Bus Éireann website - really bad

bk

Bus Eireann has been ding a great job with it's online social media campaign on Twitter and Facebook recently. But I have to wonder why their website is so bad, even for very simple basic things:

- The worst offence by far is when you try to buy tickets online. You get a massive error message telling you that the SSL certificate is invalid and your persona details maybe stolen.

It is the web browser that is displaying this message, due BE using a SSL cert that doesn't match their URL.

Total amateur hour and would frighten anyone away from booking online.

- The URLs: http://buseireann.ie and http://whensmybus.ie don't work due to the missing www. The vast majority of websites (I would say over 98% I use) don't require you to enter the www, instead automatically redirecting you when leave it out.

This is a very simple, 30 second DNS change for the IT admin.

BTW http://dublinbus.ie is also guilty of this one.

- The ticket purchase, timetables and real time info part of the websites all go off to a URL that uses an IP address, e.g. http://194.106.151.94/

This looks very confusing and dodgy for ordinary users, in particularly on the ticket purchase page.

It is again trivial to have even external sites under the buseireann.ie URL sing apache redirects, etc. There is no excuse for this.

- The Journey Planner is really very unintuitive to use. It looks old.

What exactly does "Search Connection" mean, very confusing, just change it to "Search". And what does "New Request" mean? Change it to "New Search".

You have to know exactly what stop you want to go to and from. For instance to go from Cork to Dublin, you have to enter "Cork (Parnell Place Bus Station)" and "Dublin (Busáras)" from over 40 options in a drop down.

A tourist isn't going to know what option is correct. There should be default options for major destinations. For Instance if you enter Cork and Dublin, it should update to "Cork (Parnell Place Bus Station)" and "Dublin (Busáras)" with the option of then changing it to other options if the user wants.

And why can't it fill in todays date by default? Why isn't there a date picker on the front page?

Why are you forced to enter a time? If the user doesn't enter a time, then it should display the entire days schedule.

- Why can't you buy tickets from the journey planer?

It is crazy that you go to all the bother to use the crappy journey planner to find your journey. But then you can't buy a ticket!!

Instead you have to go back to the front page, select your journey details all over again. Skip the scary warning message in your browser telling you about the invalid SSL cert that maybe due to fraud and your personal info might be stolen!!

Crazy.

- The whensmybus site uses frames and ajax in such a way that makes it hard to bookmark for future reference. You know a person might like to bookmark their stop to check it every day. Madness, I know!!

All madness, amateur hour. The first three items can be fixed in less then one day by any competent system admin.

markpb

I don't get an SSL error from the ticket website (Chrome, Win7).

I haven't read the rest of your post yet though

pawrick

completely agree re the layout as I often have to check the site to see when a particular bus leaves and it's just confusing unless you are used to it although it has improved!

- I pity tourists trying to figure it out though and it's just annoying having to enter a time also when you can be flexible with departure

OurLadyofKnock

If you look at National Express site - it is far less complicated and you get the info right off the bat. With the BE site it is a mystical voyage into CIE land.

bk

markpb wrote: »

I don't get an SSL error from the ticket website (Chrome, Win7).

Hmm, I'm not seeing the error on Firefox, but definitely seeing it on Chrome Mac OS X Lion. It is weird, because the cert looks ok and it does match the crappy IP url. Maybe a bug in chrome.

Either way they should never be using IP's for a URL.

Also noticed there should really be a pop up date picker on the journey planner and ticket purchase boxes on the front page.

These date pickers should have the current dte and time set as default.

The frontpage looks nice and modern, but the other pages like the journey planner and ticket purchase should be updated to match.

Also I wouldn't have made whensmybus.ie a separate site. Instead integrate it into the main Bus Eireann site and make the link whensmybus.ie point to that section of the site.

bk

OurLadyofKnock wrote: »

If you look at National Express site - it is far less complicated and you get the info right off the bat. With the BE site it is a mystical voyage into CIE land.

Yup, the http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach/index.cfm is almost perfect, they have implemented almost 100% of what I described above and is very easy to use.

1) The journey planner and ticket purchase are integrated into one.

2) When you enter the from/to destinations, it gives you the most likely options by default. For instance, as I start to type "Lo" of London, it gives me a dropdown list with "London (Victoria Coach Station)" as the first option and other London stops further down the list. Same with Manchester, etc. it always gives you the primary location first.

3) The date is set to the current date by default, with an easy to use date picker to change it.

4) The time is set to the current time rounded up to the closest 15 minutes.

5) It allows you to enter the number and type of ticket you will want. With 1 adult, the most common type, set by default.

6) It only displays a return window if you select return.

7) The submit button says "See Prices and Tickets" in bright green making it obvious what to press. The wording is also very well thought out as it makes it clear that you are only seeing the options and not actually buying tickets until you are ready.

8) The results are very easy to read and understand with clear departure times, arrival times, journey time and ticket price. Plus it shows other later options.

9) Easy to change the search options, no stupid "New Request" button.

10) You can even save your search.

Brilliant, so easy to use. BE should be embarrassed.

BE please just copy this.

foggy_lad

The journey planner and location timetable on the Bus Eireann website have not worked since yesterday, they are regularly not working! I emailed them but not even an acknowledgement so I wont hold my breath for a quick fix!

V_Moth

The BE is a complete mess. Why is UCD the default stop for Dublin in the journey planner? Can only agree with the rest.

AS an aside, I tried to buy a ticket from Dublin to Sligo via Enniskillen (the next possible connection at the time) and was told I would have to buy seperate tickets for the journey from Dublin to Enniskillen and Enniskillen to Sligo. I mean seriously wtf? I can understand if this routing would cost slightly more due to longer journey times, but not having a system that can calculate this is *terrible*.

Vic_08

V_Moth wrote: »

AS an aside, I tried to buy a ticket from Dublin to Sligo via Enniskillen (the next possible connection at the time) and was told I would have to buy seperate tickets for the journey from Dublin to Enniskillen and Enniskillen to Sligo. I mean seriously wtf? I can understand if this routing would cost slightly more due to longer journey times, but not having a system that can calculate this is *terrible*.

With the exception of a rather ludicrous overnight journey involving waiting in Eniskillen from 02.30 to 09.25 I can only find one situation where I would even consider offering a journey via Eniskillen as an option for Dublin-Sligo. That would be between 14.46 and 15.00 on a Sunday. In that case it would save someone who had just missed the 14.45 Sligo service 1h45 over waiting for the following direct service.

foggy_lad

Journey planner and the location timetable are not working again! This site is becoming as reliable as the old Irish Rail site. Have they no money for servers?:mad:

V_Moth

Vic_08 wrote: »

With the exception of a rather ludicrous overnight journey involving waiting in Eniskillen from 02.30 to 09.25 I can only find one situation where I would even consider offering a journey via Eniskillen as an option for Dublin-Sligo. That would be between 14.46 and 15.00 on a Sunday. In that case it would save someone who had just missed the 14.45 Sligo service 1h45 over waiting for the following direct service.

The journey would have been (and still is) Dublin 09.00 / Enniskillen 11.30/11.35 and arriving in Sligo at 13.00. Only 25 minutes slower than the direct service to Sligo.

The option is shown on the journey planner.

BrianD

I thought that BE were using the same system as the DB (German) railways? Read it on here.

LXFlyer

Using the "Plan Your Journey" section of the BE home page and entering the From and To points there, is far more straightforward than using the Journey Planner page itself - all of the various options for each town appear at the start.

Definitely an improvement.

mike65

The design criteria for any transport company should be "can someone from abroad working with English as a second language understand this site?".

schemingbohemia

It's an absolute nightmare of a site, totally counter-intuitive to use.

Vic_08

V_Moth wrote: »

The journey would have been (and still is) Dublin 09.00 / Enniskillen 11.30/11.35 and arriving in Sligo at 13.00. Only 25 minutes slower than the direct service to Sligo.

The option is shown on the journey planner.

A 5 minute connection like that shouldn't be shown in the journey planner as it is far too tight and goes against the connection times advised in the general timetable.

As these are not timetabled connections you would be relying on the 30 having no delays at all, I would strongly advise against trying that. If you did more than likely you would be getting into Sligo at 14.55.

moycullen14

New web-site launched today. Guess what? You cannot buy a ticket.

Just had a fairly futile rant with customer services. They admitted that you couldn't actually purchase a ticket using the new website - which was developed as a result of extensive consultaion & feedback. Wonder who asked for the 'Can't purchase ticket feature'?


Tried on chrome, ie & firefox. Cannot book a ticket from cork to fermoy. Can't get past 'search' screen.

Tis Mad, so it is. What a shower of numties. No mention of FB or twitter

foggy_lad

The real-time information is also skewed with some stops not showing buses that should be shown.

How many millions were spent on this "clone" of the Irish Rail website?

Also on a side track since the new x7 service started some of the x4/4 services from the airport/Busaras have been deleted from the real-time displays at the airport and also from the information board at Busarase. it looks like instead of creating new lines on the display for the new Clonmel service someone just wrote the x7 in over the x4 services departing at the same time from the Airport.

moycullen14

As we're at it, can anyone explain why a child single cork-fermoy is 7.11 and cork-dublin is 9.56?

20 miles vs 165 miles.

makes no sense to me at all.

G_R

moycullen14 wrote: »

New web-site launched today. Guess what? You cannot buy a ticket.

Just had a fairly futile rant with customer services. They admitted that you couldn't actually purchase a ticket using the new website - which was developed as a result of extensive consultaion & feedback. Wonder who asked for the 'Can't purchase ticket feature'?


Tried on chrome, ie & firefox. Cannot book a ticket from cork to fermoy. Can't get past 'search' screen.

Tis Mad, so it is. What a shower of numties. No mention of FB or twitter

Your post made it sound like there was no booking facility at all - there is, I've just gotten as far as the credit card page buying a ticket from Dublin to Cork....

Site is nice and responsive on a mobile as well.

Real time info tab isn't working though - apparently there's no departures from Busaras at all today! I'm sure it's just launch day bugs, that'll be ironed out.

LXFlyer

moycullen14 wrote: »

As we're at it, can anyone explain why a child single cork-fermoy is 7.11 and cork-dublin is 9.56?

20 miles vs 165 miles.

makes no sense to me at all.

One is a commercial service operated in competition with other operators, while the other is a PSO route operated as an essential service and priced to cover its costs.

moycullen14

G_R wrote: »

Your post made it sound like there was no booking facility at all - there is, I've just gotten as far as the credit card page buying a ticket from Dublin to Cork....

Site is nice and responsive on a mobile as well.

Real time info tab isn't working though - apparently there's no departures from Busaras at all today! I'm sure it's just launch day bugs, that'll be ironed out.

What I said was you CANNOT book a ticket, not that there was no facility there.

I also clarified it by saying I couldn't book a ticket Cork/Fermoy.

Tried Midleton, Youghal and Mitchelstown - none of them worked.

Mallow does. So does Dublin.

They have obviously screwed up towns for which there is more than one destination.

You will admit that being able to book A ticket is slightly different from being able to book ANY ticket.

The site is a pile of crap. There is no debate about that. It fails in its primary purpose. It wasn't tested. QA screwed up. Don't make it worse by trying to pretend it's not a monumental failure. Admit it, fix it, move on.

moycullen14

lxflyer wrote: »

One is a commercial service operated in competition with other operators, while the other is a PSO route operated as an essential service and priced to cover its costs.

No, still makes no sense. Maybe it does in CIE land but not in the real world.

If there was competition on the Cork-Fermoy route, would prices decrease?

LXFlyer

moycullen14 wrote: »

No, still makes no sense. Maybe it does in CIE land but not in the real world.

If there was competition on the Cork-Fermoy route, would prices decrease?

The fares on the Cork/Fermoy route are set and regulated by the NTA. They are set at a level that ensures that costs are covered and essential services maintained.

Unlikely that commercial services would be allowed compete with PSO services as that would mean possible unfair competition due to BE 245 being subsidised. An express service could operate in competition with BE X8 and that could have lower fares possibly.

Cork/Dublin fares may be subsidised by other commercial routes.

LXFlyer

moycullen14 wrote: »

What I said was you CANNOT book a ticket, not that there was no facility there.

I also clarified it by saying I couldn't book a ticket Cork/Fermoy.

Tried Midleton, Youghal and Mitchelstown - none of them worked.

Mallow does. So does Dublin.

They have obviously screwed up towns for which there is more than one destination.

You will admit that being able to book A ticket is slightly different from being able to book ANY ticket.

The site is a pile of crap. There is no debate about that. It fails in its primary purpose. It wasn't tested. QA screwed up. Don't make it worse by trying to pretend it's not a monumental failure. Admit it, fix it, move on.

Let's not go over the top here.

Plenty of commercial companies have issues with their websites on day 1. It shouldn't happen but it often does.

They need to resolve the issues with the ticketing asap but that's hardly a reason to go on a rant disclaiming the entire website as useless.

It's a nuisance but I've yet to see any new website launch without issues.

moycullen14

lxflyer wrote: »

Let's not go over the top here.

Plenty of commercial companies have issues with their websites on day 1. It shouldn't happen but it often does.

They need to resolve the issues with the ticketing asap but that's hardly a reason to go on a rant disclaiming the entire website as useless.

It's a nuisance but I've yet to see any new website launch without issues.

It's 5pm. It still doesn't work. Care to guess when it WILL be fixed? I needed to get my kid on a bus today. I couldn't buy a ticket. Still can't. Had to arrange for someone to pick her up. Stressful for her, stressful for me. We depend on the bus service which, to be fair, is usually very good.

The site and ticketing are pretty hopeless. The whole mac process, the inability to purchase season tickets, the stress of not getting emails, the expense. It's not good enough. And if we don't keep telling them it's not good enough, it will never improve.

The single most important feature of the site is the ability to purchase a ticket (at least it is for me). It is unforgiveable that no-one bothered to test this or at least have a back-out plan if things go wrong.

What really boiled my bile was the blase attitude of customer services. The only option I got was 'Can you get cash to the child so she can pay?'
A proper, customer-centred operation would have been all over this very quickly. Of course things go wrong but saying it will be fixed in due course just isn't good enough.

LXFlyer

moycullen14 wrote: »

It's 5pm. It still doesn't work. Care to guess when it WILL be fixed? I needed to get my kid on a bus today. I couldn't buy a ticket. Still can't. Had to arrange for someone to pick her up. Stressful for her, stressful for me. We depend on the bus service which, to be fair, is usually very good.

The site and ticketing are pretty hopeless. The whole mac process, the inability to purchase season tickets, the stress of not getting emails, the expense. It's not good enough. And if we don't keep telling them it's not good enough, it will never improve.

The single most important feature of the site is the ability to purchase a ticket (at least it is for me). It is unforgiveable that no-one bothered to test this or at least have a back-out plan if things go wrong.

What really boiled my bile was the blase attitude of customer services. The only option I got was 'Can you get cash to the child so she can pay?'
A proper, customer-centred operation would have been all over this very quickly. Of course things go wrong but saying it will be fixed in due course just isn't good enough.

Well there really isn't much other option to buying on the bus if the website is having problems.

Presumably the IT people are working at resolving it asap, and I would imagine that they're under pressure to get it sorted, given how internet dependent we are all becoming.

I don't work for Bus Eireann, so I can't tell you when it will get fixed. But I can tell you that websites do generally have glitches (even despite extensive testing) when launched, and they do then get resolved. I can also tell you that the sales manager will presumably be doing his best to get the I.T. Department to fix it.

The person in the call centre will not have anything to do with IT maintenance and would simply pass the complaint on, and they offered you the only practical solution available at the time.

No, it's not good (at all), but you are really are going over the top about it. Answer me this. How did you cope before the internet?

PopePalpatine

What's the ****ing point of splitting the day into four-hour time slots to depart? On top of that, some ****ing moron decided to force users to pick a specific bus stop, and there's an absolute ****-ton missing.

Oh, and BÉClub doesn't ****ing work. Go **** yourselves, Bus Eireann.

I also forgot to mention, you can't buy a goddamn 10 journey ticket because "durrrrr departure date must be before return date", even though that's not been offered!

is mise spartacus

I need a ticket for early tomorrow morning and the site won't work at all???
My stop isn't even included on this list and there is Latin everywhere
Shoddy just shoddy

chewed

This new site was not fully tested, especially on the ticketing section. Shame on BE as this is an absolute disgrace!

I try to book a return ticket this morning. I enter all my details and click Search. Then, it resets the drop downs I've chosen and when I go back to re-enter my bus stop, guess what??? ....it's not there anymore! I've worked in software companies for years and I know for a fact we would not release a piece of software with this many holes in it.

When I eventually get past this 1st section, I have to enter the specific bus times. Does this mean that if I miss a bus (or a bus doesn't turn up, which happens a lot), that my MAC ticket number is invalid? I work in the city centre so my bus home can vary, depending on my workload, so I cannot guarantee I'll be on the bus I've purchased the ticket for. I decided not to purchase a ticket online this morning as I couldn't trust the system, so ended up pi$$ing off the driver by handing him a €50 note for my fare.

moycullen14

lxflyer wrote: »

Well there really isn't much other option to buying on the bus if the website is having problems.

Presumably the IT people are working at resolving it asap, and I would imagine that they're under pressure to get it sorted, given how internet dependent we are all becoming.

I don't work for Bus Eireann, so I can't tell you when it will get fixed. But I can tell you that websites do generally have glitches (even despite extensive testing) when launched, and they do then get resolved. I can also tell you that the sales manager will presumably be doing his best to get the I.T. Department to fix it.

The person in the call centre will not have anything to do with IT maintenance and would simply pass the complaint on, and they offered you the only practical solution available at the time.

No, it's not good (at all), but you are really are going over the top about it. Answer me this. How did you cope before the internet?

10:10 am Tuesday. Still not fixed.

Looks like I'm not the only one over-reacting. See above.

If you don't work for BE then I really am at a loss as to why you are defending this. You say that I am over reacting. Well, I don't think so.

This isn't some optional website that I can avoid. It is a core part of BE's operation. What they have put up there would be like a shop with no till, a pub with no beer, am email system where you can't send emails. It is fundamental.

Of course websites have problems - happens all the time. Most of the time I can avoid the website or workaround the problem - it's their loss. However, BE is a public service - I can't avoid it, I have to use it. So the onus is on them to provide a service that the public CAN use. They don't. They don't care. They are a public service and they don't give a damn about the public.

Overreacting? I'd sack the lot of them.

I work in IT. I am involved in delivering IT systems. I deliver systems with problems, bugs, glitches, all the time. This is different. This is a design and implementation failure. It''s not just a bug or a glitch. As it's constituted the system, IMHO, will never work. I wouldn't be surprised to see the old site back rather than a 'fix' to this one. The fact that we are into day 2 with no sign of a solution confirms my suspicion that this is more than a simple problem.

I have never seen an IT system delivered that so flagrantly messed up it's core functionality. It is blindingly obvious that no-one tried to book a ticket to a provincial town with this system before it was released. From the quotes below, I'd say it's likely no-one tried to book any ticket with it.

Think about that for a minute. Think about the culture in an organisation where this could happen. As I say, if it was a commercial organisation, I'd say, well, tough luck, you're going out of business. But it's not. PSO, my *rse.

LXFlyer

But you still buy a ticket on the bus - that's my point.

I would fully understand your rant if that facility were not available, but it is. And it remains the main way that people still pay for tickets.

I'm certainly not in any way defending the mistakes - they shouldn't happen, but the way you've expressed yourself you would swear that it made travel impossible - it does not do that.

moycullen14

lxflyer wrote: »

But you still buy a ticket on the bus - that's my point.

I would fully understand your rant if that facility were not available, but it is. And it remains the main way that people still pay for tickets.

I'm certainly not in any way defending the mistakes - they shouldn't happen, but the way you've expressed yourself you would swear that it made travel impossible - it does not do that.

It did and here's why........

I'm in Waterford on site.

My kid is in Cork. Needs me to send her bus ticket by mail. We have done this hundreds of times

Can't do it.

BE won't let her on bus.

Have to get someone to go in and give her money.

I'm out.

LXFlyer

moycullen14 wrote: »

It did and here's why........

I'm in Waterford on site.

My kid is in Cork. Needs me to send her bus ticket by mail. We have done this hundreds of times

Can't do it.

BE won't let her on bus.

Have to get someone to go in and give her money.

I'm out.

With respect - you did not explain that.
That's not exactly the normal situation.

While I certainly sympathise, even if it did work repeatedly before, I still wouldn't be completely relying on the website - what would you have done for example if the old website was down for whatever reason for say a day (it has happened before - rare, but it has happened).

bk

It is a nice looking redesign, that fixes many of the problems of the old site, so well done on that.

It still however has a few issues:

- Can't book the GoBE service to Cork on it. To be hones,t I'm not sure why GoBus even bother to continue to partner with BE. Their service is almost no-existent on the BE site. The only mention is 5 changes in on the front page "ticker"

Worse it isn't even shown as an option when you search Cork to Dublin. It really should be there, at least showing the departure times, even if it ends up redirecting you to the GoBE site.

- Can't book Dublin to Belfast still and no mention of it even when you try and search Dublin to Belfast. Again, like the GoBE service, it should list the departure times, even if you can't book.

- I don't know why they divide the day into different time segments, it just creates unnecessary button clicks. Instead it should just show all the departures for the day.

moycullen14

Wednesday 13:24. Still not working. Tick Tock.......

Still no reply from BE customer services.......

Just as well I'm not over-reacting :-)

PopePalpatine

If it's MAC numbers giving you grief, you need to add zeroes at the start until the number is long enough.

Too bad I only found that out when I got to Busaras. :mad:

ressem

PopePalpatine wrote: »

If it's MAC numbers giving you grief, you need to add zeroes at the start until the number is long enough.

Too bad I only found that out when I got to Busaras. :mad:

Customer services say that they sent a notification yesterday, the drivers this morning hadn't seen it.

Dislike the 4 hour windows also. 8am to 12pm apparently includes 7:15 am and excludes 11 am. Doesn't correctly adjust for daylight savings time.

You can click show earlier / later to get the correct value, but for the early buses this can bring you into the previous day's listing with a 7:15 am (+1 day); so it tries to charge extra for an open return instead of a day return.

And they've closed down the "Whensmybus" site which worked better than the current site by giving the last good GPS position of the bus, displayed on a map.

JuliusCaesar

Have you tried booking a international coach ticket? I can't even find out if these still exist! :rolleyes:

the dark phantom

Pathetic company anyway.

LXFlyer

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

Have you tried booking a international coach ticket? I can't even find out if these still exist! :rolleyes:

Click on "Services" at the top (use the menu dropdown box first if accessing from a mobile phone) and then "Eurolines" will bring you to everything you need.

Carawaystick

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

Have you tried booking a international coach ticket? I can't even find out if these still exist! :rolleyes:

Bus from Dublin to Belfast is still running

DeepBlue

It looks like with this "upgrade" I won't be using the buseireann website to book my tickets anymore despite using it weekly for the last couple of years.

I wonder how many users were demanding 4 hour windows for booking your outgoing and return journeys? I would guess 0. This is a bus journey not a plane ride so why the need for such precision and the risk that your ticket will suddenly become invalid? Not to mention the reduced flexibility.

I save a couple of euro by booking online but I've occasionally had to get a later bus as my bus was full so I could easily see a situation where my paid for ticket becomes "invalid".
The only reason I can see for these changes is for BE to make more money from customer "mistakes". Anyone who's had experience of MAC numbers being invalid know that all you can do is pay for another ticket.

tv3tg4

I can't seem to log in to the be club from chrome on a mobile.. Am I doing something wrong?

ressem

DeepBlue wrote: »

I wonder how many users were demanding 4 hour windows for booking your outgoing and return journeys? I would guess 0.

Currently it only has the effect of selecting the travel day and ticket type that I can see.
The ticket printed just lists day return.

Agree that it'd be a costly discouragement if it restricted the chosen bus, without benefit to anyone other than bureaucracy.
When the buses are running 50 minutes late during winter it's always useful to hop on the alternative bus.

tv3tg4 wrote: »

I can't seem to log in to the be club from chrome on a mobile.. Am I doing something wrong?

The BeClub login appears as a login button in the page head, half way through the purchase process. The old dedicated login doesn't work.

Craig Dowling

worst site ever now
worked fine before
typical trying to swindle more money out of people now
whats with putting in the specific stops now anyway

PopePalpatine

Like you suggested, for swindling more money out of people.

EvanM96

tv3tg4 wrote: »

I can't seem to log in to the be club from chrome on a mobile.. Am I doing something wrong?

I'm the same, I changed my password multiple times to make sure I have the right details (which I do) I hope this gets fixed soon. I tried to contact them through email but no luck.

foggy_lad

Bus Éireann are still telling people to clear their cache if they experience problems with the website, so they are basically blaming customers for their website errors. and despite what they may be telling people now about all bugs being fixed the site is still a mess.

tv3tg4

Can you no longer buy 30 day return tickets on the site?

Is there a way of buying a 30 day ticket - should you just specify 30 days from date of purchase?

DeepBlue

tv3tg4 wrote: »

Can you no longer buy 30 day return tickets on the site?

Is there a way of buying a 30 day ticket - should you just specify 30 days from date of purchase?

You can just buy your return ticket normally and the ticket the driver gives you will have the 30 day window as it had previously.

From buseireann's site - http://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=422 :

Buying your tickets online for the first time on our new website?

You may notice a few changes.

You will be asked for your departure times and return dates.

Please note that these are not reservations, so are flexible, if you miss the departure time you are aiming for, you will be able to use your ticket on the next departure time or later the same day instead.

A student return is valid for one month, so once you select your return date in the future, you will actually have one month to use the return portion of your ticket, you must however, keep the ticket issued to you by the driver as this is your actual ticket.

We ask for the times and return date so that we can provide you with timetables and also to enable us to plan for capacity.

While specifically addressed to students I think the info regarding departure times and return dates applies to all tickets and is just info gathering and not binding. In other words your ticket remains valid for the day you buy it even if you have to travel later than the 4 hour window you specified when booking and you don't have to return on the day or time window you specified either.

One of the issues that concerned me was having to select a start point.
Normally I get on at a pick up point on the way out of the city so should I specify the city centre bus depot or my pick up point as my point of origin? Sometimes the bus is full at busy times and doesn't stop at my pick up point so I then have to travel in to the city centre to ensure a seat. If I select my pick up point as the start point would my ticket still work if I had to go into the city centre to catch the bus?

I ended up selecting the city centre depot as my start point and the ticket still worked when I boarded at the pick up point.
So it would appear that the new website works pretty much the same as the old one but obviously with some scope for confusion.