Matthews bus service

Paddy_Smith

I think the Matthews bus service is bloody ridiculous.

There's so many things wrong with the service. It being late a lot of the time, and the reluctance to fix the air conditioning being another for example.

I'll be taking the train from now on from Dundalk to Dublin, because this bus service has me distraught with the bloody problems going on around it.

Does anyone else have any problems with this service?

gernon

Wait till you get a few trains late and with broken aircon or during winter no heat and pay twice the price for privilege then maybe Matthews won't appear too bad.

tenchi-fan

Disagree, I think Matthews bus is a very good service.

calex71

They have stickers on a lot of the coaches windows with info on how to voice your complaints via mobile sms or from their website. If you don't tell then then how can they fix it

It's never been late for me but I don't take it at peak times, and with the warm weather if the air conditioning has not been working it's likely not switched on, the driver had no problem turning it on any time I had asked.

Seannew1

I agree,I've always preffered the train. I got the bus from Monasterboice to Dundalk recently and it was 12 euro return which i felt was a bit on the pricey side.I hear its also 12 euro return to dublin from Monasterboice/Drogheda and Dundalk is half the distance!

Paddy_Smith

Seannew1 wrote: »

I agree,I've always preffered the train. I got the bus from Monasterboice to Dundalk recently and it was 12 euro return which i felt was a bit on the pricey side.I hear its also 12 euro return to dublin from Monasterboice/Drogheda and Dundalk is half the distance!

Yeah this is true.

It feels like the Matthews bus service has me a poor man!

tenchi-fan

Paddy_Smith wrote: »

Yeah this is true.

It feels like the Matthews bus service has me a poor man!

Buy a ten trip ticket, or a tax-saver ticket if you travel more frequently.

I remember taking the Bus Eireann bus to Dublin. Took half a day and cost a fortune.

10green bottles

OP needs to elabortate.

BettePorter

i'd have to disagree. i think Matthews puts Bus eireann to shame. The drivers are always pleasant, the buses comfortable and in my experience on time. If you think you're broke paying 12 euro return to dublin you'll be destitute after a few trips to dublin on the cattle train ! Do you mean 'fix' the air con as in fix it to your preferred setting ? Surely every bus you're on can't be broken ?

Mr Magnolia

I've never had a problem in fact quite the opposite. As calex71 points out, you should voice your concerns and see what sort of a response you get.

They're always on-time, arriving & leaving, drivers have always been courtious. Once, there was a problem with the air-con but I've travelled with them a lot so I can certainly put up with one episode.

I really don't know how they can keep such a fresh fleet of buses on the road at only €12/pp. The fact they won that big contract for London 2012 is testament to their professionalism in my humble opinion.

doncarlos

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Once, there was a problem with the air-con but I've travelled with them a lot so I can certainly put up with one episode.

I think you may have been on the same bus as me. It was a horrible journey but the first bad one in over 100.
The next bus I got was one of the luxury buses with the tables in the middle and lots of leg room so all was forgiven.

20 Times 20 Times

I think.its a quality service at the right price .

CMpunked

Cost of train(return dublin): €15
Loud, cold, not gaurenteed a seat, drops 10 mins away from the city centre. (drog station is also a few miles out of town)

Matthews coach: €12
comfortable, reliable, have any queries you can ask the driver, ridiculously nice drivers, no expiry date on return tickets and they drop you right in the city centre.

There's no comparison in my mind, boggles me why anyone would go by train.

delly

I use them the odd time from Drogheda if heading into the city for a night out and have always found them to have an excellent service. Always on time, friendly drivers and buses that are only a year or two old.

neacy69

Cant disagree with you strongly enough.

I think the matthews bus is a great service. Always on time, friendly, cost effective, wifi on board, clean....i could go on.

If you arent happy then send them an email.
Thats what I did a couple of weeks ago when they stopped the 6.30pm Dundalk Direct service and it was back on the next day!

Atomic Pineapple

Agree with the sentiments of the majority on thread, its an excellent service at a realistic price.

Complaining about a bus being late and not having a/c (in Ireland, seriously?) is a bit pedantic.

bigneacy

I don't use it often, but I found the bus staff to be very very nice and they seem to want to bend over backwards to help you out.

Send them an email expressing your concerns - I'd say they'll have it sorted before you give it another thought.

petes

Never had a bad experience with them. Quality service. Granted OP with a service something might slip through the cracks but I have never seen it with Matthews!

Only problem I have with Matthews and with Bus Eireann is they don't have a bar on the bus :pac:

Enterprise for me this evening!

gipi

I use Matthews from time to time and have always found the service to be comfortable and for the most part, on time. Naturally with any road-based service in this country, there are bound to be delays here and there.

They update their facebook with news of delays (e.g. traffic or other road incidents) - if you can log onto it, it might remove some of the frustration if a bus is delayed.

I remember asking on FB if one of the Saturday buses to Dublin picked up at City North (it suited me to board from there on the day) - got a reply within minutes to say that normally it didn't, but that the driver would be asked to swing by and collect me! And he did!

Can't beat that for service, in my opinion!

amacachi

I commute with them to college and in three years a bus left about 5 minutes late once and other than that and the snow I can remember pretty much no other time-keeping issues I've had with them.

Also glad to see the amount of posts in favour of them, was worried I may look like a shill. :pac:

I also think they provide an excellent service. As above, courteous drivers, on-time, and whenever they fill a bus, there's always a second one a few minutes behind it to take the excess passengers.

For €12, you can hardly complain.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Great service, excellent time keeping, cheap fares, lots of buses, clean and comfortable, safety conscious, pleasant drivers, speedy trip...

What the heck more does the OP want??

Took the train one day this week. It arrived late, people had to stand, it was stuffy and uncomfortable. Also cost me more and had to wait 2 hours for a train home.

I honestly wonder at the motives of the OP with this thread.

**Timbuk2**

amacachi wrote: »

I commute with them to college and in three years a bus left about 5 minutes late once and other than that and the snow I can remember pretty much no other time-keeping issues I've had with them.

Also glad to see the amount of posts in favour of them, was worried I may look like a shill. :pac:

Completely agree, use them to get from Dublin to Dundalk and have never had a problem with them! The only time they were late was during the snow in mid-December (Parnell Street to Dundalk direct took nearly 2.5 hours) but that's understandable - they left Parnell Street precisely on time though!

rugbyman

Superb service, full stop.


on a technical note ,how did the post at 14.47 fom mr magnolia have the previous quote from amachi appearing to come from matthews?

i have rently had qotation sent to me as though I had said it ,but i did not. sorry thats a bit garbled.

Rugbyman

Mr Magnolia

rugbyman wrote: »

Superb service, full stop.


on a technical note ,how did the post at 14.47 fom mr magnolia have the previous quote from amachi appearing to come from matthews?

Rugbyman

When I selected to quote amacahi I edited his/her name in the text to 'matthews' coaches', kinda poking fun at the thought s/he was worried about being seen as a shill. I'll delete it as it may cause confusion...

PinkFly

i love the matthews buses and agree with all the good points noted here the only niggly problem is that they charge 12 euro for a child too. i know its still a seat they are taking up etc etc, bus usually childrens tickets are cheaper..aren't they?

bigneacy

PinkFly wrote: »

i love the matthews buses and agree with all the good points noted here the only niggly problem is that they charge 12 euro for a child too. i know its still a seat they are taking up etc etc, bus usually childrens tickets are cheaper..aren't they?

Usually kids fares would be cheaper, even though it's still a seat taken.

Maybe it's due to the fact that 99% of Matthews customers are commuters and students? Just a guess, perhaps amachai, the shill working on behalf of Matthews can clear it up for us? :pac: :-p

tenchi-fan

PinkFly wrote: »

i love the matthews buses and agree with all the good points noted here the only niggly problem is that they charge 12 euro for a child too. i know its still a seat they are taking up etc etc, bus usually childrens tickets are cheaper..aren't they?

I used to commute on the Matthew's bus. It was funny seeing people getting on and asking for a kid's fair when the bus was full and there were people still waiting to get on... they still take up a seat and if they reduce kids prices adult ticket prices will have to increase.

PinkFly

tenchi-fan wrote: »

I used to commute on the Matthew's bus. It was funny seeing people getting on and asking for a kid's fair when the bus was full and there were people still waiting to get on... they still take up a seat and if they reduce kids prices adult ticket prices will have to increase.

It only happen because usually there is a childrens rate on bus and train fares hence why i asked for it when getting on with my son, it is hardly that amusing to see it occur?

20 Times 20 Times

Is there ever a case where there are people left behind ??

Reekwind

As someone who used to be totally reliant on CIE buses I can only say that Matthews provide a fantastic service. Never hand any problem with them and they make travelling to/from Dublin a breeze

Rossin

ah theyre good alright, pity there's no student tickets though

not1but4

I used it twice a week for four years while at college and found it fantastic. I have since moved to Belfast and I only wish there was a service to Belfast like the one Matthews provide to Dublin.

I only wish there was a later bus on a Sat night (I know they dont it as people who would be getting would have been drinking) as it would be very handy.

OP you should try Bus Éireann, knackered buses, stop in every little village along the way and never on time.

Little Pea wrote: »

Is there ever a case where there are people left behind ??

A twice I overheard the driver say that the bus was full and they had to wait for the next bus but at least they stopped and told them. When I first started getting the Matthews I remember they let 2 people sit in the aisle as there was enough seats.

I often go the Bus from Drumcondra on a Friday when everyone who was in College was heading home at the same time. After the bus was full in Parnell St they sent a second direct bus for the rest of even if there was only like 10 of us.

Great service.


A note on the price of kids tickets and getting off on the 1st stop. They would need to invest in a better ticket system so that they could provide different types of tickets and this would cost a fair bit.

amacachi

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Completely agree, use them to get from Dublin to Dundalk and have never had a problem with them! The only time they were late was during the snow in mid-December (Parnell Street to Dundalk direct took nearly 2.5 hours) but that's understandable - they left Parnell Street precisely on time though!

3 hours it took me and I only just made it because it was leaving from a different place :P

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

When I selected to quote amacahi I edited his/her name in the text to 'matthews' coaches', kinda poking fun at the thought s/he was worried about being seen as a shill. I'll delete it as it may cause confusion...

If they don't get that they can piss off :P

bigneacy wrote: »

Usually kids fares would be cheaper, even though it's still a seat taken.

Maybe it's due to the fact that 99% of Matthews customers are commuters and students? Just a guess, perhaps amachai, the shill working on behalf of Matthews can clear it up for us? :pac: :-p

Exactly, a seat is a seat. I pay everyday so fcuk everyone else :P

Little Pea wrote: »

Is there ever a case where there are people left behind ??

I've not seen it. They have a bus on stand-buy during the college term from Dundalk and also have a mini-bus all the time. It sits in Dundalk in the morning and once Dundalk is clear it sits and waits for the Drogheda crowd who are "left behind". I've been beaten into Parnell St. by that extra bus when my bus stops 3 times going into Dublin while the other 3 people on the minibus are going straight for Parnell St.






If anything I said doesn't make sense let me know, I'm very drunk. :pac:

20 Times 20 Times

Is there many buses going from Dundalk in the morning ?? the reason I ask is that I will be starting a Msc in DIT in September so will be making the commute everyday , I obviously only want to go direct , is there buses for IFSC etc ???

280special

Cannot beleive that someone finds the train to be better than Matthews !!! For god's sake, its usually overcrowded in the mornings and around 5, there are serious and quite often unexplained delays, and as regrds customer service ?? Dont start me !

Matthews provide an excellant service in clean, reliable coaches with pleasant, friendly staff who do their jobs in a professional way. The ethos of the company seems to be get the customers to their destination on-time. The last time I was on the rattle trap operation that is Bus Eireann it was to be driven by a surly, unfriendly driver who didnt give a damn , driving a bus that was fit for the scrapheap even though only about 6 years old. And it was cold, stinking and filthy. And he didnt watch the luggage bays to make sure nothing went missing !

Give me Matthews anytime, I just wish they had been in operation back in the 90's, they KNOW how to operate a bus route to Dublin !

Mr Magnolia

Little Pea wrote: »

Is there many buses going from Dundalk in the morning ?? the reason I ask is that I will be starting a Msc in DIT in September so will be making the commute everyday , I obviously only want to go direct , is there buses for IFSC etc ???

Here ya go...

The bus stops at Parnell St., at the top of O'Connell St. so the IFSC is a short walk.

Reekwind

Here's the Dundalk timetable (PDF) and their IFSC page. The latter seems to leave at 7:00 but I've never gotten it myself

20 Times 20 Times

Yeah I had a look at the timetables earlier and I have often gotten the Matthews bus to Dublin at least 1/2 times a week , Just never at the seven in the morning time , I will be bringing my Bike on the bus so I want to get off at Parnell street ( direct ) is there several buses running at that time all going to different places ???

indiewindy

The O.P appears to be either posting just to get a reaction or maybe works for C.I.E.
We all konw how bad things were before Matthews started their direct service,bus eireann bus taking the scenic route to Dublin and the train costing over €20 for a day return. matthews with a fast regular, reliable service and unlimited ticket validity wins for me.

DundalkDuffman

Seems like the OP is in a minority. I find Matthews an excellent service. Highly professional and pleasant to boot. I think that a lot more companies could take a leaf from their book. If the train was even a bit cheaper than them then I would still use Matthews, they go from centre to centre and take less time than the train on the direct services. Go Matthews!

amacachi

Little Pea wrote: »

Yeah I had a look at the timetables earlier and I have often gotten the Matthews bus to Dublin at least 1/2 times a week , Just never at the seven in the morning time , I will be bringing my Bike on the bus so I want to get off at Parnell street ( direct ) is there several buses running at that time all going to different places ???

At 7 there's a bus that goes via Drogheda, one direct to Parnell St. and one that goes through the port tunnel and services the IFSC and NAMA-land.

kwoods

I find Matthews in the Morning from Drog very unreliable. It's 931 and I'm still waiting for the 9(here since 859 maybe they went early)?
It's much better coming home from dub as you're on the first stop.
All in all still better than those CIE wasters(why aren't they shut down?) but nowhere near German standards.

Rossin

I reckon you prob missed the bus! I found I always had to be 5 min early to make sure I didn't miss it.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

You have to be joking. You are there since 8:59 for the 9 bus. What nonsense.:rolleyes:

You missed the bus!

Do you synchronise watches with the Mattews driver every morning to allow you cut it so tight? I got such a laugh from your post. Thanks.

I find Matthes coaches to be fantastic and very reliable.

delly

'The 9 o'clock bus was a minute early and the 9:30 bus was a minute late, its shocking carry on Joe!'

amacachi

As with any bus service ya have to think about when the bus is leaving. At the traffic lights at Xerox they can either go straight through or sit for 3 or 4 minutes. That's before taking traffic in Drogheda during the school run into account.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

And, as the timetable states, all times after the initial departure time from the point of origin are approximate.

I think the original complaint is comical.

kwoods

Dont be a smartarse srameen. Ive never once seen those busses early. To be fair a bus is never going to make dundalk - drog via monasterboice in less than 30 mins. Average time it arrives in drog would be 9.08. And thats no fault of matthews, their drivers do an excellent job and I always recommend their service as the best way of doing drog-dublin (other than the bike!).

Since then I arrive every day at the stop at five past 9 and I always get the bus and it has me in dub by 10 so happy out. Well done matthews!

lucernarian

kwoods wrote: »

Dont be a smartarse srameen. Ive never once seen those busses early. To be fair a bus is never going to make dundalk - drog via monasterboice in less than 30 mins. Average time it arrives in drog would be 9.08. And thats no fault of matthews, their drivers do an excellent job and I always recommend their service as the best way of doing drog-dublin (other than the bike!).

Since then I arrive every day at the stop at five past 9 and I always get the bus and it has me in dub by 10 so happy out. Well done matthews!

I agree that they're NEVER, ever, in my humble experience at least, early in Drogheda. And anyway going via Monasterboice is the quickest way to get there, if the bus doesn't have to stop.

Rossin

ive missed the bus twice in drog because it was early...just sayin

learned my lesson though and I dont blame them(although i was pissed off at the time :P)