So I just cancelled my annual Irish Rail ticket...

kormak

Why?
Because Irish Rail are a shower of useless f%*ks!
I've been commuting from Drogheda - Dublin on the train for some years now and since this new timetable changes almost every single train I’ve been on has been up to 10 minutes late.
This is on top of the extra 6/7 minutes they put on in the November timetable to accommodate extra stations/DARTs, etc…
I had just renewed my ticket in October before the new timetable arrived and thought… screw it, I’ll grin and bear it and see how they get on.
But they’ve just become way too unbearable…
I shall be getting Matthews coaches from now on, saving on petrol, saving on car parking costs, saving on body temperature in the morning and saving on time (With a bit of luck!)
Anyway I just thought I’d stick this rant online.
I know there’s a hella lot of Drogheda & Dundalk fellow commuters who probably feel the same?

:pac:

Lollymcd

I used to get the Matthews Coaches when I lived in Drogheda, very good service. The 100x is also quite good and cheaper.

howiya

sure you could always move to Dublin if the commute annoys you that much or seek employment closer to home...

fh041205

Doesn't save you any money though unfortunately. If they lowered the prices slightly to below the train prices they'd make even more of a killing. Of course thats easier said than done.

I usually have to be in Dublin for 9 so I plan to arrive at 8.30. If you work it like that then you'll rarely ever be late. In fact I was late more often during the bus transfers than on the train.

Lollymcd

fh041205 wrote: »

Doesn't save you any money though unfortunately. If they lowered the prices slightly to below the train prices they'd make even more of a killing. Of course thats easier said than done.

Lowered the price of what? Matthews and 100x are both cheaper than the train...

fh041205

Lollymcd wrote: »

Lowered the price of what? Matthews and 100x are both cheaper than the train...

Not for a yearly ticket.

kormak

howiya wrote: »

sure you could always move to Dublin if the commute annoys you that much or seek employment closer to home...

raised in the country, lived in Dublin for years, had a kid and moved STRAIGHT back to the country! :rolleyes:
Thanks but no thanks.

kormak

fh041205 wrote: »

Not for a yearly ticket.

yeah the yearly ticket works out a lot cheaper. about €21 per week, whereas Matthews are €50. But Matthews have started annual tax savers too.

Lollymcd

The annual rail ticket from Drogheda to Pearse Station is €1930, From Drogheda to Parnell Street with Matthews it's €1900, On the 100x it's €1920

pburns

howiya wrote: »

sure you could always move to Dublin if the commute annoys you that much or seek employment closer to home...

You sir, are what's commonly refered to as a troll...

Snickers Man

howiya wrote: »

sure you could always move to Dublin if the commute annoys you that much or seek employment closer to home...

Or he could save loads of money on expensive brown bread by just eating more cake. :rolleyes:

howiya

kormak wrote: »

raised in the country, lived in Dublin for years, had a kid and moved STRAIGHT back to the country! :rolleyes:
Thanks but no thanks.

If you don't like Dublin that much go work somewhere else

howiya

pburns wrote: »

You sir, are what's commonly refered to as a troll...

I can assure you that I am not a troll. I am however fed up of seeing money earned in Dublin leaking out to places like Newry, Portlaoise and Poland.

If you earn your living in Dublin you should spend it in Dublin rather than supporting retail jobs in some other town than cannot provide you with a job.

Work in Dublin, live in Dublin, shop in Dublin

markpb

pburns wrote: »

You sir, are what's commonly refered to as a troll...

Not really. Lots of people have expectations that they should be able to live far from work and the country should support and subsidise them. If you work in Dublin, why not live in Dublin instead of living outside the city and complaining when people in the city (on the Dart line) get a better level of service.

patneve

markpb wrote: »

Not really. Lots of people have expectations that they should be able to live far from work and the country should support and subsidise them. If you work in Dublin, why not live in Dublin instead of living outside the city and complaining when people in the city (on the Dart line) get a better level of service.

DART service? auahahaahahah

fh041205

I just want to say bo!!ox to all of ye. Commuters in Drogheda are continually fleeced while the Dublin brigade from Balbriggan and Skerries get almost the same service for much less. If anything the long distance commuters subsidise the cheap inner-city service. Drogheda and Dublin are hardly two seperate economies. The best part of the money goes to the government anyway. Most jobs are bound to be in Dublin because most businesses are concentrated in the capital.

positron

howiya, markpb,

The original concern raised here is degradation of a service that people of Drogheda, Balbriggan etc depended upon. The concern is NOT about Dublin getting better transport. It's about us trying to maintain at least the same level of service that we used to get, at a period where our salaries has come down, and taxes has gone up. I fail to understand why either of you are ticked off about this?

OP, I will be doing something similar in near future myself.

Aard

fh041205 wrote: »

Drogheda and Dublin are hardly two seperate economies.

Very true. A recent study (http://www.espon.eu/mmp/online/website/content/projects/261/420/file_2420/fr-1.4.3_April2007-final.pdf#page=119) found that the Dublin Functional Urban Area includes the likes of Naas, Navan, and Drogheda. (Not Dundalk, fwiw.) Consequently, I believe that commuters from these towns should have a reliable and affordable public transport system.

positron wrote: »

If you have some gripe against people living outside Dublin and working in Dublin, please start a new thread somewhere else like Dublin forum. I think it's fair to say that you are not contributing to this discussion...

I disagree that it's not contributing to the discussion. They bring up valid points regarding the work/home-life patterns of people in greater Dublin. I know the topic of the thread is the rail service to Co Louth, but the answer doesn't lie in "Yes, cheaper trains" or "No, get nearer jobs" - it lies in discussing the merits and shortcomings of the spatial strategy for the region, whether the cost-benefit of subsidising rail-transport is favourable, etc. Complaining about price and service will only get you so far; real, innovative change only happens after discussing the heart of the issue.

kormak

howiya wrote: »

If you don't like Dublin that much go work somewhere else

if only i could... if only i could!

kormak

howiya wrote: »

I can assure you that I am not a troll. I am however fed up of seeing money earned in Dublin leaking out to places like Newry, Portlaoise and Poland.

If you earn your living in Dublin you should spend it in Dublin rather than supporting retail jobs in some other town than cannot provide you with a job.

Work in Dublin, live in Dublin, shop in Dublin

hahahaha... this is hillarious!
are we not entitled to our capital city?

kormak

positron wrote: »

howiya, markpb,

If you have some gripe against people living outside Dublin and working in Dublin, please start a new thread somewhere else like Dublin forum. I think it's fair to say that you are not contributing to this discussion, and hence howiya is trolling and markpb is supporting a troll.

The original concern raised here is degradation of a service that people of Drogheda, Balbriggan etc depended upon. The concern is NOT about Dublin getting better transport. It's about us trying to maintain at least the same level of service that we used to get, at a period where our salaries has come down, and taxes has gone up. I fail to understand why either of you are ticked off about this?

OP, I will be doing something similar in near future myself.

We could turn this into a Commuter Belt Vs. Dublin argument and get nowhere...
Fair enough if you live/work in Dublin you should get a pretty decent and flexible service (which you do) but that doesn't mean people living in the commuter belt should just put up and shut up!!
the cost of rail travel increases hugely for anyone who lives past Balbriggan and the level of service also decreases hugely.
by the way... I know several proud Dublin people who live down in Meath & Louth because they couldn't afford to live in Dublin.
Should they be tarnished with the same brush as me or do they get extra attention?!

Calina

The question of money earned in Dublin being spent elsewhere as people chose/were compelled by circumstance to live elsewhere is off topic.

Cool it.

OneArt

howiya wrote: »

I can assure you that I am not a troll. I am however fed up of seeing money earned in Dublin leaking out to places like Newry, Portlaoise and Poland.

If you earn your living in Dublin you should spend it in Dublin rather than supporting retail jobs in some other town than cannot provide you with a job.

Work in Dublin, live in Dublin, shop in Dublin

Erm, where do you get off telling people where they should spend their money?

Some people have no choice but to work in Dublin. My dad did it for years because there WAS no other employment around us and we didn't want to move. Then when he lost his job he got one in England, simply because it was that or no job at all.

Victor

1. Irish Rail seem to have a profound problem with operating to their own timetable, one of the fundamental concepts of a railway. Punctuality is now in the 74-76% bracket on some routes.

2. The fare anomaly between Balbriggan and Drogheda is down to this being the edge of the Dublin Bus zone. If Irish Rail charged the full equivalent rate at Balbriggan, they would have no customers. If Dublin Bus charged the same (higher) rate at Balbriggan, they would have no customers. All these fares are ultimately set by the minister, no the transport companies. Take your lobbying to the minister.

3. Less of the bickering please.