that leave at 07.10,07.30 and 07.50 and the 07.30 doesn't show then driver of the 07.50 in 99.9% of cases will be told/ instructed to leave at say 07.40. this is a common and regular occurrance where drivers are moved up. so before you jump down the drivers throat i'm sure it would'nt be that hard for someone to ring the depot involved and enquire.

pebbles21

example of dublin bus management

i worked as a driver in dublin bus a couple of years ago, once i was asked to do a few hours overtime at about approx 25-30 euro an hour

was sent in a double decker to pick up kids at a school and drive them from city centre to skerries and come back to the garage

turned out there was only five kids to pick up who inturn paid me around 60 cent each

would have been cheaper to send them home in a taxi if you consider the diesel cost and my few hours overtime pay

meanmachine3

pebbles21 wrote: »

example of dublin bus management

i worked as a driver in dublin bus a couple of years ago, once i was asked to do a few hours overtime at about approx 25-30 euro an hour

was sent in a double decker to pick up kids at a school and drive them from city centre to skerries and come back to the garage

turned out there was only five kids to pick up who inturn paid me around 60 cent each

would have been cheaper to send them home in a taxi if you consider the diesel cost and my few hours overtime pay

ahh i see you used to work for dublin bus and when they offered you the o.t. for school run. i bet you jumped at the chance.( probably the handiest bit of o.t you could get or ever got and went around bragging to other drivers what you got) i doubt you said no or complained that there might be other services that weren't operating. please spare me all this malarkey. even tough i work for them i call a spade a spade.

pebbles21

meanmachine3 wrote: »

ahh i see you used to work for dublin bus and when they offered you the o.t. for school run. i bet you jumped at the chance.( probably the handiest bit of o.t you could get or ever got and went around bragging to other drivers what you got) i doubt you said no or complained that there might be other services that weren't operating. please spare me all this malarkey. even tough i work for them i call a spade a spade.

i was only a few weeks in the job when asked to do it so i wasnt aware of what was involved and no i didnt go around bragging about it as the main reason i left was because the majority of my co drivers were fcuking gobshytes unlike your good self of course!;)

KC61

The 74 and 74A timetables changed at the weekend as advertised on the Dublin Bus website - if you were not aware of the change perhaps you may have actually missed the bus?

The new timetables are at
http://www.dublinbus.ie/your_journey/viewer.asp?route=74
http://www.dublinbus.ie/your_journey/viewer.asp?route=74a

The route is now operating to/from Britain Quay at Grand Canal Dock.

As for the service being operated by a single deck, there may have been a breakdown this morning. It would be very unusual for a single deck to operate this route, as the Ringsend allocation are usually only on the 150 and 201/202, with a couple of positioning trips on the 49.

Finally, there is no excuse for a bus leaving early unless (as Meanmachine points out) the driver is instructed to do so by his controller. That is probably unlikely to happen in the case of a lower frequency route such as the 74/74A.

I would certainly suggest keeping the number of Ringsend Depot in your mobile - it is 01-7034533 - and if a bus does leave early ring the depot and ask for the controller. I do know of instances where this happened and the controller insisted that the bus returned to collect the passengers left at the stop (not necessarily on the 74A for clarity!).

KC61

Stark wrote: »

They should have plenty of double deckers to spare now with all the service cuts.

Eh? There haven't been any service cuts yet.

More likely than not, the 120 buses to be withdrawn will be of the non-accessible variety, which will be sold by tender.

AlekSmart

Antoin makes a very valid point here in the context of the OVERALL strategy now being overseen by the Department of Transport.

Performing on peak is critical, but it's the off-peak services are really the key to building people's confidence in and affection for the service. A good service around the peaks will also spread the peak and improve the profitability.

Unfortunately for everybody involved in Public Transport the Department of Transport has never been to the fore in displaying any active understanding of how the Systems within its remit actually function.

Historically both National and Local administration has continually displayed a fixation with Peak Services.
This has been a mantra for decades with every new set of proposals or iniatives being directed solely at Peak Services.

This came from the Top down and has resulted in a Bus Atha Cliath unable to even comprehend the possibilities offered by "Spreading The Peaks".

For a period in the recent past I had hoped that the worsening traffic situation would have removed the option of ignoring the problem for much longer,however the current collapse has eased the "Gridlock" issue which takes the pressure off those who really should be innovating rather than deflating.

Those who travel in Europe of the UK will know how,in many cities,the use of Public Transport Off-Peak can be MUCH cheaper,either by the use of a low flat-fare or by offering cheap day tickets with a post 0930 kick in time.

Sadly we are under the direction of a Minister who has already stated his priority is maintaining Peak-Time services...his understanding of the business is therefore confirmed to me as highly deficient.

The introduction of the contactless card has brought with it the POTENTIAL for innovation and experimentation without the need for any long lead in or stocking phase.
The Travel90 ticket for example has fantastic potential for simple tweaking to allow a far greater level of flexibility over the course of its validity.

And yet...we are left with the reality of a Department of Transport which has already spent the guts of €36 Million without introducing ANY operationally integrated ticket.

It is insufficent for us to merely stand back and go Hmmmm...the Integrated Ticket fiasco ALONE should have cost some Senior Official their Job.

Instead my understanding is that ALL Bonus payments due to the relevant Seniors in the Department of Transport were paid as due.

Even the belated introduction of it`s Stand Alone "Smart"(ish) cards by Bus Atha Cliath was only possible after a considerably extended consideration process by the Dept and then in a somewhat restrictive and non customer friendly mode.

Now,more than ever,it is the function of a Department of Transport to take up the slack and provide direction and leadership to ALL sectors of the Public Transport scene.

The unanswered questions remain and revolve around the disappearance of vast amounts of supposedly "ring fenced" funding allied to an almost grotesque lack of planning as to what was to be achieved for it.

Old men with long grey beards (Us) may well get an answer towards the twilight of our lives but in the meantime we should be striving to kick ass and get our show back on the rails....(God Forbid :eek: )

SickCert

pebbles21 wrote: »

i was only a few weeks in the job when asked to do it so i wasnt aware of what was involved and no i didnt go around bragging about it as the main reason i left was because the majority of my co drivers were fcuking gobshytes unlike your good self of course!;)

Only a few weeks in the job and you stated it was a couple of years back does not put you in 25€-30€ per hour bracket.
A year one driver in 2005/6 would be more like 19€ per hour.

LiamD

It's really frustrating when buses leave early but to be fair I have rarely experienced it. I get the 74A a few times per week and generally have found the drivers pretty good. If I'm ever on the bus after 10pm with no traffic they usually oblige with letting me off at a more convenient place than the official stop. Once one of them even asked me if I'd like to get off up from the stop, so no complaints from me. I'm pretty surprised at the single deck bus though.

Setun

Just in the door after a two-hour commute, an extra half hour added due to a faulty back door on the bus - it kept swinging out on left turns nearly hitting into various parked cars along the side of the street. :eek: The driver dealt with it well enough, we changed buses within 10 minutes so wasn't the worst I suppose.

Mr. Frost

-Phuqer- wrote: »

Dublin bus is the main reason i'm going about getting a car now. Too many no showing buses and buses leaving as they please.

Unfortunately that's been happening for years.

pebbles21

SickCert wrote: »

Only a few weeks in the job and you stated it was a couple of years back does not put you in 25€-30€ per hour bracket.
A year one driver in 2005/6 would be more like 19€ per hour.

couldnt remember the exact amount at the time but thanks for pointing that out!
i take it your a driver there too;)

Victor

Ahem!

http://www.dublinbus.ie/news_centre/latest_news.asp?action=view&news_id=840

Routes 74 & 74a - Revised timetable

Dublin Bus wishes to advise customers, that from Sunday 18th January 2009, a revised timetable will come into effect on Routes 74 and 74a. As part of the revised timetable Routes 74 and 74a in the City Centre will now depart from Britain Quay (Grand Canal Dock).

Route 74 revised timetable will be available here from Friday afternoon onwards.

Route 74a revised timetable will be available here from Friday afternoon onwards.

MOH

meanmachine3 wrote: »

if a bus leaves a few minutes early it most like down to the driver being instructed it happens alot. e.g. lets just say there buses that leave at 07.10,07.30 and 07.50 and the 07.30 doesn't show then driver of the 07.50 in 99.9% of cases will be told/ instructed to leave at say 07.40. this is a common and regular occurrance where drivers are moved up. so before you jump down the drivers throat i'm sure it would'nt be that hard for someone to ring the depot involved and enquire.

What happened the 07.30 driver? Shouldn't people be driving down his throat?

KC61

MOH wrote: »

What happened the 07.30 driver? Shouldn't people be driving down his throat?

This can happen where a bus breaks down on the outbound journey or where a driver is late into work (which can both happen), but it doesn't happen on every route on every day of the week. It is more likely to happen on a high frequency route than a lower one because the bus will be available.

Giblet

Victor wrote: »

Ahem!

http://www.dublinbus.ie/news_centre/latest_news.asp?action=view&news_id=840

That explains it, seems as though my bus now leaves 10 mins earlier.

Still doesn't explain why they sent a single decker bus though.

trellheim

Given the much increased population along the north end of GCD , starting from Britain Quay is a good thing.

Also means commuting down to work there from town might be easier than walking over from the No.2/No.3 stops on Pearse St.

meanmachine3

MOH wrote: »

What happened the 07.30 driver? Shouldn't people be driving down his throat?

congestion or not enought running time. a bus has only a certain amount of time to do a run. e.g. the route 27 from clare hall to talbot street only has 45 mins to make that run. if they dont make it it'll be sent back out empty to work in from somewhere on the malahide road or from clare hall in the mornings and evenings it'll be sent from clare hall to talbot street empty to work out. so because the bus that was supposed to be doing the 07.30 was running late in the majority of cases it wont operate at that time. it's not down to the driver, it's down to poor management, draconian time schedules to which there is hardly enough time to do a run in realistic time, the D.O.T who've highlighted bottlenecks all over the city and still nothing is done to free them up, guards for not enforcing the proper use of bus lanes for everyone that uses them illegally. i've highlighted everyone because there are a certain type of motorist using these illegally day and night and the guards dont even bat an eye lid.

KC61

The Hitcher wrote: »

That explains it, seems as though my bus now leaves 10 mins earlier.

Still doesn't explain why they sent a single decker bus though.

As I said above, there must have been a breakdown - it would be very unusual for a single deck to operate on this route given that it does carry reasonable loads.

The single deck may have been the only bus available to operate the service, as in the morning peak there are very few spare buses available to cover for breakdowns.

shltter

The Hitcher wrote: »

That explains it, seems as though my bus now leaves 10 mins earlier.

Still doesn't explain why they sent a single decker bus though.

At peak time

If there are 100 buses in the Garage around 92 of them will be allocated to service the other 8 are under repair, crashed , soiled , routine maintenance, in for DOT test etc etc, maintenance will try to have one or two spare if possible to cover breakdowns or accidents but that is not always possible.

So if a bus breaks down or is involved in an accident they will try to cobble a bus together to replace that one.
Sometimes that may be a single decker as that is all that is available. It is better to send out a single decker even though it may not be able to carry everyone that wishes to travel than to send out nothing meaning no one is carried.

Andremac96

The OP Shouldnt of been complaning dublin bus is a great service and without out it was be people who be F****d

meercat

Andremac96 wrote: »

The OP Shouldnt of been complaning dublin bus is a great service and without out it was be people who be F****d

i hope it didnt take you over 3 years to come up with that :D:D:D

Victor

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