Dublin Bus Network Review

calex71

lxflyer wrote: »

Well firstly where are you going to?

Your journey is not going to cost more if you use a Travel 90 10 Journey ticket - the total cost would be €2.15 despite transferring buses.

People need to become smarter about how they get around the city.

True I'm aware of those tickets, just some weeks I'd struggle to hand over the 22euro in one go upfront the way money is for me at the minute, even though not having one ends up costing more in the long run

Oh I head to the south circular rd those evenings. Don't think there is a better option for a bus for there is there?

stop

calex71 wrote: »

Oh I head to the south circular rd those evenings. Don't think there is a better option for a bus for there is there?

Stay on the 17! :pac::pac:

calex71

stop wrote: »

Stay on the 17! :pac::pac:

I wouldn't wish that bus to run over my worst enemy........ because it wouldn't arrive on time :pac:

Is it still as bad as it used to be? I used to be forced to take it to work near UCD a few years back and it was terrible which was why I never consider it these days.

River Song

calex71 wrote: »

I wouldn't wish that bus to run over my worst enemy........ because it wouldn't arrive on time :pac:

Is it still as bad as it used to be? I used to be forced to take it to work near UCD a few years back and it was terrible which was why I never consider it these days.

Very much so. I live near equidistant from the Clogher Road part of the route, and the KCR part, and I would much rather get a bus into town and connect back out to Dundrum/UCD/Blackrock than get the 17. Was waiting for the 15:20 Rialto-Blackrock bus the other day at the KCR...didn't show until 4...

LXFlyer

The 17 is nowhere near as bad as people make out. Particularly now with the RTPI in place, which should mean it is far easier to catch it. I've used it many times over the years and 99% of the time it worked fine.

If you walked 25 minutes to catch a 16, then surely the 14 is much closer? Take it to Kelly's Corner. Or take a 61 to Kelly's Corner as well?

stop

lxflyer wrote: »

The 17 is nowhere near as bad as people make out. Particularly now with the RTPI in place, which should mean it is far easier to catch it. I've used it many times over the years and 99% of the time it worked fine.

If you walked 25 minutes to catch a 16, then surely the 14 is much closer? Take it to Kelly's Corner. Or take a 61 to Kelly's Corner as well?

I use the 17 from time to time. When it works, it's grand, when it doesn't...

For me, getting a 17 cross city usually means catching it from a location that is 'out of town' from home/work. So if i miss it or it doesn't turn up, I now find myself having to travel further back into town to get to my original destination if the frequency doesnt suit.

I have experienced a few times lately buses appearing which are not on rtpi. So if I am Planning to catch a 17 westbound, let's say at Bird avenue, rtpi counts down until it's official departure time, then the bus disappears. Am I to assume - the bus has departed with rtpi not working? The bus has not yet departed as it is running late? Or that the bus is just 'missing'. Waiting for the next bus is sometimes not an option as the frequency is low at evenings/weekend, and near peak times catching a bus 15 minutes later can mean arriving at your destination 30-40 minutes later!


Extra effort should be put in keeping the orbital routes running. If a 46a doesn't run, it's not too long until the next one, and other alternatives are there for large sections of the route. This is not the case with orbital routes, which have also suffered from lack of qbc development.

LXFlyer

stop wrote: »

I use the 17 from time to time. When it works, it's grand, when it doesn't...

For me, getting a 17 cross city usually means catching it from a location that is 'out of town' from home/work. So if i miss it or it doesn't turn up, I now find myself having to travel further back into town to get to my original destination if the frequency doesnt suit.

I have experienced a few times lately buses appearing which are not on rtpi. So if I am Planning to catch a 17 westbound, let's say at Bird avenue, rtpi counts down until it's official departure time, then the bus disappears. Am I to assume - the bus has departed with rtpi not working? The bus has not yet departed as it is running late? Or that the bus is just 'missing'. Waiting for the next bus is sometimes not an option as the frequency is low at evenings/weekend, and near peak times catching a bus 15 minutes later can mean arriving at your destination 30-40 minutes later!


Extra effort should be put in keeping the orbital routes running. If a 46a doesn't run, it's not too long until the next one, and other alternatives are there for large sections of the route. This is not the case with orbital routes, which have also suffered from lack of qbc development.

You do raise some good points - but if a bus does not show up on a route like this I would ring the garage and ask to be put through to central control, and find out where the bus is, rather than blindly standing there!

As for the RTPI not working - it could be a bus with defective GPS equipment, I don't know. It would be worth reporting that to DB if it happens.

stop

lxflyer wrote: »

You do raise some good points - but if a bus does not show up on a route like this I would ring the garage and ask to be put through to central control, and find out where the bus is, rather than blindly standing there!

As for the RTPI not working - it could be a bus with defective GPS equipment, I don't know. It would be worth reporting that to DB if it happens.

Alas for the average punter, the garage numbers are becoming more hidden, with the head office number regularly being placed on timetables in place them.

haulier

Whoever done this one must have been on the laughing gas - or maybe something stronger !!!

LXFlyer

Why? The timetable has not changed - just the route south of Bray Main St.

Cookie_Monster

lxflyer wrote: »

Why? The timetable has not changed - just the route south of Bray Main St.

Running time:

Current: 30+25+20=75 mins
Proposed: 20+15+15= 50 mins

Hard to see how they can cut so much out with basically no route change

LXFlyer

Those times are not the running board times. They are only guide times for passengers and are certainly not always accurate.

The timetable is exactly the same as before. Just look at the departure times.

monument

Ben D Bus wrote: »

Maybe I've been lucky, maybe it's because I use RTPI to the max with my phone app, or maybe it's because I work for CIÉ, but I've hardly had any problems with the 40 since shortly after it was introduced.

I'm a daily user. Only outbound during the week as I take the 79a in on my morning commute.

Maybe the problems others or having are not clear to you because the problems happening on or before the northern section of the rout?. Or maybe because the problems are more acceptable to past 78a users because it used to suffer such problems more than the 40? Or maybe the problems just don't happen at the times you get the bus?

For such a long route, too much of it is not just off QBCs but on roads which can sometimes/often get very congested.

The_Wrecker

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Running time:

Current: 30+25+20=75 mins
Proposed: 20+15+15= 50 mins

Hard to see how they can cut so much out with basically no route change

Same bill, same times as per the 47's.

Cookie_Monster

lxflyer wrote: »

They are only guide times for passengers and are certainly not always accurate.

Indeed, but to tell passengers journeys will now be 25 mins faster is a bit stupid all the same.

LXFlyer

Well perhaps the previous guide times were rather exaggerated?

The running time (from looking at the timetables) varies from 60-75 minutes.

CIE

stop wrote: »

Alas for the average punter, the garage numbers are becoming more hidden, with the head office number regularly being placed on timetables in place them.

Not exactly the ideal situation for garage operators, especially if enough people get angry enough to start "Occupy Donnybrook" or "Occupy Phibsborough"...and of course, it could snowball into "Occupy Number 59" if things really don't improve.

atlantean

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Indeed, but to tell passengers journeys will now be 25 mins faster is a bit stupid all the same.

TBF it goes with the current Dublin Bus trend — sensible ideas are few and far between these days

stop

CIE wrote: »

Not exactly the ideal situation for garage operators, especially if enough people get angry enough to start "Occupy Donnybrook" or "Occupy Phibsborough"...and of course, it could snowball into "Occupy Number 59" if things really don't improve.

All I want is a phone number on the timetable that I can call to ask where my bus is. I don't want to have to dial head office, get through menus, and then drop buzz words to get connected to control. Also outside office hours (arguably when it is most needed!) I have found it very difficult to get through to anyone.

Conway635

CIE wrote: »

Not exactly the ideal situation for garage operators, especially if enough people get angry enough to start "Occupy Donnybrook" or "Occupy Phibsborough"...and of course, it could snowball into "Occupy Number 59" if things really don't improve.

An Occupy protest at depots, the result of which would be to disrupt services for everybody on routes served by those depots?

A highly illogical idea in my opinion.

As for "Occupy Number 59", well, as long as you pay your fare for each journey, I'm sure the driver of the bus from Dun Laoghaire to Killiney and Mackintosh Park won't mind the extra custom!

C635

LXFlyer

CIE wrote: »

Not exactly the ideal situation for garage operators, especially if enough people get angry enough to start "Occupy Donnybrook" or "Occupy Phibsborough"...and of course, it could snowball into "Occupy Number 59" if things really don't improve.

One of the most idiotic posts I have ever read on boards.

stop wrote: »

All I want is a phone number on the timetable that I can call to ask where my bus is. I don't want to have to dial head office, get through menus, and then drop buzz words to get connected to control. Also outside office hours (arguably when it is most needed!) I have found it very difficult to get through to anyone.

I don't know why? The numbers are in the phone book and on the website in the "contact us" section. Just save them into your mobile.

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Contact-Us1/

Dyr

lxflyer wrote: »

One of the most idiotic posts I have ever read on boards.



I don't know why? The numbers are in the phone book and on the website in the "contact us" section. Just save them into your mobile.

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Contact-Us1/

If you ring the garages they'll tell you that they don't handle the bus times and you need to ring one of the controllers or somesuch, all of whom have different numbers

LXFlyer

Anytime I've rung a garage, I've asked to be (and they have) transferred me to the appropriate controller in the central control centre.

That number is not a publicly available one.

stop

lxflyer wrote:

I don't know why? The numbers are in the phone book and on the website in the "contact us" section. Just save them into your mobile.

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Contact-Us1/

Alas the average passenger is not that prepared. Navigating the Dublin Bus Site is very difficult from a mobile device.

When the garages had controllers, the phone number of the garage operating the route was shown on the timetables.

When control took over DB replaced the garage numbers with the head office one. What is the problem with having the control number up?

Several times when I have rang a garage, the number has rang out. During the heavy snow a year ago when some route were still running I had to call DB to advise them a private gate a route use was closed, no garage or head office answered, buses ended up reversing out of a housing estate to do a u turn.

LXFlyer

stop wrote: »

Alas the average passenger is not that prepared. Navigating the Dublin Bus Site is very difficult from a mobile device.

When the garages had controllers, the phone number of the garage operating the route was shown on the timetables.

When control took over DB replaced the garage numbers with the head office one. What is the problem with having the control number up?

Several times when I have rang a garage, the number has rang out. During the heavy snow a year ago when some route were still running I had to call DB to advise them a private gate a route use was closed, no garage or head office answered, buses ended up reversing out of a housing estate to do a u turn.

All I can say is that that has not been my experience - I've always been put through to a controller.

As for getting the information from the website - the link is at the very top of the page. It couldn't be in a more prominent position.

zagmund

I just want to say that DB have certainly lost me as a customer with all these changes. As it happens I'm nearer the DART now and it suits me more when I need to get into town, so my bus usage would have dropped off anyway, but with all the changes that have gone on I wouldn't be able to even take a stab at what routes go where now. These would be routes that I took for ~30 years on the N11 & Blackrock corridors.

My main complaint is that they took route numbers which had been in existence for ever, serving a more or less constant route and changed them entirely. The 84 is a good example. I'm not saying they shouldn't have re-routed it, but why stick with the 84 number ? It's like an 84 only different. Different in a pretty big way - like it doesn't serve the city any more. It's like having a 46a which goes to Dundrum instead of Dun Laoghaire.

It's not like we're short of numbers. This is all.

z

LXFlyer

You're never going to please everyone, but to suggest that the route numbering is the reason you're not going to use the bus anymore has to be the flimsiest excuse I've heard yet.

The 84 from next weekend will still retain the Cornelscourt/Newcastle portion of the old route - which I'd suggest is still longer than the bit that has been discontinued. Just because it doesn't serve where you want to go isn't I would think sufficient reason to change the number? People manage to adjust relatively easily once they get used to the changes.

zagmund

I think it's a pretty good reason.

What I'm driving at is that if they relaunched the relevant routes as (say) the 143 & 187 or whatever, at least occasional users would know they were new routes and not rely on "ah sure the 84 or 63 will get me into town, if a little slower".

Not all users are familiar with timetable minutiae. Or want to be.

The next time someone gets on an 84 and gets dumped unceremoniously in Blackrock instead of town (or UCD, or Cherrywood) is likely to be the last time they trust the routing.

z

LXFlyer

Do you not look at the destination display before you get on a bus? It tends to be a good guide as to where the bus is going?

Also most bus stops now have timetables as well which do indicate where buses are going.

As I said you're never going to please everyone, but there are far better reasons to come up with for not using the bus anymore. I suspect anyone on an 84 going beyond Cornelscourt will realise things have changed when it turns onto Clonkeen Road.

haulier

DEP D/L ---BRAY STN DEP

---

DEP B/WAL [returning to D/L]



M/F 2020

---

2120

---

2125
SAT 1920 ---- 2035

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2035
SUN 1000 ---- 1055

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1100
--- 1045 ---- 1155

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1155

just a few examples