Bus Eireann X51 Galway-Limerick

foggy_lad

Looking at the timetable for this service it departs Galway and arrives Limerick only as the normal 51 covers all points in-between. But no this is not the case. Tonight I am on the 6pm bus and it has made several unscheduled stops to pick up and drop off people around the Ardrahan area and several other villages en route before it joined the motorway. When l noticed this I thought I was on the wrong bus so asked politely if it was the X51 or the slower 51. The driver said it was the X51 so I continued to ask about the timetable and the stops he was making. His response was very rude, he said he was not going to take any lectures from smart-arses this evening and threatened to put me off the bus if I didn't like the way he was driving it. What an ignorant way to talk to anyone!

Well no surprise on getting to Limerick ten minutes late due most likely to the extra stops, the bus pulled into the station just as the Dublin bus I was supposed to be on time for had pulled out. I now have to return to Dublin by train as the plans I had made involving stopping in Roscrea have been scuppered by this nasty driver who has now claimed publicly that I abused him for the whole journey. on the bus!

parsi

I hope that you weren't breaking the admonition to "Na cur isteach ar an tiomanai agus ata an bus ag gluaiseacht"?

foggy_lad

parsi wrote: »

I hope that you weren't breaking the admonition to "Na cur isteach ar an tiomanai agus ata an bus ag gluaiseacht"?

Lol, no I approached him on one of his many "local" stops. He has also stated quite loudly and again in front of witnesses that he has barred me from travelling with him again on any bus he is driving and all 51 and X51 services, I think he also may have included all services out of Limerick and Galway.

CIE

Sounds like a very civilised service.

steph1

Just report him. God almighty can people not ask a question now?
So much for customer service. Just write a letter or send an email to bus eireann outlining what happened. Sure maybe he had one or two cronies that he said he'd pick up on the way lol
It is very hard at times to get a connection without waiting hours. The bus service in this country is a joke.

foggy_lad

steph1 wrote: »

Just report him. God almighty can people not ask a question now?
So much for customer service. Just write a letter or send an email to bus eireann outlining what happened. Sure maybe he had one or two cronies that he said he'd pick up on the way lol
It is very hard at times to get a connection without waiting hours. The bus service in this country is a joke.

Rather than engage any further with the driver on the bus I sat back down resigned myself to missing the 19.30hours Dublin bus and started to type out my complaint to Bus Eireann which went something like

I am on the 6pm X51 service from Galway to Limerick and the driver is driving the same route as the normal 51 route so will never make it to Limerick in time for my connecting bus at half seven.

When I saw the bus stopping at every dog box and crossroads en route I had to ask the driver was it the 51 or X51 as I suspected I had got the wrong bus, I was told it was the latter(X51) and the driver went on to say he was not taking lectures from smart-arses this evening.

The timetable for this X51 route is so simple even the simple-minded could figure it out, a stop at GMIT then off to Limerick. There is no mention of stops in Ardrahan or a few other villages en route!

Can you please explain why this driver was so rude and also why he seemed to make up his own timetable to suit his regular passengers? This service was launched with great ferver but it seems it has descended into a sloppy waste as it is only useful if it stocks to the timetable!

highlydebased

Descended into a sloppy waste? In fairness. 10 minutes late because he picked up a few extra people is nothing- had you gotten the train you'd still be north of Gort at that stage!

Considering the bus passes through these places anyway before joining the motorway I personally don't see a problem, better than passing them by. Had you been one of said
people waiting for the bus and it passed you by just because it was the X, you'd be complaining too.

foggy_lad

Neon-Circles wrote: »

Descended into a sloppy waste? In fairness. 10 minutes late because he picked up a few extra people is nothing- had you gotten the train you'd still be north of Gort at that stage!

Considering the bus passes through these places anyway before joining the motorway I personally don't see a problem, better than passing them by. Had you been one of said
people waiting for the bus and it passed you by just because it was the X, you'd be complaining too.

No I would not because the scheduled 51 leaving at 6.10pm would have picked me up. The driver boarded passengers at the start of the journey and along the route for ardrahan and other places despite not having any scheduled stops after GMIT which imho delayed the bus by more than 10 minutes.

mikemac

So you're going to Limerick and then get the Dublin Bus?

You know JJ Kavanaghs run a bus service from GMIT to Nenagh and you could meet the Dublin bus there to head to Roscrea.
Just throwing out an option since you're barred from all services!

foggy_lad

feelingstressed wrote: »

So you're going to Limerick and then get the Dublin Bus?

You know JJ Kavanaghs run a bus service from GMIT to Nenagh and you could meet the Dublin bus there to head to Roscrea.
Just throwing out an option since you're barred from all services!

Am I barred though? Can one scowling snarly mean tempered driver hold such power? And the kavanagh's busses are good but would have taken some time to organize as I am unfamiliar with their routes apart from Dublin-waterford. I will certainly think Of them in future.

Tech3

The bus driver should only allow passengers into the X51 bus at Galway destined for Limerick bus station. It's just plain daft otherwise. There was a stop at Gort and Oranmore pre-M18 Gort to Crusheen opening. Now there should be zero stops.

Bus Eireann are rubbish when trying to get a connecting bus. One service from Limerick to Sligo via Athlone changes in Roscrea. If the Limerick-Dublin bus is late the connecting Roscrea-Sligo bus will not wait. I have seen the Limerick-Tralee bus wait for Dublin-Limerick passengers before but it is all too inconsistent.

The bus service is fine for short trips but any long bus journeys with changes involved you could end up staying in a town as the connecting bus is gone cause you would be 5 mins late.

Will we ever see an improvement in this where bus drivers can contact each other if people are depending on that bus to wait for a few minutes? I cant ever see it happening.

dowlingm

foggy lad - I'm a great advocate for public transport but I think you need a car. You seem to give off some sort of pheromone which drives BE personnel bananas :D:D

ciaran100lis

I too was on this bus, thankfully I made the 13 bus in Limerick. Big fan of the 51x as it cuts an hour off my journey:) The 423 left Galway at 18:00 and seemed to be only have full. Why weren't the Clarenbridge or Kilcolgan passengers put on to that service?

foggy_lad

dowlingm wrote: »

foggy lad - I'm a great advocate for public transport but I think you need a car. You seem to give off some sort of pheromone which drives BE personnel bananas :D:D

I am a great advocate for people that do their jobs properly especially when they are being paid with taxpayers money.

How hard is it to board a bus with people only going to Limerick then stop at GMIT and only take people for Limerick then dont stop till you get to Limerick?

dowlingm

foggy_lad wrote: »

I am a great advocate for people that do their jobs properly especially when they are being paid with taxpayers money.

How hard is it to board a bus with people only going to Limerick then stop at GMIT and only take people for Limerick then dont stop till you get to Limerick?

Oh I agree (although Irish Rail are probably pleased by this development) but you seem to have a dreadfully high strike rate in encountering such people. In any case, perhaps you should call into the BE office in Galway and see if you can get a manager to talk to you?

foggy_lad

dowlingm wrote: »

Oh I agree (although Irish Rail are probably pleased by this development) but you seem to have a dreadfully high strike rate in encountering such people. In any case, perhaps you should call into the BE office in Galway and see if you can get a manager to talk to you?

I would rather get this whole barring business sorted out before I go anywhere again on a Bus Eireann bus, what if I went to Galway or elsewhere and this same driver is driving the return coach?

Has this driver got the right to bar me from using a whole section of Bus Eireann services simply because I questioned him(while the bus was stationary) when he chose to ignore the timetable and added several stops to a non stop service and subsequently made a complaint to the inspector in Limerick about the unscheduled stops? If he considers that "abuse" then god help him.

highlydebased

foggy_lad wrote: »

I would rather get this whole barring business sorted out before I go anywhere again on a Bus Eireann bus, what if I went to Galway or elsewhere and this same driver is driving the return coach?

Has this driver got the right to bar me from using a whole section of Bus Eireann services simply because I questioned him(while the bus was stationary) when he chose to ignore the timetable and added several stops to a non stop service and subsequently made a complaint to the inspector in Limerick about the unscheduled stops? If he considers that "abuse" then god help him.

I think he wished to scare you into thinking you were because he probably does not wish to see you on his bus again. But I don't think a driver has the authority to "ban" one from services....how would the other drivers know who you are anyway

foggy_lad

Neon-Circles wrote: »

I think he wished to scare you into thinking you were because he probably does not wish to see you on his bus again. But I don't think a driver has the authority to "ban" one from services....how would the other drivers know who you are anyway

True, he would have no legitimate reason to stop me boarding a bus/coach and if I tried to board at say Galway he could do very little as I could just refuse to leave the bus until an inspector was called to sort him out but if i was waiting in Oranmore or Craughwell for the last bus to dublin he said he would drive past any stop i was at regardless of any other people waiting for the bus.

mikemac

One of the drivers in Galway was always downright ignorant

Back in my day , there wasn't a 51 and X51.
But what they did was everyone for Gort got on one bus so the other bus could get to Limerick faster.

Being Galway and full of tourists, lots would mix up Gort and Cork and couldn't pronounce them and then get roared at by the driver

"Are ye deaf, I'm not going to Gort"
And that was mild compared to his usual rants.

Probably the same lad as you got Foggy Lad
Did he have a beard?

foggy_lad

feelingstressed wrote: »

One of the drivers in Galway was always downright ignorant

Back in my day , there wasn't a 51 and X51.
But what they did was everyone for Gort got on one bus so the other bus could get to Limerick faster.

Being Galway and full of tourists, lots would mix up Gort and Cork and couldn't pronounce them and then get roared at by the driver

"Are ye deaf, I'm not going to Gort"
And that was mild compared to his usual rants.

Probably the same lad as you got Foggy Lad
Did he have a beard?

No beard but he did have a mustache and appeared to know most of the "locals" by name.

I just want to say i had no issue at all with his driving until he started diverting from the timetable and the bus then became late in getting to Limerick.

mikemac

foggy_lad wrote: »

No beard but he did have a mustache and appeared to know most of the "locals" by name.

Well it's quite a years back since I went to college in Galway. Mustache/beard I couldn't remember exactly. But I'd say it's the same driver

You are not the first to get a verbal lashing from this guy and most likely won't be the last.

highlydebased

Potentially the same moustached driver who has driven city buses in Limerick- I've heard him tell many people off for not having smaller change i.e a fiver for a 3.50 daysaver fare is not acceptable! Also gets cross for people not pressing the stop button and moving toward the front of the bus to get off...

parsi

Neon-Circles wrote: »

Ihow would the other drivers know who you are anyway

Have you not seen his bright red elephant head and trunk ?

steph1

Neon-Circles wrote: »

Potentially the same moustached driver who has driven city buses in Limerick- I've heard him tell many people off for not having smaller change i.e a fiver for a 3.50 daysaver fare is not acceptable! Also gets cross for people not pressing the stop button and moving toward the front of the bus to get off...

He seems like a lovely advertisement for Bus Eireann

foggy_lad

No response yet from two people within bus Eireann one based in Galway who have received and opened my email complaint in relation to this incident. Surely such an incident should warrant a response of some kind even to say it is being investigated or that I am not barred etc?

mikemac

foggy_lad wrote: »

No response yet from two people within bus Eireann one based in Galway who have received and opened my email complaint in relation to this incident. Surely such an incident should warrant a response of some kind

Have posted it before many times but if you want to complain to anyone no matter if it's Xtravision or a government mininster, you need to write a letter.

It shows you are serious and you'll get further then sending emails.
If you're going to continue writing emails you need to give your full name and address, otherwise emails get dismissed

I remember a time when we all wrote letters and didn't have emails, feeling old

foggy_lad

feelingstressed wrote: »

Have posted it before many times but if you want to complain to anyone no matter if it's Xtravision or a government mininster, you need to write a letter.

It shows you are serious and you'll get further then sending emails.
If you're going to continue writing emails you need to give your full name and address, otherwise emails get dismissed

I remember a time when we all wrote letters and didn't have emails, feeling old

I completely agree with you and usually ensure that I give my full name and address in such cases. As for emails, when the company has a facility in place to accept complaints via email they should have the manners to reply or at least acknowledge the email.

seekers

it's back again this summer