Dublin to Cork Express Coach

BenShermin

Don't have much time to reply but this is great news to a very regular Dublin to Cork travelller like myself, I can finally get to Cork at short notice if needs be without being charged €77 rtn for the train or having to worry about sitting on a coach for 4hrs 25mins.

Even though I prefer the comfort of BÉs SP class I'll sarcrafise that for a guaranteed 3hr trip.

Jehuty42

There is no actual confirmation on source on this, is there?

kieran4003

Bk I have good news for you. Irish Rail will soon be abolishing the credit card charge for bookings. They will also be introducing an online system to amend your booking if your plan changes. I agree at the moment a bus ticket is much more flexible. Though you may have moved to the bus by then!

Well the way BE are meant to be allocating coaches are rather dissapointing. Many are being allocated in an atempt to help 'muscle out competition'. There is actually a very smart way to allocate such coaches. If BE buy coaches and their main use is for cross border use then they can reclaim the VAT, saving themselves and the taxpayer a lot of money. This mainly applies to expressway route 1 (Dublin-Belfast) & route 32 (Dublin-Letterkenny). Route 1 is getting the new coaches however many other routes could of been allocated the new coaches and save money. Though to be fair aswell, The new coaches are needed for Cork - Dublin. A feature I forgot to mention is that there are powerpoints at every seat.

devnull, The Volvo 9700 does have tiered seating. I dont like it myself. So if you are tall, sit near the front is the best advice

Another clue that Go Bus are launching a Dublin - Cork service is that the buses they have recently bought have generic branding on them, whereas previouly they would of had Galway branding.

DanWall

A point missed here. My daughter like a lot of people cannot last long enough on a journey before she wants a pee. The bus cannot provide this, there is no services on the motorway, so the train is the alternative + you can have a snack and a cuppa on the way

devnull

BenShermin wrote: »

Don't have much time to reply but this is great news to a very regular Dublin to Cork travelller like myself, I can finally get to Cork at short notice if needs be without being charged €77 rtn for the train or having to worry about sitting on a coach for 4hrs 25mins.

I'm curious how busy are the Bus Eireann services between Dublin and Cork during the mid-week and what kind percentage of travelers are going the full way? I've never used them myself for a few years and I still don't understand why other people continue to do so when they are by far the least efficient way to travel between Dublin and Cork unless you know there will be a non stop service.

Aircoach also operate between Dublin City Centre and Cork City Centre, are 40 minutes quicker than Bus Eireann (3hrs 45 mins), cheaper by a euro for an open return, operate earlier and later services (7am & 7pm), offer an overnight service from Cork (1am) and an 8pm service from Dublin.

It astonishes me that people are prepared to pay extra for less choice and a longer journey time. I'll never understand this.

devnull

Jehuty42 wrote: »

There is no actual confirmation on source on this, is there?

Believe me, they have been awarded a license. I would put my house on it if you asked me to.

DanWall wrote: »

A point missed here. My daughter like a lot of people cannot last long enough on a journey before she wants a pee. The bus cannot provide this, there is no services on the motorway, so the train is the alternative + you can have a snack and a cuppa on the way

BE and Aircoach now stop half way through, but true for young kids this is not ideal and a new service with toilets would very much be able to deal with this issue.

kieran4003 wrote: »

Well the way BE are meant to be allocating coaches are rather dissapointing. Many are being allocated in an atempt to help 'muscle out competition'. There is actually a very smart way to allocate such coaches. If BE buy coaches and their main use is for cross border use then they can reclaim the VAT, saving themselves and the taxpayer a lot of money. This mainly applies to expressway route 1 (Dublin-Belfast) & route 32 (Dublin-Letterkenny). Route 1 is getting the new coaches however many other routes could of been allocated the new coaches and save money. Though to be fair aswell, The new coaches are needed for Cork - Dublin. A feature I forgot to mention is that there are powerpoints at every seat.

Who are these coaches being funded by? I would hope it is not the taxpayer because if it is using taxpayer resources to compete with private companies is something I don't approve on, particularly when money is tight in this country. I have no problem with anyone using their own resources to compete against someone else. I also agree that we need subsidized public transport when this is the only way to provide a fully inclusive service and to stop cheery picking. However such subsidy should be used for providing such service. If Bus Eireann want to rival the privates I have no problem as long as it's with their own money.

devnull, The Volvo 9700 does have tiered seating. I dont like it myself. So if you are tall, sit near the front is the best advice

Please don't tell me the seats recline in the way I described as well? if so I think I'll give them a miss no matter what.

bk

DanWall wrote: »

A point missed here. My daughter like a lot of people cannot last long enough on a journey before she wants a pee. The bus cannot provide this, there is no services on the motorway, so the train is the alternative + you can have a snack and a cuppa on the way

GoBus buses have an onboard toilets.

Also no reason why you can't bring your own snacks and a cuppa with you on the bus, many people already do on the trains, due to Irish Rails prices for the same onboard.

It is good that BE are introducing new buses, but I don't think they will be competitive with this new service.

First, BE's new buses won't have onboard toilets, GoBus will (assuming the rumour is true and they use the same buses as their Galway fleet).

Second unless BE actually introduce a guaranteed direct service, people will more likely go with GoBus, rather then risk not getting a direct bus. And then there is the question if BE would even be licensed to do so.

I hope BE or Aircoach (or another operator like CityLink) are, as competition would keep the two operators on their toes and competitive. I believe the NTA recommendations for intercity services licensing allow for two different companies, operating hourly services at a 30 minute gap.

devnull

bk wrote: »

Second unless BE actually introduce a guaranteed direct service, people will more likely go with GoBus, rather then risk not getting a direct bus. And then there is the question if BE would even be licensed to do so

Some people will use Bus Eireann no matter what because it is the national bus company,

dowlingm

I would certainly think twice about using Aircoach or anyone else operating ex Dublin Airport for services south of there unless they had real time info after my last experience a year ago from Westmoreland St.

By the time a spare coach arrived it was an hour late, but because the driver used had not done the route previously (he had to double back twice) I arrived where I needed to be (Mitchelstown) two hours late. I picked Aircoach ironically because of BE's poor Sunday winter frequency on the Cork-Dublin route which I felt therefore would not arrive in Mitchelstown early enough!

Definitely a facility for private buses in Dublin with a proper departure board and company reps would be an improvement. The question is where would the best place for such a facility be and how would it be funded?

devnull

That would be a one off bad experience and I would not say is indictive of the quality overall. I've used the service about 8-9 times in the last couple of years and haven't seen it happen, I've seen two people turned away at Abbeyleix before though as the 53 seater coach was full once.

They have added an extra service from Dublin at 8pm, and as they continually stress to customers on literature, on coach and on the website "Don’t forget to book online, up to 5pm the day before you travel, to guarantee your seat on the departure of your choice.". Based on the number of people booking online they are able to get a good idea of demand for the service and if an extra coach is needed and have it ready and waiting.

Unfortunately in this country very few people seem to bother booking online unlike a lot of countries, but then are the first to moan when they are not able to get a seat on the bus - The advertising of online booking on the Cork route heavily I believe did not start until after your original bad experience, but experiences like yours are probably exactly why they have gone down that route.

markpb

devnull wrote: »

Unfortunately in this country very few people seem to bother booking online unlike a lot of countries

In my experience, booking online is more awkward than it should be, especially compared to airlines. With Aer Lingus, I can book my ticket, walk into the airport and give them my booking number, passport, or even my name and they figure it out.

On the other hand, Aircoach and Bus Eireann require you to print out your ticket which is awkward because most people I know don't own a printer at home.

Aircoach bookings must be made 5pm the day before which has caught me out several times.

Also, with Aircoach you get a 6% discount but restrict yourself to a specific outbound departure. BE give a 5% discount but restrict the outbound date you can travel on. Irish Rail give you a much heftier discount but you restrict the date and time of both trips. Why would people bother to book online when there's not much advantage for them (with the exception of Irish Rail)? If transit companies want people to book online, there should be a carrot as well as a stick, it's not enough to blithely say we're not like other countries.

highlydebased

I quite like the 9700, Personally it's probably the most comfortable coach I've travelled on in a while.

BazNuge

Went for the Aircoach on Friday, they had 2 buses, a direct to Cork and an indirect. Now, direct included 15 stop in Urlingfort, which wasn't awful given I expected some kinda break and I was dying for a coffee then. But still made it 8.30pm when we got there, so 3 1/2 hours run.

That said, saw an 8 from Dublin arriving into Cork just ahead of us, assume it was the 4.30pm. So direct vs indirected was a difference of an hour.

If GoBus do start the Cork route, and they can keep it to 3 hours, I'll be a happy camper.

devnull

markpb wrote: »

Aircoach bookings must be made 5pm the day before which has caught me out several times.

I believe it is so a manifest is printed for the driver so they can see who has booked online and who has not, as with everything in this world some people have decided to print out documents that mimic the official ones, which are not actually legit as there is no system to validate them on the bus by typing in a code etc. Presumably as this would be expensive.

Also, with Aircoach you get a 6% discount but restrict yourself to a specific outbound departure.

It's valid on any departure of the day, just simply you cannot guarantee having a seat other than on the coach you boarded and those with a booking on that coach will get priority. However you are still able to use the coach and drivers seem to give priority to people who have a ticket reserved for the same day over those who walk up and buy even if they initially booked on another coach.

Single Tickets purchased on the coach are only valid on the journey on which they are purchased or, if purchased from our Customer Service Team at Dublin Airport, on the next departures from the Airport.

Return Tickets purchased on the coach or from our Customer Service Team at Dublin Airport. The outward portion of your ticket is only valid on the journey on which they are purchased or, if purchased from our Customer Service Team at Dublin Airport, on the next departures from the Airport. You can use the return portion of your ticket on any journey, on any date, on your chosen route.

Single Tickets booked online will be accepted for travel on any departure on your chosen route, on the date specified on your booking. Your seat is only guaranteed on the timed journey (where applicable) specified on your booking.

Return Tickets booked online. The outward portion of your booking will be accepted for travel on any departure on your chosen route, on the date specified on your booking. Your seat is only guaranteed on the timed journey (where applicable) specified on your booking. On presenting your booking confirmation you will be issued with a Return Ticket. Please keep this Return Ticket safe as you will need it for your return journey. You will be unable to board the coach without the Return Ticket issued on your outward journey. For the return journey your seat is only guaranteed on the date and timed journey (where applicable) specified on your booking. You can, however, use the return portion of your ticket on any journey, on any date, on your chosen route.

devnull

BazNuge wrote: »

Went for the Aircoach on Friday, they had 2 buses, a direct to Cork and an indirect. Now, direct included 15 stop in Urlingfort, which wasn't awful given I expected some kinda break and I was dying for a coffee then. But still made it 8.30pm when we got there, so 3 1/2 hours run.

That said, saw an 8 from Dublin arriving into Cork just ahead of us, assume it was the 4.30pm. So direct vs indirected was a difference of an hour.

If GoBus do start the Cork route, and they can keep it to 3 hours, I'll be a happy camper.

How busy was each bus out of curiosity? I'm just wondering for reasons to how many people are going full distance and who are not. The 8 must have been the 4pm as Bus Eireann operate on even hours from 8pm to 6pm.

If the direct started at Dublin Airport in the evening, which I assume it did, they'd have had to take a break as 4 hours is the limit pretty much for driving without a full proper break.

I quite like the 9700, Personally it's probably the most comfortable coach I've travelled on in a while.

Everything I hear of it reminds me of the NX Levante which isn't a good thing as it's a poor vehicle for tall people.

Kumsheen

I think this is great news and it should be very sucessful given the fact that it links the two bigges cities in Ireland.

Does anybody know if the service will also serve Dublin Airport nonstop? Ever since the ending of domestic flights between Cork and Dublin there has been a need for a direct link to the airport to enable connecting flights. I know there is an non direct service already but this takes too long.

Polar101

Well, I personally wouldn't take a bus from Dublin to Cork no matter what the price is - 2 hours is my max on a bus. I find bus travel too uncomfortable so anything longer than that is out. Competition on the route sounds good, though.

devnull

Kumsheen wrote: »

I think this is great news and it should be very sucessful given the fact that it links the two bigges cities in Ireland.

Does anybody know if the service will also serve Dublin Airport nonstop? Ever since the ending of domestic flights between Cork and Dublin there has been a need for a direct link to the airport to enable connecting flights. I know there is an non direct service already but this takes too long.

I heard it would be Cork City - Dublin City - Dublin Airport.

Polar - I would not travel years ago either but the new modern coaches being operated by Citylink, GoBus, JJ Kavanagh, Dublin Coach Aircoach and the new ones that Bus Eireann are introducing are a real far cry from those in the past, leather seating, air conditioning, lots of legroom, plenty of luggage space, Wifi, smoothness rumour is that some of the new vehicles being introduced By BE/GoBus may have plug sockets, tables and toilets.

LXFlyer

Just a few points on this...

Firstly I think it is obviously good news and I wish Gobus (if they indeed have been awarded a licence) well with this new venture. It is a big risk to take on, given it is unchartered territory, but hopefully they will be successful.

I do wish to make some observations on a few of the points made above.

bk wrote: »

It will pretty much take all the BE and Aircoach passengers going to Dublin. Guaranteed fast direct service (no chancing an extra direct bus with BE) and if they use the same high quality buses with on board toilets and wifi, they will be big advantages.

Irish Rail will be devastated by this, as a regular Cork-Dublin train user, I know I will never use this service again once GoBus starts.

Any ordinary person would be delighted to see this service launch, only an Irish Rail (or BE/Aircoach) employee or rail fan could have this opinion, knowing that Rail just can't compete.

The existing operators all rely on passengers to/from intermediate points along the routes they take to make the operation viable. The fact that Bus Eireann and Aircoach only put on direct Dublin-Cork coaches at peak times at the weekend is testament to this. They certainly do not during the rest of the week, when they most certainly do rely on intermediate traffic to make the service viable. Similarly the trains rely on passengers from intermediate points to get decent load factors.

To simply suggest this will devastate the Irish Rail and the other operators is I think being a bit unnecessarily triumphalist, and frankly we will have to wait and see. As I've said the train carries strong numbers from other points that do not have direct coach services, so I don't think it will necessarily devastate them. Coupled with this, there are a significant number of people for whom 3.25 hours (which is what I would reckon this service will realistically take) on a coach without a break may not be something that will appeal to (onboard toilet or not), and I'm sure Irish Rail and the other operators will have strategies to compete with the service.

Dublin/Galway is not the same as Dublin/Cork. For one, the coaches are (with a couple of exceptions) faster on the Galway route than the train, which does have an impact, and secondly the journey time is only 2.5 hours. Journey time will remain an issue that will not appeal to everyone.

It is going to be very interesting to see how the market develops, but I certainly don't think it will be anywhere near as black and white as you suggest.

markpb wrote: »

If only the NTA would/could pilfer state assets back from CIE and turn Bus Aras into a public bus depot for all operators. I'm no fan of the building but it's in a good location and it makes more sense to use it as much as logistically possible instead of having more intercity buses sitting on the kerbside.

Bus Aras does not have the capacity for all of the Bus Eireann services as it is! Look at the number of Bus Eireann services that have to operate from Connolly and Beresford Place. There is no room for even more coaches. What is needed is, at the very least, a new bus station for all of the private operators, as a matter of some urgency, similar to that in Galway.

dowlingm wrote: »

I seem to have missed the development of the Coach Station in Galway. Does BE stop there too? It's not like they have any interest in integrating with IE given their tie-up with Gobus.

There are two bus stations in Galway - the new one for the private operators and the existing bus station at Ceannt Station for Bus Eireann. There were plans to develop a modern facility on the site of the old bus garage on the far side of Ceannt station but these are on hold.

Kumsheen

Polar101 wrote: »

Well, I personally wouldn't take a bus from Dublin to Cork no matter what the price is - 2 hours is my max on a bus. I find bus travel too uncomfortable so anything longer than that is out. Competition on the route sounds good, though.

I would agree with you on the old routes via N roads and via multiple towns, but a direct motorway smooth ride at a constant speed is totally different.
You wouldn't get me on one of those old routes with constant repetitive brake,accelerator,roundabout,traffic light,town....

Kumsheen

lxflyer wrote: »

Just a few points on this...

The existing operators all rely on passengers to/from intermediate points along the routes they take to make the operation viable. The fact that Bus Eireann and Aircoach only put on direct Dublin-Cork coaches at peak times at the weekend is testament to this. They certainly do not during the rest of the week, when they most certainly do rely on intermediate traffic to make the service viable. Similarly the trains rely on passengers from intermediate points to get decent load factors.
/


I'm sure the same thing was said before the nonstop busses were put on the Galway route, and given the population size of Cork compared to Galway, it would be reasonably logical to assume a greater amount of total daily traffic between Cork and Dublin than Galway to Dublin.

Some might be put off by the +3hr journey time, but i don't think these will be huge and the idea is not to try and replace all rail and car journeys.
We now have have a viable 3rd option.

SandyfordGuy

From:
http://www.nationaltransport.ie/downloads/List-of-Current-Licences-290212.pdf

Operator's Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 County Licence No Expiry Date Origin Destination Licence Type
Evobus and Coach Ltd Tavanaghmore Tuam Co. Galway 12009 13/02/2015 Cork Dublin Airport Interurban Express

LXFlyer

Kumsheen wrote: »

I'm sure the same thing was said before the nonstop busses were put on the Galway route, and given the population size of Cork compared to Galway, it would be reasonably logical to assume a greater amount of total daily traffic between Cork and Dublin than Galway to Dublin.

Some might be put off by the +3hr journey time, but i don't think these will be huge and the idea is not to try and replace all rail and car journeys.
We now have have a viable 3rd option.

And as I said above it is good news. However, some people here are portraying it as the end for other options, and I just do not think that is the case.

The other significant difference between the Galway and Cork routes is, though, that the bus is now faster than the train with one or two exceptions.

As I said above, we are in for interesting times going forward!

Jehuty42

SandyfordGuy wrote: »

From:
http://www.nationaltransport.ie/downloads/List-of-Current-Licences-290212.pdf

Operator's Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 County Licence No Expiry Date Origin Destination Licence Type
Evobus and Coach Ltd Tavanaghmore Tuam Co. Galway 12009 13/02/2015 Cork Dublin Airport Interurban Express

Thank you for the source.

amacachi

If the speed limit for coaches was upped to 120 on the motorways you could pretty much guarantee even rush hour journeys being under 3 hours from city centre to city centre.

thewiseowl12

This is great news for me personally but I'm slightly confused! I was talking to a Go-bus driver on the Galway route about a week ago about a link between Dublin and Cork and he categorically denied it was viable and that anyone would consider setting it up!

In any case, anyone know when the starting date for the service will be??

markpb

thewiseowl12 wrote: »

This is great news for me personally but I'm slightly confused! I was talking to a Go-bus driver on the Galway route about a week ago about a link between Dublin and Cork and he categorically denied it was viable and that anyone would consider setting it up!

Why would a driver be involved in the decision making process of the company? No offense intended towards drivers but they have their job and the people at the top have theirs.

devnull

Not sure the drivers would be privy to that kind of information in the company in any case, but there is also the chance he did know and didn't want to let the cat out of the bag so to speak and alert the competition.

There is without doubt a license as the publishing of the most recent list of licenses by the NTA today proves. The License appears to be awarded in the middle of February from what has been posted by SandyfordGuy as normally they're for three years in duration.

They have to start a service within three months I believe.

foggy_lad

SandyfordGuy wrote: »

From:
http://www.nationaltransport.ie/downloads/List-of-Current-Licences-290212.pdf

Operator's Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 County Licence No Expiry Date Origin Destination Licence Type
Evobus and Coach Ltd Tavanaghmore Tuam Co. Galway 12009 13/02/2015 Cork Dublin Airport Interurban Express

A note of caution because the term "Interurban Express" is used to describe services such as the current Galway to Dublin X20 service as well as the Rosslare to Tralee service route number 40 and the current Cork to Dublin service all provided by bus Eireann. there is nothing there that states this will actually be a Non-Stop service and there could be several stops en route.

Joko

Leaving tomorrow Dublin - Cork would take between 2hrs 45min to 3hrs on Irish Rail and cost €37.

This new bus route will destroy Irish Rail. If the IMF cuts off their lifeline (old age pass) they will go bust.