Dublin Bus route 38 route - changed?

Jaysoose

AlekSmart wrote: »

Good heavens,a spirited outburst indeed ArmaniJeanss,but have you not read the outline of Network Direct here....

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Network-Direct/



Now there you are,these "Improvements" won`t just happen overnight you know or maybe your simply not good enough at "Reflecting your needs"....

It`s known as "Tweaking"...which in reality is a covert admission that something is`nt working,but it is a new phenomena so be gentle until we get the hang of it....:rolleyes:

In antiquity,Rome burned whilst Nero fiddled but in Modern Dublin this is the more likely outcome...



Undoubtedly,the stats will show Jaysoose to be in a minority of one whilst the vast majority of DB customers bask in the glow of Network Direct`s "improvements".

What`s to be done.....Who will actually listen to,or take heed of,what the People are saying ?

Perhaps ArmaniJeanss,if you give it a chance for one more week and see if the tweaks actually help...?

I seriously doubt that i will be in a minroty of one in this case, dublin bus have shown themselves to be incapable fo paying attention to the needs of the customer base and i have zero belief that these "tweaks" will make the bilind bit of difference. All one has to do is look at the amount of people walking from blanch village to the train station in castleknock to see how effective the network direct "tweaks" have been.

TheChrisD

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

To add to the farce of this move Alek, its worth pointing out that The Powers That Be spent a pretty penny redesigning the M50/N3 roundabout, which resulted in buses (and other traffic) being given a lovely new lane that completely bypassed the main roundabout completely on the way into town. And now those 30 daily 38As are no longer going to use that lane.

Are you forgetting the god-knows-how-many 39As, and the 20 or so 70s that use it?

thomasj

Okay, just a few things on this:

First the 39/a, an improvement not so much in the frequency but the fact that departure times are now shown. Sunday evening looks better, 20 minute gap at worse and may reduce again based on time taking to get from belfield/baggott street. Interesting to see the last bus from belfield to ongar is now a 39 so no more 23.30 39a from Aston quay!

Also interesting to see the early morning "garage service" is now listed on the timetable

Good to see the 37 extended to the shopping centre! It opens up connection possabilities.

What can I say about the 38s? What a disaster! Something radical needs to be done with this route!

I was thinking along the lines of damastown, ladyswell and corduff before the shopping centre then the 38a take the 39a route. There were Farsi about the 39a serving the shopping centre but with the bus lane and traffic not bad in the morning it works for the 39a!

If the 38 and 38a were to serve the shopping centre, the fact that 37 goes from the centre and its planned for the 76 to serve the village it eliminates the need for the 38 to do this! Just a thought!

ArmaniJeanss

TheChrisD wrote: »

Are you forgetting the god-knows-how-many 39As, and the 20 or so 70s that use it?

True, but it still seems somewhat warped to deliberately take 30 buses a day from off this new road, and put them through a bottleneck. No?

Seriously when the current 38A currently turns onto the N3, it takes it about 4 minutes to get to the Auburn Avenue roundabout. Its a section of the route which rocks, its fantastic.

Under the new route, it will quite often be stuck at the first set of traffic lights for those 4 minutes alone before it turns left into Blanchardstown village, where it will face three stops to load passengers (a bus which is quite often full by the time it leaves Waterville anyway), 3 more sets of traffic lights, a bottleneck to get out of Blanchardstown village, and a more traffic prone route to get through the M50 roundabout. My estimate of adding 15 minutes to the journey is probably an underestimation, it'll probably be 20+.

8 months ago the 38A really worked, it was clockwork reliable and it took a really efficient route.
Under Network Direct1 it is no longer reliable but when it does turn up it is at least efficent.
This tweak appears to have done nothing obvious to address the reliability issue, but has instead turned it into an inefficient route as well.

AlekSmart

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

8 months ago the 38A really worked, it was clockwork reliable and it took a really efficient route.
Under Network Direct1 it is no longer reliable but when it does turn up it is at least efficent.
This tweak appears to have done nothing obvious to address the reliability issue, but has instead turned it into an inefficient route as well.

I rather suspect that in a few months ArmaniJeanss,you`ll just substitute 11 for 38A and the story will remain the same....:mad:

CIE

AlekSmart wrote: »

I rather suspect that in a few months ArmaniJeanss,you`ll just substitute 11 for 38A and the story will remain the same....:mad:

Hmm. How come they didn't call the 39A the 10 then? Then the 46A could become the 9. So tidy and all.

Xylophonic

CIE wrote: »

Hmm. How come they didn't call the 39A the 10 then? Then the 46A could become the 9. So tidy and all.

I think Alek is refering to the fact that the 11 was also a reliable route, but after Network Direct, that will no longer be true.

ArmaniJeanss

I got the 9.10PM 38A tonight, and purely for lols and nostalgia value I stopwatch timed it. It turned onto the N3 after Waterville and 1m 40sec later it was at the Auburn Avenue roundabout, utilizing the new road that bypasses the M50 roundabout. A road built to speed progress towards Dublin city centre, it took a small fortune and 24 months to build but it finally got there.

From next Sunday this same 38A bus will instead spend 20 minutes winding its way through Blanchardstown village, and will exit Blanch village 50 yards past the new road and head straight for the M50/N3 roundabout.

And that my friends, is progress ND style.

January

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Cheers, it's roughly as I thought then.
Though you have to admit its kind of warped that such an extreme action is taken to 'regulate' the system. Basically the people at the first few stops are just abandoned, They stand there optimistically in Leeson St waiting for the timetabled 38A bus thinking its maybe a little late, little knowing that its already halfway to Mulhuddart.

Though it does present a solution of sorts, seeing as DB are having such problems maintaining the timetable on the long new route. Why not officially terminate ALL the 38/38A buses somewhere in the town, perhaps somewhere like Hawkins Street?

That's genius! I don't know why someone hasn't thought of that before!! :eek:

AlekSmart

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

I got the 9.10PM 38A tonight, and purely for lols and nostalgia value I stopwatch timed it. It turned onto the N3 after Waterville and 1m 40sec later it was at the Auburn Avenue roundabout, utilizing the new road that bypasses the M50 roundabout. A road built to speed progress towards Dublin city centre, it took a small fortune and 24 months to build but it finally got there.

From next Sunday this same 38A bus will instead spend 20 minutes winding its way through Blanchardstown village, and will exit Blanch village 50 yards past the new road and head straight for the M50/N3 roundabout.

And that my friends, is progress ND style.

And this rather unfortunately for everybody other than the Network Direct Team appears to be the desired outcome of the entire thing.....:mad:

I think the BIG question on many peoples lips is why so much effort was spent/is being spent on dismantling the aspects of Dublin Bus`s services which were largely functional and fit for purpose in order to superimpose "Improvements" which,to date,have been remarkably consistent in their substantial dis improvement of the services they were applied to....?

It`s remarkable that such significant numbers of DB customers are reporting and substantiating serious ongoing difficulties and problems to so little effect.....Now that is odd.

jack presley

It's kind of ironic that our bus service (ie those that use the 38A) is getting shafted the same time as one of TDs becomes Minister fro Transport.

I bet he won't be praising this on his website!

misslt

I only found out about this today, I use the 39a/38a to get from Belfield to Corduff.

What in the name of all that is holy were they thinking when they thought this one up?!!?!? Seriously!!!

Taking the one route that when you get it, it actually works...and turning it into another inefficient, slow, useless route.

I am so incensed about this - what's happening to the 38 that follows pretty much the exact same fcuking route they want to send the 38a on!!!

My god, this is really just too hilarious. God forbid you'd want to be going north of Blanch village :mad:

thomasj

misslt wrote: »

Taking the one route that when you get it, it actually works...and turning it into another inefficient, slow, useless route.

I am so incensed about this - what's happening to the 38 that follows pretty much the exact same fcuking route they want to send the 38a on!!!

Castleknock!

Which I don't get! The 37 now links blanchardstown to castleknock!

jack presley

misslt wrote: »

My god, this is really just too hilarious. God forbid you'd want to be going north of Blanch village :mad:

We don't count out this way

thomasj

In fairness, its not just residents from the village who use the buses. People from various parts of blanch travel down to the village.

My last experience of getting a bus to or from the village was before network direct and that was woeful. I can only imagine what its like now the 39 was halved.

My mum is down in the village every day. At the best of times she was waiting upto 30-45 minutes on a 39. And would end up getting a taxi. Her legs are not the best and she got a knee replacement.

She is however at the church end of the village so we took her up the old bus gate to the 39a stop on the bypass. All she does now is walks up to the bypass and gets the 39a. She loves it! Its not a long wait and it gets her home in 5-10 minutes much quicker than the 39. the walk to that stop is not bad either 5 minutes for an elderly woman who has trouble walking.

Im not sure many people would even think of this stop, it should be advertised at the busstops and frankly dublin bus should have highlighted this rather than messing up the 38as!

Heading towards the village though is a different story! There is no stop even remotely close to the current route the 38b and 39a takes. The layout is that if you are on the flyover the 39a takes and the 38a used to take, you can head straight all the way. the first set of traffic lights you reach is the end of the flyover.

however, there is a sliproad at the hospital. You have a choice. Upon reaching the sliproad, you turn left for the hospital or straight, over the bridge to total fitness. You turn left to head straight into town. Upon turning left, there is a busstop there. The 39s and the 38as use that stop. I think the 38as should revert to its existing route. I think that the 39as and 38as should come up the sliproad and serve that busstop. It will probably put 5 minutes max onto the journey but im sure people on the 38a would take this option over it going through the village.

It would be a 5 minutes approx walk from that stop to the village. Thats my suggestion anyway!

ArmaniJeanss

thomasj wrote: »

.......... Thats my suggestion anyway!

I like it, good clever thinking.

Though one question... how do people from Blanch village going towards City Centre get to the bus stop you are referring to. Is there a pedestrian friendly (both in terms of safety and speed) way to cross over the N3 to this bus stop beside near the hospital?

thomasj

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

I like it, good clever thinking.

Though one question... how do people from Blanch village going towards City Centre get to the bus stop you are referring to. Is there a pedestrian friendly (both in terms of safety and speed) way to cross over the N3 to this bus stop beside near the hospital?

The bus stop is at total fitness. If you are in the village you would walk up the small local road just past aberakebabra that will lead you to the bypass, to your left is the outbound busstop in front is the pedestrian lights cross over and head towards total fitness its about a two minute walk up to total fitness.

AlekSmart

Thomasj: In fairness, its not just residents from the village who use the buses. People from various parts of blanch travel down to the village.

Im not sure many people would even think of this stop, it should be advertised at the busstops and frankly dublin bus should have highlighted this rather than messing up the 38as!

Heading towards the village though is a different story! The layout is that if you are on the flyover the 39a takes and the 38a used to take, you can head straight all the way. the first set of traffic lights you reach is the end of the flyover.

however, there is a sliproad at the hospital. You have a choice. Upon reaching the sliproad, you turn left for the hospital or straight, over the bridge to total fitness. You turn left to head straight into town. Upon turning left, there is a busstop there. The 39s and the 38as use that stop. I think the 38as should revert to its existing route. I think that the 39as and 38as should come up the sliproad and serve that busstop. It will probably put 5 minutes max onto the journey but im sure people on the 38a would take this option over it going through the village.

Why,I keep asking myself,after having the area studied,restudied and then immersed in several more forms of study,review and robust statistical analysis,are we reading on Boards.ie,such suggestions from a Local customer....surely they can't be of any merit.??....

thomasj

These studies are the greatest waste of money.

One of these days management will learn that the greatest asset a company can have is the expertise and opinions of their staff and customers on the ground.

I live in hope!

philidub

Presume this is a good spot for this question.....

I'm looking to go from Baggot Street area to Damastown Ind Est(Mon - Fri), so I should get the 38A? Because it doesn't go through Castleknock and Blanchardstown Village according to the map on Dublinbus.ie so would be quicker than the 38.

Presume the 38A would be my best option so?

Also, on Dublinbus.ie the first stop for 38/38A is Lower Baggot Street, but on http://www.rtpi.ie/ it looks like I may be able to get on earlier at Upper Baggot St, Waterloo Rd or Burlington Mews?

Anyone know the first stop I can get the 38/38A?

Anyone used the new Dublin Bus Live info for either of these routes?

Thanks in advance!

LXFlyer

The first pickup stop is on Lower Baggot Street. If you are going outbound in the morning peak take the 38b.

Jaysoose

Well rather than walk to the train this morning in the rain i went to the snugborough road stop for a 38/a/b ..the schedule at the stop says that the 38a gos from the village and not damastown now while the web info says different.

Any idea as to which is the accurate info? Seems a bit silly to start the 38a from the village only if the 38b is only running at peak times. Does this mean that the only option during the day from this stop and the preding ones is a 38?

LXFlyer

Jaysoose wrote: »

Well rather than walk to the train this morning in the rain i went to the snugborough road stop for a 38/a/b ..the schedule at the stop says that the 38a gos from the village and not damastown now while the web info says different.

Any idea as to which is the accurate info? Seems a bit silly to start the 38a from the village only if the 38b is only running at peak times. Does this mean that the only option during the day from this stop and the preding ones is a 38?

They have intermediate times for the village on the stops from the village inwards - it looks like they've put the wrong one on the stop on Snugborough Road. It should have the times ex-Damastown.

The web timetable is correct in being the full timetable for the route, although all the intermediate timetables have vanished for the Blanchardstown routes from the web.

ArmaniJeanss

Quick update on this route 4 months on.

Its generally perfect in the mornings, there has never been no problems with the new 38B, running like absolute clockwork vis a vis the timetable, always turns up, always on time. Can't remember one occasion on which one has failed.

Return trip on the 38A is fine as well from a timetable pov. Very very punctual. A reliable timetable combined with the wonderful RTPI system makes for a stress free journey home.

Kudos to everyone involved.
*******

On a negative note the reroute of the 38A through Blanchardstown village is still poor.
Thankfully I haven't as yet slept in and had to this diversion as part of a work commute, however on a couple of occasions I've taken the 38A around 11/11.30AM during the week and its generally been between 12 to 15 minutes to get from Waterville to the Auburn Avenue roundabout, a journey I timed at 2 minutes in an earlier post when going the 'new' road.
10/12 minutes extra doesn't seem a lot, on a 40 minute journey its 25% which is a bit sick.
It's a joke that this route serves both the east and west side of the N3 and therefore has to doublecross this major road.

In fairness to DB they have done quite well overall, they are really close to a perfect route here - scrap the illogical Blanch village diversion thing and they'd have it absolutely nailed.

TheChrisD

The main problem with the 38A is that regardless of what routing it takes, some people won't be happy.

• If it goes through Blanch village, the villagers are happy, but those in Corduff on back aren't because of the extra journey time.
• If it goes down the N3, Corduff on back are happy at the speed, but Blanch village isn't by losing half of their service and that they have to get the normal 38 which goes through Castleknock adding more time onto the journey.

thomasj

Like I said before my suggestion was:

- 38 and 39 As normal via blanchardstown village

- 38A and 39A via the motorway, but up the hospital sliproad, straight and left at the junction of total fitness (probably put 2-3 minutes on the journey but its nothing comared to the 38/39 journies)

Instructions on the bus stops in the village where to get the 38A and 39A to the city and how to get there, (a reasonable amount of people are getting the 39A from the city to the lane at the village and walking up to it)

The 38A skipped the village even before network direct came in, it changed when the 38A started serving castlecurragh, how come it wasn't a problem then? I have a feeling people complained about the cuts to the 39s and they responded with the 38A)

By the way I had a strange experience last sunday, got a 39 at Blanchardstown centre and the 39A showed up behind it, i decided to stay on. We got into town on the 39 and believe it or not the 39A arrived just after it :eek: I only noticed it based on the allover ad at the back of the bus!

TheChrisD

It makes me think back to the days when the 38A was first introduced, it was three services in the morning from Ladyswell to town with the main "perk" of the route being that it only skipped Castleknock.

But yes, the 38A was put through Blanch to compensate slightly for the fact the 39 was reduced from every 10 minutes to every half an hour.

ArmaniJeanss

Service is starting to get a bit ropey in the mornings, two weeks running theres been a day when the 08.36 38B from Mulhuddart to town hasn't turned up.

Theres only 6 buses a day on the route Dublin Bus, the least you could do is make sure they all bloody run, especially the last one.

And obviously the slow 38 bus turns up as scheduled 10 minutes later, no-one in the control office with the cop-on to send it down as a replacement for the more important 38B which 50/60 people in Castlecurragh/Corduff/Waterville are waiting on.

LXFlyer

R

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Service is starting to get a bit ropey in the mornings, two weeks running theres been a day when the 08.36 38B from Mulhuddart to town hasn't turned up.

Theres only 6 buses a day on the route Dublin Bus, the least you could do is make sure they all bloody run, especially the last one.

And obviously the slow 38 bus turns up as scheduled 10 minutes later, no-one in the control office with the cop-on to send it down as a replacement for the more important 38B which 50/60 people in Castlecurragh/Corduff/Waterville are waiting on.

Sounds like a breakdown to me, given all those buses work out from town.

Are the people waiting for the 38 on Auburn Avenue not important? That's their only bus! If you cancel the 38 even more people are put out.

SHOVELLER

Not for the first time was left waiting for 15 minutes for another driver this evening on a 39a with its engine running!

This also happens on the 37 and 38.

And yes I have emailed Dublin Bus and have had no success.

Drivers should complete the journey. Customers do not care about driver shifts as they just want to go home. Jokeshop.

One step forward with the new screens and two steps back with this nonsense.