Commuting from Portlaoise to Blackrock

laoisfan

Hi

I may be starting a new job in Blackrock soon ( with work from home an option further down the line perhaps ).

Just wondering if anyone does a daily commute from Portlaoise ( or other towns e.g. Kildare, Newbridge ) to Blackrock.

I'm looking for various methods to getting to Blackrock excluding taxis.

From what I can gather the most straight forward is train from Portlaoise to Dublin Heuston, Dublin Heuston to Dublin Connolly via Luas and then Dublin Connolly to Blackrock via Dart.

If anyone else goes to Blackrock currently and uses an alternative method of getting them can they please share? It is Blackrock Business Park ( about 5-10 mins walk from the Dart Station ).

Thanks!!

mgmt

You could get Martleys coaches to UCD, and it'll be a short enough journey then to Blackrock.

http://www.martleys.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=66

coylemj

There is a regular bus service from Portlaoise to Dublin airport, it stops at the park & ride at the Red Cow where you can pickup the Luas to Connolly, that would probably be cheaper than the train and depending on where you live in Portlaoise it might be more convenient.

Doodah7

laoisfan wrote: »

Hi

From what I can gather the most straight forward is train from Portlaoise to Dublin Heuston, Dublin Heuston to Dublin Connolly via Luas and then Dublin Connolly to Blackrock via Dart.

If anyone else goes to Blackrock currently and uses an alternative method of getting them can they please share? It is Blackrock Business Park ( about 5-10 mins walk from the Dart Station ).

Thanks!!

You would be nuts or will end up nuts if you do this for any length of time. It would be around two hours commute each way with the large potential for delays due to the number of connections. In this case, driving would be significantly quicker with only Newlands being the delay.

coylemj

mgmt wrote: »

You could get Martleys coaches to UCD, and it'll be a short enough journey then to Blackrock.

http://www.martleys.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=66

It wouldn't really be any good, the buses on the N11 that pass UCD (46A & 145) don't go near Blackrock.

In theory he could get the 46A to Deansgrange cross from UCD and catch an inbound 45 to Blackrock but the 45 is a terrible service.

mgmt

coylemj wrote: »

It wouldn't really be any good, the buses on the N11 that pass UCD (46A & 145) don't go near Blackrock.

In theory he could get the 46A to Deansgrange cross from UCD and catch an inbound 45 to Blackrock but the 45 is a terrible service.

The OP could cycle the rest of the journey, leave a cheap enough bike in Dublin.
TBH I think the OP should consider moving to Dublin until they can work at home.

laoisfan

tallpaul wrote: »

You would be nuts or will end up nuts if you do this for any length of time. It would be around two hours commute each way with the large potential for delays due to the number of connections. In this case, driving would be significantly quicker with only Newlands being the delay.

I currently commute from Ballybrophy ( sometimes Portlaoise ) to Eastpoint Business Park using train to Heuston, Luas to Bus Aras and then I walk out to the park. I work from home 2 days per week, This take sometimes 2 hrs doing it for the best part of 10 yrs now.

Possibly changing job to a company based in Blackrock who encourage work from home. Really want a few options as to getting out to Blackrock and back into town from Heuston. Luas/Dart seem the most straight forward.

Thanks!

**Timbuk2**

coylemj wrote: »

It wouldn't really be any good, the buses on the N11 that pass UCD (46A & 145) don't go near Blackrock.

In theory he could get the 46A to Deansgrange cross from UCD and catch an inbound 45 to Blackrock but the 45 is a terrible service.

The 17 bus goes from UCD to Blackrock, but it isn't a good service either!

coylemj

Here's another option, it involves a mile and half walk but you only have to get one bus and no Luas from Heuston and it's a very regular bus service.

Directly outside Heuston station is the terminus for the 145 bus, it goes to Kilmacanogue in Co. Wicklow via the N11 (Stillorgan Road). There's almost always one waiting when you walk out of the station. The timetable says it runs every 10 minutes between 07:00 and 21:00.

Get off the 145 at Stillorgan Cross (near the bowling alley), walk down Stillorgan Park to the junction of Carysfort Ave., turn left, walk down Carysfort Ave and the Blackrock Business park is near the bottom of the hill, I measure it at 1.4 miles/2.2 kms.

If you're a woman and wondering about personal security, the road you'd be walking is a wide busy road with constant traffic all day so there wouldn't be anything to worry about.

laoisfan

coylemj wrote: »

Here's another option, it involves a mile and half walk but you only have to get one bus and no Luas from Heuston and it's a very regular bus service.

Directly outside Heuston station is the terminus for the 145 bus, it goes to Kilmacanogue in Co. Wicklow via the N11 (Stillorgan Road). There's almost always one waiting when you walk out of the station. The timetable says it runs every 10 minutes between 07:00 and 21:00.

Get off the 145 at Stillorgan Cross (near the bowling alley), walk down Stillorgan Park to the junction of Carysfort Ave., turn left, walk down Carysfort Ave and the Blackrock Business park is near the bottom of the hill, I measure it at 1.4 miles/2.2 kms.

If you're a woman and wondering about personal security, the road you'd be walking is a wide busy road with constant traffic all day so there wouldn't be anything to worry about.

I was contemplating this also ( forgot to mention it in my post ). Yes, the 145 seems fairly regular outside of Heuston alright. Worth looking at I guess. Cheers buddy! ( said in the tone of Gift Grub )

schemingbohemia

you could also switch from a 145 to a 4/7/8 on Nassau Street, reasonably frequent service, if you buy a pack of travel90s you could use the one ticket for both journeys as they're valid for 2 trips if the second one is taken within 90 minutes of the first.

coylemj

schemingbohemia wrote: »

you could also switch from a 145 to a 4/7/8 on Nassau Street, reasonably frequent service, if you buy a pack of travel90s you could use the one ticket for both journeys as they're valid for 2 trips if the second one is taken within 90 minutes of the first.

That's a good point and the 4/7/8 buses all share the same stop in Nassau St., you'd then get off opposite the Frascati shopping centre and you'd have a 2 minutes walk up Carysfort Ave.

You'd get off the 145 at stop 00406 on Nassau St. (the first stop after you take the bend at the bottom of Grafton St.) then walk forward to stop 00405 where you can get the 4/7/8 as posted above and the bonus is that they all stop here so you can take the first one to arrive.

To see what the frequency is like from this bus stop, go to this website for realtime data...

http://www.rtpi.ie/Text/Pages/WebDisplay.aspx?stopRef=00405&stopName=Nassau+Street

Travel90 ticket would deffo be the right way to do it if you're taking multiple buses, it currently costs 19 euros for 10 journeys but you'd get a 'free transfer' when boarding the second bus.

Cookie_Monster

coylemj wrote: »

Here's another option, it involves a mile and half walk but you only have to get one bus and no Luas from Heuston and it's a very regular bus service.

Directly outside Heuston station is the terminus for the 145 bus, it goes to Kilmacanogue in Co. Wicklow via the N11 (Stillorgan Road). There's almost always one waiting when you walk out of the station. The timetable says it runs every 10 minutes between 07:00 and 21:00.

Get off the 145 at Stillorgan Cross (near the bowling alley), walk down Stillorgan Park to the junction of Carysfort Ave., turn left, walk down Carysfort Ave and the Blackrock Business park is near the bottom of the hill, I measure it at 1.4 miles/2.2 kms.

If you're a woman and wondering about personal security, the road you'd be walking is a wide busy road with constant traffic all day so there wouldn't be anything to worry about.

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Carysfort+Ave&daddr=Stillorgan+Park&hl=en&ll=53.294772,-6.161013&spn=0.015134,0.129948&sll=53.291797,-6.159725&sspn=0.015135,0.129948&geocode=FZlELQMdfbSh_w%3BFTYiLQMdZnih_w&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=14&dirflg=w&z=14

is .3km shorter, though quieter road if that's an issue

same length walk but shorter bus journey a stop or two
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Carysfort+Ave&daddr=Stillorgan+Rd%2FN11&hl=en&sll=53.293695,-6.165562&sspn=0.015134,0.129948&geocode=FZlELQMdfbSh_w%3BFT48LQMdDlah_w&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=14&dirflg=w&z=14

coylemj

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Carysfort+Ave&daddr=Stillorgan+Park&hl=en&ll=53.294772,-6.161013&spn=0.015134,0.129948&sll=53.291797,-6.159725&sspn=0.015135,0.129948&geocode=FZlELQMdfbSh_w%3BFTYiLQMdZnih_w&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=14&dirflg=w&z=14

is .3km shorter, though quieter road if that's an issue

same length walk but shorter bus journey a stop or two
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Carysfort+Ave&daddr=Stillorgan+Rd%2FN11&hl=en&sll=53.293695,-6.165562&sspn=0.015134,0.129948&geocode=FZlELQMdfbSh_w%3BFT48LQMdDlah_w&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=14&dirflg=w&z=14

Only 300m shorter according to the map. The route via Avoca Ave. is 1.8 kms and the one along the main road is 2.1 kms, both numbers are shown on that Google map.

I did the original route using Garmin Mapsource and it also showed Avoca Ave. as the shorter route but I deliberately forced it along the main road as a more secure route. Avoca Ave. is a very quiet road, especially outside school times.

laoisfan

Thanks for all the options guys. I was thinking perhaps of the bus route plus get one of those fold up bikes ( with bag ) to bring on the bus. Yes/No ?

nlgbbbblth

Did Newbridge to Blackrock for 11 months. Not nice.

Train to Heuston, 90 bus and then DART from Tara Street. About 90 minutes each way.

mgmt

Id cycle direct from Hueston to Blackrock, it's about 10km which you'd do it in 30-40min.

the groutch

is it a 9-5 job? there's a Bus Eireann bus that gets you to O'Connell Bridge for 8:30, and between the 4 & 7, you could just about make it to Blackrock for 9am

laoisfan

the groutch wrote: »

is it a 9-5 job? there's a Bus Eireann bus that gets you to O'Connell Bridge for 8:30, and between the 4 & 7, you could just about make it to Blackrock for 9am

9-5:30 I believe...starting off.

Potential new employers has said they support WFH but I would not get it initially. Possibly after 6 months, in previous & current jobs I've got it after 3 months ( when you're good you're good lol )

I did Bus Eireann for a while from Portlaoise and it was ok but I find the train better. I have a few options from Ballybrophy train stations ( first train in the morning ) or Portlaoise ( 30 min drive from my house & some earlier trains ).

At the moment the best 2 options are looking like:

1. Train from either BB or PL to Dublin Heustion. Luas connection to Connolly. Dart from Connolly to Blackrock. Then <= 5 mins walk to business park.

2. Train from either BB or PL to Dublin Heustion. Get Dublin Bus 145 from outside Heustion ( every 10 mins ) to Stillorgan ( probably the Mount Merrion Bus stop ) and walk the rest of the way. There are other bus stops along that road that I could get off.

I could look at a fold up bike to bring with me but that's all find in summer ( what's summer!! ) but come winter...different story.

Food for thought. Thanks for all the suggestions.

PS. I've worked in Eastpoint for well on 10 yrs now and have commuted all that time from either BB or PL. So I'm well used to commuting ( and the pitfalls that go with it). But WFH is a factor in changing jobs. Thankfully, potential new employers ( haven't been offered the job yet ) support WFH. Moving to Dublin is not an option ( wifey & 2 kids ).