New Dublin Bus GT Class

dfx-

starviewadams wrote: »

These in service yet?

Thought I saw a Dublin Bus with a middle door on Dorset Street yesterday.

Some of the very old AVs have a middle door too and would be on Dorset St operating a 16/41.

Though thankfully some of those will be going soon..

Neewbie_noob

foggy_lad wrote: »

Are the centre doors going to be used in buses

Probably not, on some of the older models they had the centre doors but they stopped using them in the mid naughties because people were jumping on and off and dodging fares.

miller50841

Neewbie_noob wrote: »

Probably not, on some of the older models they had the centre doors but they stopped using them in the mid naughties because people were jumping on and off and dodging fares.

Still happens even with the 1 front doors.

The NTA wanted the centre doors but will have the same problems as you said above.

Buses coming in were ment to be tri axle also but would take too long to be ready.

The GT type are fitted with a camera for centre doors in cab and also bus is fitted with a black box similar to aircraft. Speed and driving style are recorded and also annoyingly talks to driver statin g too fast and so on

miller50841

Neewbie_noob wrote: »

Probably not, on some of the older models they had the centre doors but they stopped using them in the mid naughties because people were jumping on and off and dodging fares.

It got to the stage like the RV's when centre doors were used most of the time the bus would have to be turned off and back on to try get it to engage gears again as when door was opened it kicked out of gear.

KD345

The first of these buses entered service today on the 7.

devnull

Do we know if the double doors are being used and if there are any RTPI displays on the top deck?

KD345

devnull wrote: »

Do we know if the double doors are being used and if there are any RTPI displays on the top deck?

Centre doors are being used, and there are full RTPI displays on both the lower and upper saloon displaying next stop and route information.

bk

KD345 wrote: »

Centre doors are being used, and there are full RTPI displays on both the lower and upper saloon displaying next stop and route information.

Great, are the RTPI screens like the ones that were trialled previously or are they just standard LCD screens?

A few pictures would be great

devnull

Good news, some pics may be nice, now all they need to do is make the timetables on the Ballsbridge corridor more reliable and perhaps I will consider going back to the bus in future.

monument

KD345 wrote: »

devnull wrote: »

Do we know if the double doors are being used and if there are any RTPI displays on the top deck?

Centre doors are being used, and there are full RTPI displays on both the lower and upper saloon displaying next stop and route information.

Good stuff.

It would have been disappointing if the NTA had allowed anything less.

dublinman1990

My own mother said she had seen 2 GT's on the 7 today. She had her first journey on the GT from Alma Road, Monkstown to Dun Laoghaire.

One of them was possibly GT 8 which is seen on O'Connell Bridge here.

She said found the bus a little "rocky" when it was in motion. The RTPI display on the lower deck is located where the extra storage space is located near the front door.

It was found out that the middle doors were used sometimes today. She exited the through the front door as per usual.

Goonerette

I was on one of these this morning on the 7 route. When I saw it pull up, I got very excited.

The RTPI display upstairs switches back and forth between Irish and English. Given how closely spaced bus stops are in Dublin (a rant for another thread), and given that the Irish appears first, usually by the time it flips to English, you're practically at the stop. Not much time to get downstairs once the English place name appears. In other words, it's useless for tourists and I would imagine for the majority of natives too.

I should also mention that every so often the RTPI display upstairs switches to a message that instructs you to disembark at the middle door. Of course in actuality the middle door was never once used on the entire Blackrock - CC journey, not even on O'Connell St where everyone gets off.

Business as usual for DB. Tragic.

Cookie_Monster

KD345 wrote: »

The first of these buses entered service today on the 7.

wonder what it'll look like by the end of the day so...

dfx-

One of them operated either the last or second last from the city..

Thankfully the 7s I got tonight were 2003 AVs and an AX instead.

lil5

Goonerette wrote: »

The RTPI display upstairs switches back and forth between Irish and English. Given how closely spaced bus stops are in Dublin (a rant for another thread), and given that the Irish appears first, usually by the time it flips to English, you're practically at the stop. Not much time to get downstairs once the English place name appears. In other words, it's useless for tourists and I would imagine for the majority of natives too.

On GT2 this morning (7 inbound) and due to the bus flying along didn't see more than 3 bus stop names in English on the downstairs display between Blackrock and Ballsbridge. By the time the English names were displayed, we were either just at the bus stop or flying past it.

The order should really be reversed, but I can't see that happening before Christmas (...2013).


As very few people got on/off the bus that early (around 7) the middle doors weren't used.

etchyed

lil5 wrote: »

The order should really be reversed, but I can't see that happening before Christmas (...2013).

Or even have both displayed simultaneously? Or is there not enough space?

Could someone who takes the 7 please take a picture of one of these screens with a camera phone so we're not discussing this in the dark?

lil5

etchyed wrote: »

Or even have both displayed simultaneously? Or is there not enough space?

The display shows two lines of text as per the RTPI route info (sample for stop 478 below) in Irish for quite some time, then switches to English.

Top - Address (e.g. Merrion Road)
Bottom - Location (e.g. St. Vincent's Hospital)

etchyed wrote: »

Could someone who takes the 7 please take a picture of one of these screens ...

Will do if I get a chance (and phone is charged ... )

noelfirl

From Dublin Bus Stuff http://www.dublinbusstuff.com/PhotoWeek/GTClass.html

patrickbrophy18

I saw one of these operating the 8 route today. They are very smart looking indeed and the set of doors in the middle is always a welcomed addition to divvy up alighting passengers from those hopping on.

However, the one criticism I would make is that the seats used appear to be identical to those used on the tri-axles which aren't as comfortable as those used on older models. Nevertheless, they aren't uncomfortable and they do the job.

How many of these were bought by Dublin Bus?

bk

Oh, those RTPI screens are disappointing.

Would have been better had they used LCD screens like they do in Amsterdam. LCD screens can show far more information, not just the next stop, but the next 4 stops and the estimated arrival time at each stop.

Would be far more useful then these screens, specially given the frequency of stops in Dublin and the stupid useless Irish issue.

dublinman1990

Just to park aside the OLA argument for the moment, regarding DB and NTA.

I had seen GT's for 3 times on the 7 & twice on the 8 today.

I was very close to boarding a GT today on the 7, going from bus stop 3032 near Frascati Road in Blackrock. Three buses had appeared, an AV on the 4 and a AX on both a 7 & 8 which arrived at 15:10.

As soon I was heading towards Monkstown on the AX which was a 7, There was a GT right behind it, I'd said in my head silently, "Ah, Bugger it".:mad:

I got back on a 7 this evening which was again an AX. If I didn't get that, I would have about 20 minutes for the next one.

At least it encouraging to hear GT's are coming in to service each day. It is a good sign given that there will be increasing chances for people to board one later in the week.

Cookie_Monster

dublinman1990 wrote: »

I was very close to boarding a GT today on the 7, going from bus stop 3032 near Frascati Road in Blackrock.

and what happened, why didn't you, don't leave us in such suspense!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dublinman1990

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

and what happened, why didn't you, don't leave us in such suspense!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even though, it is off topic. I had to sign on the dole before 4pm at Dun Laoghaire. So, I couldn't delay it.

And Aleksmart, how about "Ah, Feck it". Would that do?

starviewadams

There aren't any AV's or AX's with middle doors are there?could of sworn I saw one today near Drumcondra Station.

starviewadams

starviewadams wrote: »

There aren't any AV's or AX's with middle doors are there?could of sworn I saw one today near Drumcondra Station.

The ex Airlink batch (118-130??) have middle doors. All based at Summerhill.

highdef

What has any of the above several posts got to do with the new GT class? Get back on topic or go to after hours and bicker with each other there :mad:

LordSutch

Getting back to post #1, I just love the pictures, specially in light of the fact that I have been studying the inside and the outside of the NBFL in recent months (LED interior lighting/subtle decor), while the GT is so light and shiny inside, the seat moquette is so bright too, but in a nice way. Interesting contrast of concepts.

Big question is, will all passengers exit throught the middle doors?

AlekSmart

LordSutch wrote: »

Big question is, will all passengers exit throught the middle doors?

Most certainly will,particularly the many Forreners who see no taint attached to using multiple doored buses.

However,in that peculiar place known as "Irishness" the biggest question for Busdrivers in DublinBus is how many passengers will enter by the centre doors.....:rolleyes:

Cookie_Monster

AlekSmart wrote: »

However,in that peculiar place known as "Irishness" the biggest question for Busdrivers in DublinBus is how many passengers will enter by the centre doors.....:rolleyes:

I'll always remember trying to get off a 7 at Marine road, huge queue waiting to get on an already fairly full bus. Old RV when middle doors were still in operation, passengers disembarking through them until some old man decides to barge on at the middle door pushing people aside, waving his pass and shouting at the driver that "it's OK, I have my pass"
:rolleyes:

MagicMarker

Looks good, I'm in Tallaght so I look forward to seeing these new buses on my route in 2019.