Christmas Day Transport

laurenjack

Hi, I just found out that I have to work a night shift on Christmas Eve in Dublin so I won't be finished work til 12 noon xmas day :mad: . I want to get home to Cork on Christmas day at some stage, sooo, this is probably a stupid question but does anyone know of a public or private transport service that operates on Christmas Day? Any help is greatly appreciated:o

Volter

You can book in advance a taxi on that day.They should be working on Christmas.

Victor

Nothing as far as I know. The first would be buses (no trains) about 8-9am on the 26 December.

Colm R

Nothing I am afraid. Unless your able to drive.

If you really want to do it and dont have a car but have a licence, I suggest renting a car in Dublin on the 24th and returning it in Cork on the 26th. Book ahead and you should get a good deal.

Aard

Volter wrote: »

You can book in advance a taxi on that day.They should be working on Christmas.

I can't believe somebody is suggesting a taxi from Dublin to Cork


Like the above poster said, renting a car may be your cheapest/only option.

Cookie_Monster

Get work to sort it and pay for it... working Unsociable hours and all that

Colm R

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Get work to sort it and pay for it... working Unsociable hours and all that

I'm not sure this is fair. Work may pay for a taxi to get you home to what they consider your home which you commute from every other day.

I did this type of work before and for unsocialble hours, the company I was with would pay for my taxi home to Clontarf, but there is no way they would pay for me to get to my parents home in Cork.

spoonface

Just pull a sickie! They're ruining your Christmas otherwise.

Sleipnir

There's no public transport on Christmas day so hire a car as already suggested.

Don't forget that as it's a public holiday, and they're making you work, you're entitled to another paid days leave.

Entitlements of employees in respect of a public holiday
3.3 In respect of a public holiday the employee is entitled to
whichever of the following his/her employer determines:
a) a paid day off on that day
b) a paid day off within a month of that day
c) an additional day of annual leave
d) an additional day’s pay.
If, following a request from an employee, no later than 21 days
before the public holiday, an employer does not nominate one
of the options above, the employee will automatically be
entitled to a paid day off on the day of the public holiday.

**Edit**
If they're paying you twice your normal rate to work those hours, they are effectively giving you an additional day's pay.

MOH

Volter wrote: »

You can book in advance a taxi on that day.They should be working on Christmas.

You can struggle to find a taxi in Dublin on Christmas day. I had one booked a few years ago, they let me down, and I found it impossible to get another one with less than 2 hours wait.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Moonbeam

Try Swap shifts with someone else?

dowlingm

Is there anything preventing Aircoach etc. from operating on Christmas Day?

there should be a basic service on the 25th if only to remove an excuse for drunk driving.

Ham'nd'egger

dowlingm wrote: »

Is there anything preventing Aircoach etc. from operating on Christmas Day?

A closed airport:D

Colm R

dowlingm wrote: »

Is there anything preventing Aircoach etc. from operating on Christmas Day?

there should be a basic service on the 25th if only to remove an excuse for drunk driving.

Demand is so low on Christmas Day. I left Dublin one Christmas morning at 7am and headed down the quays on my way to Cork. On the whole journey down, I felt like I was the only person on the planet, kinda like that first scene in 28 Days Later.

patrickbrophy18

That is absolute madness! A few questions to the OP:

1. Do you live in Cork and work in Dublin?
2. Are you employed on a full time basis, part time basis or is that shift just a once off?

Regardless of the answer, I'd just say pull a sickie! The reason why I am suggest this is if you inevitably resort to taking a taxi, you would more than likely be paying a most if not all of your hard earned cash for that day on that entire trip. I imagine that the price would be around the region of €250-300.

I'm in a job that would have had me working Stephen's day at 4am (until my hours were cut!) but before that, I had loads of offers from people who had the day off to work that day. Go find a colleague who needs the money and lives local to Dublin (true blue type). Get him/her to work it.

Failing that, pull a sickie!

L1011

Colm R wrote: »

Demand is so low on Christmas Day. I left Dublin one Christmas morning at 7am and headed down the quays on my way to Cork. On the whole journey down, I felt like I was the only person on the planet, kinda like that first scene in 28 Days Later.

Having driven to Donegal on a Christmas Day (due to a death) I've had the same experience, it was near impossible to find petrol anyway let alone food of any description! Think I passed about three cars (and overtook one, theres never a day without 70km/h nazis doing a solid 70 be it town or dual carriageway...) on the entire journey.

On the original topic, your best chance of getting any form of transport would be trying to find someone else doing the same or similar journey who'll take 'petrol money' for it - try the Cork forum, there may be a Cork exile who'll be returning to mammy for dinner that afternoon.

andy_g

dowlingm wrote: »

Is there anything preventing Aircoach etc. from operating on Christmas Day?

there should be a basic service on the 25th if only to remove an excuse for drunk driving.

the airports are open but only catering for over fly traffic heading to mainland europe and the states/canada i work in the aviation business and was on standby last year

Victor

patrickbrophy18 wrote: »

Regardless of the answer, I'd just say pull a sickie!

Does anyone realise that there is a recession on and that anyone pulling a sickie on Christmas Day is likely to be fired? Seeing as any business that has people working Christmas Day really needs them to be there (emergency services, utilities, call centres).

AlekSmart

Perhaps Victor,a good illustration of just how and why this Country is mired deep in the shyte....!

I firmly believe that both Bus Atha Cliath and Bus Eireann SHOULD be operating at least a skeleton service (as was the norm up to the mid 1980`s).

As it is the lack of Any Public Transport on Christmas Day further marginalises those who do NOT own or have access to a CAR.....a sure throwback to the Tiger days when EVERYBODY had to have one...or two.......!!!

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

dowlingm

Colm R wrote: »

Demand is so low on Christmas Day.

Bit of a chicken and egg situation there though. No supply means definitely no demand.

Mrs OBumble

AlekSmart wrote: »

I firmly believe that both Bus Atha Cliath and Bus Eireann SHOULD be operating at least a skeleton service (as was the norm up to the mid 1980`s).

As it is the lack of Any Public Transport on Christmas Day further marginalises those who do NOT own or have access to a CAR.....a sure throwback to the Tiger days when EVERYBODY had to have one...or two.......!!!

+1

In the city that I come from (overseas - a city about the size of Cork), not only is there a service at Sunday levels, it's FREE on Christmas Day

mikemac

There's bound to be a teammate who needs the cash and will do your shift.
Ask around

There is no way you'll get away with calling in sick on Christmas day, you wouldn't be working unless your boss needed you.
Call in sick and you'll be a meeting the very next day defending yourself

Sleipnir wrote: »

If they're paying you twice your normal rate to work those hours, they are effectively giving you an additional day's pay.

True but you get taxed and if you're on the higher tax rate, it's sometimes not even worth your while!
Better to get a day off then extra pay sometimes

bmaxi

dowlingm wrote: »

Bit of a chicken and egg situation there though. No supply means definitely no demand.

I worked for DB up to the mid 70's and we operated a Christmas Day schedule, from memory it was quite well supported.
Per capita car ownership has skyrocketed since then but with people wary of the breathalyser, it could work again.

AlekSmart

I worked for DB up to the mid 70's and we operated a Christmas Day schedule

True bmaxi,what was then the Dublin City Bus Services of CIE usually operated a special service rota from 10.00 to 18.00.

The main focus was of course religious,with many Mass Buses and the likes.
However the Graveyards,Glasnevin,Deansgrange,Mount Jerome and the other smaller ones always did a good business.

Just take a look at the amount of cars whicj will battle for parking space at those cemeteries this Christmas Day for an idea of the patronage.

afatbollix

Its one day!!!!! think of the people who would have to work on christmas day if they had to run the buses!!!

Last year i had to work christmas week, 7 days in a row all night shifts, its not too bad very quiet and you get the days off again in a month, Its only one day..

AlekSmart

Its one day!!!!! think of the people who would have to work on christmas day if they had to run the buses!!!

The country will be effectively running on half-power for the following 10 days...as usual,with folks voicing their disgust at them oul Americans and their one day off nonsense...!

bmaxi

AlekSmart wrote: »

The country will be effectively running on half-power for the following 10 days...as usual,with folks voicing their disgust at them oul Americans and their one day off nonsense...!

And the ten before. I've often wondered how much Christmas actually costs the economy vis a vis how much it benefits the retail sector. Perhaps, with the manufacturing sector almost non-existent now, not so much is lost with wind down and start up.
As one who grew up at a time when two days off was the norm, I could never see the attraction of having two weeks off at the most dreary, miserable time of the year.

Prettyfireworks

as suggested already, a taxi could well be worth looking into

my auntie got a taxi from whitehead, a small town up past belfast to dublin cause she had two kids with her. the taxi company charged her £120 pound, it was a fixed fare charge instead of going by the meter! not much more than it would have been for a train for the 3 of them, and she was quite happy with the service.

if you start lookin around now you might find a taxi service with a resonable fixed fare charge!

laurenjack

Thanks for replies and advice. I have no choice but to work, I am not the only person in the organisation working that day so can't complain too much!I don't drive, I don't have acar so my options are a fixed rate taxi or a friendly fellow corkonian driving down home that day.

jd

Might be a good thread here, people looking for lifts on Christmas Day. You could share petrol expenses. I'll be travelling from her folks place near Kilkenny city to my folks place in Wexford Town early-ish on Christmas Day.

richardjjd

Taxi fare to Cork would be €500 plus (see here). Finding someone else doing the same journey might be the easiest option (at lease financially).

Victor

Its it practical for them to come to you?

blahblah06

500 to cork in a cab? Not in my taxi it wouldn't be.

Ham'nd'egger

blahblah06 wrote: »

500 to cork in a cab? Not in my taxi it wouldn't be.

Of course not. It would be €500 less 25%:D

blahblah06

well actually it would be more than 500 as it goes straight onto the highest tariff on crimbo day. with the day thats in it id do it for 300.

the boss of me

blahblah06 wrote: »

well actually it would be more than 500 as it goes straight onto the highest tariff on crimbo day. with the day thats in it id do it for 300.

Why on earth would you go to Cork on Christmas Day for €300 ?? Surely you'd make more than that in the same space of time doing local jobs in Dublin.

Never worked Christmas Day or Christmas Eve myself but recall a certain airline paying £400 to Cork and £500 to Kerry on Christmas Day back in '99.

blahblah06

because id rather do one straight forward job in a day and gain a new customer along with 200 plus for the new year

L1011

the boss of me wrote: »

Never worked Christmas Day or Christmas Eve myself but recall a certain airline paying £400 to Cork and £500 to Kerry on Christmas Day back in '99.

Even factoring in inflation, £400 equivalent now wouldn't be justified for a trip to Cork - in 1999 it was a horrific journey to make compared to being motorway/dualler all the way bar the 30km gap now. There was bypasses of Naas, Newbridge, Portlaoise, Cahir and Glanmire in 1999, thats it.

That the meter fare would be less than €508 inflation adjusted shows this...

Ham'nd'egger

I worked one Christmas day, 2005 and for my six hours on the road, I came out with €177 and more stress and hassle than it was worth. I had one fare who only told me after getting her to her destination that she didn't want to go there and sent me to another part of town without even knowing where she was off to, a pick up at a hospital who told me to wait for three hours until they finished work and on dropping off my last fare I was called every name under the sun from a staff member of a state office who was convinced I was bringing him home; I actually wasn't meant to and after his rant I wouldn't have. After that day, I said never again bar the odd neighbour who wanted to get to church or a family dinner as it just wasn't worth the hassle I got for that one day. While I appreciate that we are serving people who work and it's a working day to many people, the spirit of the day sure was lost on some of them.

RedXIV

I'm kinda in the same boat here, I'm trying to figure out a way to get from dublin to wexford on Xmas day, been quoted some ridiculous prices so far.

So if anyone knows anyone travelling, please let me know!!

triple-M

laurenjack wrote: »

Hi, I just found out that I have to work a night shift on Christmas Eve in Dublin so I won't be finished work til 12 noon xmas day :mad: . I want to get home to Cork on Christmas day at some stage, sooo, this is probably a stupid question but does anyone know of a public or private transport service that operates on Christmas Day? Any help is greatly appreciated:o

so how did you get on in the end,just out of curiosity?