Ticket Machines at Bus stops

wellboss

Hi Guys,

Any idea why there is no ticket machines at Bus stops throughout Dublin. Would it not make sense as then people wont have to spend 3-4 mins (at busier stops) queuing to buy a ticket and thus speeding up the bus service.

And why don't they use the second door that I see on some buses, it's so annoying having to barge your way to the front door to get out especially when the bus is full.

Any Ideas??

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

wellboss

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Are LUAS ticket machines subject to antisocial behavior??????

markpb

wellboss wrote: »

Any idea why there is no ticket machines at Bus stops throughout Dublin. Would it not make sense as then people wont have to spend 3-4 mins (at busier stops) queuing to buy a ticket and thus speeding up the bus service.

Apparently there were a few installed in the city centre a very long time ago but they were destroyed by scumbags and removed.

wellboss wrote: »

Are LUAS ticket machines subject to antisocial behavior??????

Luas stops are completely covered by CCTV and monitored 24/7. Anytime someone is seen lingering around an announcement is made and, if they persist, the local gardai station is notified. It seems to deter most scumbags.

wellboss wrote: »

And why don't they use the second door that I see on some buses, it's so annoying having to barge your way to the front door to get out especially when the bus is full.

The Gardai feel that parking enforcement is below them / they are too busy for it so they don't. People park in bus stops, before bus stops, after bus stops, with two wheels up on the footpaths, etc. All this combined means the buses can't pull parallel to the kerb which means the rear door might not be in line with the kerb. Someone stepping off could fall between the door and the kerb and injure themselves. (This might sound daft but it happened to me while carrying bags and I was unable to walk for a week - and nope, it never occurred to me to sue the driver for my own lack of food to ground co-ordination).

The Labour Court ruled several years ago that if that happened, the driver (not DB) would be personally liable so they could decide for themselves if they wanted to open the doors. Obviously, very few did so the doors seized up and now any driver who tries using them runs the risk of breaking the bus since it won't go into gear if the door is broken.

KC61

wellboss wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Any idea why there is no ticket machines at Bus stops throughout Dublin. Would it not make sense as then people wont have to spend 3-4 mins (at busier stops) queuing to buy a ticket and thus speeding up the bus service.

And why don't they use the second door that I see on some buses, it's so annoying having to barge your way to the front door to get out especially when the bus is full.

Any Ideas??

Eh, have you any idea how many bus stops that there are in Dublin?

Well over 4,000. In these recessionary times (and indeed in any other times) the sheer cost of kitting every stop out would be financial madness. And are you suggesting that every stop in every housing estate and those out in the countryside should have one too?

The machines that were installed in College Street were eventually doused in petrol and set on fire (and as Alek Smart memorably asked on this site, try to think of where the nearest petrol station is to College Street and you will realise how much trouble these people went to), and destroyed.

Unfortunately this city is not blessed with immense respect for street furniture, and I am afraid that I really can't see it working.

wellboss

KC61 wrote: »

Eh, have you any idea how many bus stops that there are in Dublin?

Well over 4,000. In these recessionary times (and indeed in any other times) the sheer cost of kitting every stop out would be financial madness. And are you suggesting that every stop in every housing estate and those out in the countryside should have one too?

Chill out man, I just asked why and you answered it with the ticket machines been burnt out, that's a pretty solid reason right there as well as cost. And no of course I wasnt suggesting having these machines be at every stop, it would only be necessary on main routes where passenger numbers are high.

Feckin scumbags i wish we could cover them in P****l and set them Al***t

Would it be possible for DB to have a service online where you buy and print tickets for basic bus journeys into town etc. I for one would print my ticket so I wouldn't have to queue and im sure plenty of other people would as well

markpb

wellboss wrote: »

Would it be possible for DB to have a service online where you buy and print tickets for basic bus journeys into town etc. I for one would print my ticket so I wouldn't have to queue and im sure plenty of other people would as well

Bus Eireann have a similar service - you get emailed back a MAC code which the driver enters into the ticket machine and it prints your ticket. It should be simple to modify it to accept a barcode instead of MAC but then all the buses (over 1,000 of them) would need to be modified to have a barcode.

The main limiting factor is that you could get onto one bus, scan your barcode and get your ticket and then repeat the process all day long. Since buses have no communication with each other or the depot during the day, no-one would be any the wiser till the end of the day.

paulm17781

KC61 wrote: »

Well over 4,000. In these recessionary times (and indeed in any other times) the sheer cost of kitting every stop out would be financial madness. And are you suggesting that every stop in every housing estate and those out in the countryside should have one too?

The busier stops (or all of them?) in London have ticket machines. If we had good ones, that were monitored, around the city. It would probably make the whole process work a lot better.

That_Guy

I've seen buses use those other doors on buses. Buses with these other doors are fairly rare. I've only ever seen a handful of them around over the last two years or so.

If the bus is full they'll generally open up the other doors at the last stop to allow passengers to exit the bus quickly.

If they opened these doors at every stop people would be hopping on for nothing.

wellboss

markpb wrote: »

.

The main limiting factor is that you could get onto one bus, scan your barcode and get your ticket and then repeat the process all day long. Since buses have no communication with each other or the depot during the day, no-one would be any the wiser till the end of the day.

Yeah good point

markpb

paulm17781 wrote: »

The busier stops (or all of them?) in London have ticket machines.

The moral of the story is that London gives a **** about public transport - Dublin doesn't. Both points raised by the OP are blindingly obvious (sorry OP) to everyone except the people who matter.

Polar101

That_Guy wrote: »

If the bus is full they'll generally open up the other doors at the last stop to allow passengers to exit the bus quickly.

If they opened these doors at every stop people would be hopping on for nothing.

In "other cities around the world" (TM), buses often have doors in the middle and rear of the bus, and people hopping on isn't really a problem. Granted, it works better on single-decker buses, but almost ANYTHING would be faster than the current system Dublin Bus is using for loading/unloading passengers.

loyatemu

4000 stops is probably at least 1000 too many - theres a stop every 200 metres or less on some roads

fewer stops, more direct routes, realtime information, ticket machines, no cash fares....
...woah, deja vú, I've said all this before.

ardmacha

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of pay and display parking meters in Dublin. Why should a bus ticket device do worse than these. Or even better have parking meters dispense tickets with a bar code on them that you can just scan when getting on the bus.

veryangryman

ardmacha wrote: »

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of pay and display parking meters in Dublin. Why should a bus ticket device do worse than these.

Using parking meters involves having a car in the first place
Having a car costs money
Money for a car is generally got from having a job
Having a job=not a scumbag
Net result? No damage to parking meters

Every gob uses a bus stop, thus allowing for more scumbags at them. Indeed they are generally scumbags only form of transport

So.. Thats why far more damage done at Bus Stops

Davy

veryangryman wrote: »

Using parking meters involves having a car in the first place
Having a car costs money
Money for a car is generally got from having a job
Having a job=not a scumbag
Net result? No damage to parking meters

Every gob uses a bus stop, thus allowing for more scumbags at them. Indeed they are generally scumbags only form of transport

So.. Thats why far more damage done at Bus Stops

They can still damage them without having a car. Im sure 'scumbags' can have jobs and cars also.


The reason they aren't damaged as much is probably because they are in the city centre, which a lot is cover by cameras. Outside the city centre with no cameras and not being as busy they can damage as they please.

ardmacha

The reason they aren't damaged as much is probably because they are in the city centre,

No doubt. But bus ticket machines are needed most in busier places. On suburban stops where one person gets on a bus every 15 minutes the driver could continue to sell that ticket.

Davy

ardmacha wrote: »

No doubt. But bus ticket machines are needed most in busier places. On suburban stops where one person gets on a bus every 15 minutes the driver could continue to sell that ticket.

Ye i agree with ya. They can sell prepay tickets at the airport so they should be able to do it elsewhere really.

Random

Ticket machines at bus stops would be good.

Would also be good if you could swipe your credit card through a reader on the bus to pay your way on.

bk

It would probably be cheaper to just introduce a single fare (say €1.50) no matter how far you travel on the electronic ticket and bump that cash fare up to €5. Just like London Bus.

That would fix this problem and be a better solution to this problem.

murphaph

loyatemu wrote: »

4000 stops is probably at least 1000 too many - theres a stop every 200 metres or less on some roads

fewer stops, more direct routes, realtime information, ticket machines, no cash fares....
...woah, deja vú, I've said all this before.

I just disagree on the last point. Here in Berlin all bus drivers carry cash (not your exact fare setup, exactly like how it used to be in the olden days in Dublin, and not hidden behind a bullet proof screen-the driver is safe to do his job in Berlin without fear of being spat upon or otherwise assaulted) and all issue cash fares for the people who don't have travelcards-but here's the point-I hardly EVER see anyone paying cash because almost everyone uses a travelcard of some sort. I'd say it's about 1 in 100 who pay a cash fare. This obviously shows that the real failing is not the lack of provision of ticket machines but rather the lack of integrated ticketing and fares in the first place, which actually encourage use of public transport.

AFAIK there are no ticket machines at bus stops in Berlin. All ticket machines are located in Tram, Regional Rail, U and S Bahn stops/stations. Trams have ticket machines on board also.

Enrty through the rear doors (usually 2 rear doors) is prohibited here also. It used to be allowed so the girlfriend tells me but was banned to eliminate the need for inspectors on the buses. In Munich (AFAIK) they still allow entry through all doors and the bus is treated like a tram.

The heart of the matter is and always will be integrated ticketing and fares. I pay €650 per year for travel here across the entire city (zones A & network using ferry/bus/metrobus/tram/metrotram/U-Bahn/S-Bahn and Regional Bahn and with that ticket a friend can accompany me after 8pm mon-fri and all day sat and sun and public holidays. If I want to venture out to zone C to (say) Potsdam etc. I can by a top-up ticket valid for the day which costs €1.40.

Dublin is just so far behind and it is not the infrastructure where it lags most, it's ticketing and fares.

Rawr

I also feel that even in the best system, the choice to use cash should always be available. Simply for the sake of tourists, and anyone who has forgotten their season ticket.

Here in Oslo, it is very possible to pay cash, regardless of transport mode. However, the actual use of cash is very low, since it is far greater value to have a season pass or a 'Flexikort' (a ticket containing 8 segments, each good for one hour on the network, which can be used whenever).

Oslo also has automatic ticket machines at bus/tram/metro stops. However, since there are 100s, to 1000s of stops on the network, only the major junctions and stops actually have the machines. Machines are present at nearly all metro stops, and since Oslo uses intergrated ticketing across the network, you are never too far from getting a valid ticket.

DB need not install Ticket machines at every single stop on the network, but instead, place them at termini and other major stops. Furhtermore, to really put an end to people using cash fares, a genuine intergrated tickting system needs to be put in place. It should be possible to purchase a 'Dublin Zone' ticket (for example) at a luas stop or train station, and then use that on a connecting bus, or whatever other connection you may have...

I feel that if it is shown to be cheaper and easier to use a prepaid ticket, and that it is easy to get such a ticket, cash fares may go down to a minimum.