Most expensive bus in Ireland?

wimmy

Prices have risen yet again on a simple and very short commute of exactly 7.4km between Cork bus station and the airport business park.

It's up to 3.90 one way, so you spend 8 euro A DAY. I am gobsmacked.
Of course I could always get the monthly pass and save money, but that's still 81 euro a month! And you can't commute on any other route! And it's rising to 86 Euro soon.

I am from continental europe and this is really incomprehensible to me.
It says "Airport" so it has to be a racket operation. Never mind people actually working at the airport for a living, there might be the odd tourist riding the bus at 7am to catch his flight.

And I'm not even going into punctuality, service etc. What an utter joke.

86 Euro a month has to be the most expensive bus in Europe for such a short distance.

Alias G

You could just cycle it.

burstbuckle

Alias G wrote: »

You could just cycle it.

Great idea in the pissing rain or a heavy suitcase in tow

KCAccidental

wimmy wrote: »

It's up to 3.90 one way, so you spend 8 euro A DAY. I am gobsmacked.
Of course I could always get the monthly pass and save money, but that's still 81 euro a month! And you can't commute on any other route! And it's rising to 86 Euro soon.

you use the city & suburban monthly pass for the airport route. This entitles you to unlimited travel on ALL city & suburban routes for the calendar month.

I agree that the fares for the airport bus are a joke, but the monthly pass is NOT route specific.

Alias G

burstbuckle wrote: »

Great idea in the pissing rain or a heavy suitcase in tow

Excuses mate.

KCAccidental

Alias G wrote: »

Excuses mate.

has to be said, I wouldn't fancy cycling that hill on a dark rainy winters morning. cycle lanes or not!

Alias G

KCAccidental wrote: »

has to be said, I wouldn't fancy cycling that hill on a dark rainy winters morning. cycle lanes or not!

Your choice and you're entitled to it. Its a short commute and plenty would be fine with it. I'd certainly choose it over extortionate bus fares.

KCAccidental

Alias G wrote: »

Your choice and you're entitled to it. Its a short commute and plenty would be fine with it. I'd certainly choose it over extortionate bus fares.

it's not the distance I'd be worried about, just the lack of adequate street lighting on parts of the road.

OP have you ever though of getting off the bus at the stop before the gates of the airport. I seem to remember it being much cheaper to get off there rather than enter the airport grounds...

looking at fare finder on bus eireann website... it's 5.50 return to get off there, but appears only to be on no.249 services. Just a thought!

Cookie_Monster

KCAccidental wrote: »

it's not the distance I'd be worried about, just the lack of adequate street lighting on parts of the road.

worst excuse ever, your bike will have lights what more do you need. the chances of rain are also pretty low. Amsterdam gets more rain than Dublin or Cork and that the cycling capital of Europe.
8km will take you less than 20 mins, it's probably even quicker than the bus.

KCAccidental

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

worst excuse ever, your bike will have lights what more do you need. the chances of rain are also pretty low. Amsterdam gets more rain than Dublin or Cork and that the cycling capital of Europe.
8km will take you less than 20 mins, it's probably even quicker than the bus.

thankfully I don't need to commute to the airport!

LXFlyer

wimmy wrote: »

Prices have risen yet again on a simple and very short commute of exactly 7.4km between Cork bus station and the airport business park.

It's up to 3.90 one way, so you spend 8 euro A DAY. I am gobsmacked.
Of course I could always get the monthly pass and save money, but that's still 81 euro a month! And you can't commute on any other route! And it's rising to 86 Euro soon.

I am from continental europe and this is really incomprehensible to me.
It says "Airport" so it has to be a racket operation. Never mind people actually working at the airport for a living, there might be the odd tourist riding the bus at 7am to catch his flight.

And I'm not even going into punctuality, service etc. What an utter joke.

86 Euro a month has to be the most expensive bus in Europe for such a short distance.

Just to clarify - that monthly ticket entitles you to unlimited travel on all Cork City and Suburban services and not just the Cork - Cork Airport service.

It is valid on Cork City bus routes and on other routes up to the following boundary stages:

• Cloghroe (Healy’s)
• Cork Airport
• Inniscarra
• Greenfield Cross
• Sallybrook
• Brook Lodge
• Bury’s Bridge
• Fountainstown
• Haulbowline

burstbuckle

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

worst excuse ever, your bike will have lights what more do you need. the chances of rain are also pretty low. Amsterdam gets more rain than Dublin or Cork and that the cycling capital of Europe.
8km will take you less than 20 mins, it's probably even quicker than the bus.

So what your saying is" if you don't want to cycle f**k you"
the op is asking a question about public transport to a city airport & the best the good people of cork can come up with is cycle.you mentioned Amsterdan,been there loads of times,never fancied cycling after arriving on heading back to Schipol,thinking of heading to cork for a weekend in march from laois,was gonna drive but think I'll cycle now seen as the cycle lanes are better than the motorway
apologies to the folks who gave sensible answers

schemingbohemia

burstbuckle wrote: »

So what your saying is" if you don't want to cycle f**k you"
the op is asking a question about public transport to a city airport & the best the good people of cork can come up with is cycle.you mentioned Amsterdan,been there loads of times,never fancied cycling after arriving on heading back to Schipol,thinking of heading to cork for a weekend in march from laois,was gonna drive but think I'll cycle now seen as the cycle lanes are better than the motorway
apologies to the folks who gave sensible answers

Maybe you should re-read the OP, the person is working there, not schlepping a suitcase there every day. Cycling is a sensible option.

The OP has also failed to do any basic research and seems to have difficulties with maths, 81e for the monthly fare divided by 20 working days in the month brings a much cheaper fare then they're currently paying yet they still continue to pay cash every day!

Solair

I live in Cork, and I would agree with the OP, the public transport system is a complete joke compared to other similarly sized European cities.

It's too expensive, there's no integrated ticketing / electronic ticketing, it's slow and it's infrequent on a lot of routes.

I know someone who has to get from Rochestown to CIT before 8:30 am and that's almost impossible by bus due to the scheduling.

Saying you can cycle is also a joke whoever replied with that.

Not everyone's even capable of doing a 7.6km cycle up a hill.

As for rainfall, Amsterdam experiences a lot of days of rain, but they're mostly showers and its rainfall is about 760mm/year

Cork has years with 2500mm of rain, averaging at over 1500mm/year.
It's one of the wettest cities in Europe in terms of rainfall amounts and parts of the mountainous / hilly areas of West Cork are amongst the wettest parts of the EU.

The two places are not remotely comparable in terms of rainfall. You can be completely drenched through to the skin in Cork on most days in winter. That's not true in Amsterdam where you might get a slight sprinkling.

Ireland also has long periods of fine, driving, drizzle which is very unusual in most continental locations.

I've never experienced rain like in Ireland and Northern Britain almost anywhere else. I've experienced weather here where it just rained almost continuously for 2 months.

Cork also has poor cycle lanes and very steep hills. Amsterdam has excellent cycle lanes and is one of the flattest cities in Europe.

Unless you're going East-West e.g. City Centre to UCC / CIT or maybe to Douglas village, you're going to encounter very serious hills in Cork. It's not a great city for cyclists by a long shot.

wimmy

Bike is a sensible alternative, and I might give it a shot, loving mountain biking etc etc.
I've only seen one or two bikes a day going up that hill, out of hundreds of people working at the airport.
It is fairly dangerous though. Cars zip by at a 100km/h and you might have all the lights you want, I still consider it a dangerous ride.
It is a very steep hill too. So cycling in the rain and freezing conditions in the morning on a winter day is out of the question for now.
Might be better come spring.

But it still doesn't explain why you can go anywhere in a circle about the same distance (7 km ) off the bus station on a normal city route (think Blackpool shopping centre etc) which is a normal fare, and pay 8 euro a day just cause it's the airport.

Stop before the gates of the airport is not even an option... When the driver asks in the morning, it's either business park or Kinsale.
And if it's pissing rain you still have a 10/15 min walk.

I'm never going anywhere else but would love to have city buses included when you pay such a high fare!!!
What business do I have in any of these areas: Cloghroe (Healy’s), Inniscarra, Greenfield Cross, Sallybrook, Brook Lodge, Bury’s Bridge, Fountainstown, Haulbowline?? I can't even commute IN CORK. (and pay up AGAIN)

I've checked monthly passes in several European cities, and they all have adaptive tariffs, eg -12 year old monthly bus pass / 12 to 18 / 18 to 26 / 26 and + etc etc, as well as senior, unemployed etc etc. None of them run higher than 50 euro, include ALL services plus tramway / metro and even train in some areas!!!

Why is it so backwards in Ireland???!!!

gobnaitolunacy

Alias G wrote: »

You could just cycle it.

Tried that once, got bike dropped up and planned to cycle back.
Unfortunately, it was my old banger of a bike...brakes were non-existant, was forced to use the 'emergency' brakes before hitting the Magic Roundabout.:eek:

Worked in a airport once in Oz, the bus from the city for a similar distance was a rip-off $10, dead slow (was late for my first day) and only used by airport passengers, all other staff used drive or get driven to work. I was (probably) the only one that cycled regularly.

Cork is very poorly laid out for cycling, going East for Little Island from the City by bike is suicidal. The aforementioned Magic Roundabout is another right royal PITA to negotiate.

Solair

It's quite simple really, like most of Ireland and England and indeed most European countries, you're going to the airport therefor you will be ripped off as it's a special magical place where everything's at least 4 times more expensive than the real world.

Try getting an airport train in London to Heathrow ... Heathrow express will cost you nearly €42 return!!!!!!!!!

In Brussels the 21 and 12 buses to the airport charge a significantly higher price than the normal routes and your usual MOBIB card won't work unless you load a premium airport ticket at €3.50 each way (it's 6 euro if you buy on board)

You'll have to get a bus that passes the airport, rather than goes to the airport itself.

Given that there's a pretty huge business park up there, there should be a bus serving that and you shouldn't have to use an airport bus to the terminal.

Cienciano

Once the word "airport" is written on any bus, the price doubles.

As for cycling, first of all, the bus is a rip off, that was the point of the thread. And cycling doesn't suit everyone. You might have to wear a suit, you not have showers at work, you might not have changing rooms, might need to carry stuff that makes cycling a pain in the hole.

Solair

wimmy wrote: »

I've checked monthly passes in several European cities, and they all have adaptive tariffs, eg -12 year old monthly bus pass / 12 to 18 / 18 to 26 / 26 and + etc etc, as well as senior, unemployed etc etc. None of them run higher than 50 euro, include ALL services plus tramway / metro and even train in some areas!!!

Why is it so backwards in Ireland???!!!

Because we do not really subsidise public transport to even remotely the same level as most European countries and because of low density housing developments which make much of the routes almost nonviable outside of the city centre/immediate suburbs.

CIE itself isn't very imaginative with how to organise fares either.

Dublin for example has the 2nd lowest public subsidy level for public transport in European major cities.

Belfast has the lowest, and British cities fill all the ranks below that.

Cork isn't measured as Bus Eireann's integrated into a big complex national route network so they couldn't get stats.

You typically paid (until recently, but still in comparision to a lot of countries when you include tax credits, ability to pool them, and very very low local tax (yes, I know we bitch and moan about the household charge but it's brand new and it's relatively small)) much lower tax here, so you got much poorer public services. That's a choice our electorate made. Ireland's never really opted to have social-provision of services on the same basis as some other EU countries and tends to be pretty similar in mentality to Britain and parts of the more left leaning bits of United States in that regard i.e. way to the right (economically) of much of Northern Europe.

Our recent tax hikes are all about paying down debt, not improving public services. So, feel free to thank your favourite bankers/developers/politicians who presided over the bubble for those ones. You're now going to see public transport budgets slashed and taxes increasing.

That's how Irish voters opt to run the country.

Low levels of public services, relatively low levels of tax, free-for-all planning ... they don't like their personal freedoms being interfered with in terms of people telling them where to build, how to live etc.

It's a perfectly valid choice and it has many positives, but the big negative is that it makes provision of public facilities extremely difficult, including public transport and even infrastructural issues like broadband speeds become an issue as a lot of housing is scattered in the hinterland of cities with low density.

Yes, you get a beautiful garden, loads of space, and a nice lifestyle, but your internet will suck and you will absolutely need a car.

So, it's obvious that Irish voters prefer space, cars, and liberal planning laws to organised, dense towns/cities with good services. That's quite simply a choice they've made. There's no point in mocking/abusing them over it. It's culturally quite a different place to central Europe.

So, basically you can either have the high-levels of control, taxation and planning in some continental countries and enjoy that level of organisation. Or, you can prefer the more liberal approach here and enjoy that level of personal choice, space and freedom / semi-organised chaos.

It depends very much on what your priorities are and what you're most comfortable with.

I think Ireland's slowly shifting towards some kind of a balance in the middle of those two extremes, but it's not moving there very quickly as it's not what people vote for here.

So, I think basically you just have to either start a political campaign to change people's opinion, or put up with how things are done. Ireland's not Germany or Holland and those countries aren't Ireland. There are positives and negatives to it!

If you were living in Amsterdam, you'd be paying for that bus many times over in terms of local tax and much higher income taxes and social contributions.

OK, that might be a good thing, but just weigh up how the two systems work and try to compare like-with-like too. Countries do things differently and opt to pay for things in different ways entirely.

The Dagda

wimmy wrote: »

Bike is a sensible alternative, and I might give it a shot, loving mountain biking etc etc.
I've only seen one or two bikes a day going up that hill, out of hundreds of people working at the airport.
It is fairly dangerous though. Cars zip by at a 100km/h and you might have all the lights you want, I still consider it a dangerous ride.
It is a very steep hill too. So cycling in the rain and freezing conditions in the morning on a winter day is out of the question for now.
Might be better come spring.

But it still doesn't explain why you can go anywhere in a circle about the same distance (7 km ) off the bus station on a normal city route (think Blackpool shopping centre etc) which is a normal fare, and pay 8 euro a day just cause it's the airport.

Stop before the gates of the airport is not even an option... When the driver asks in the morning, it's either business park or Kinsale.
And if it's pissing rain you still have a 10/15 min walk.

I'm never going anywhere else but would love to have city buses included when you pay such a high fare!!!
What business do I have in any of these areas: Cloghroe (Healy’s), Inniscarra, Greenfield Cross, Sallybrook, Brook Lodge, Bury’s Bridge, Fountainstown, Haulbowline?? I can't even commute IN CORK. (and pay up AGAIN)

I've checked monthly passes in several European cities, and they all have adaptive tariffs, eg -12 year old monthly bus pass / 12 to 18 / 18 to 26 / 26 and + etc etc, as well as senior, unemployed etc etc. None of them run higher than 50 euro, include ALL services plus tramway / metro and even train in some areas!!!

Why is it so backwards in Ireland???!!!

The trafffic on the Kinsale Road is crazy so I wouldn't recommend cycling it. There's a back way up over Lehenagh More from Togher, it's a long tough hill, but a lot less traffic then the main road.

The hill might be tough for the first while, but you'll soon get used to it.
The daily commute will mean you'll have gotten some good exercise each day, so your health, mountain biking, and pocket will all benefit.

LXFlyer

Specifically on the fare issue, the airport was never within the more heavily subsidised city bus area.

The bus service at that point is not a city bus route but is a suburban service and is priced accordingly.

You have a number of options:
1) Single fare - € 3.90 and Return Fare - €6.90
2) 10 Journey Ticket - € 32.50
3) Monthly Commuter Ticket - € 81

Option 3 does include unlimited travel all other Cork city and suburban services (up to the boundaries quoted above).

It can also be purchased via the Taxsaver scheme if your employer participates in it (www.taxsaver.ie) allowing you a considerable saving in tax, PRSI and USC, meaning that the effective monthly cost would be €38.88 instead of €81 if you pay the higher rate of tax.

Whether you have business at the boundary points or not is irrelevant - the point is that the ticket offers you a lot more than just travel between Cork and the Airport.

As Solair point out it all boils down to the priority the Government attaches to public transport - this frankly is not high on their priority list - hence we have far lower subsidies when compared with continental Europe.

devnull

It also has a large part to do with the average pay in state companies which is over average. I'm not saying that drivers are overpaid, simply that somewhere in Dublin Bus there are people who are paid too much.

If you divide the wages by the number of employees for the year end to December 2010, you get an average wage. That number? €52,656.

For comparison average wage at Bus Eireann is €50,623, Irish Rail is €53,108, both figures to the last available accounts that I can see until the end of December 2010. Not sure what the company name of LUAS is so can't post that.

Lothian Buses are often held up as being an example of a well run public bus company, their average wage is £34,076 per year, at current market rates €42,765 would be the average pay. Their pay is one of the more generous operators in the UK also.

If Dublin Bus cut their fleet by a good chunk, which they have in recent years, if subsidy doesn't go down, in real terms it would mean Dublin Bus had an increase in subsidy, as they would be getting the same amount of money for doing less in return.

Dublin Bus Fleet as of 31st December 2007: 1146
http://web.archive.org/web/20080115222253/http://www.dublinbus.ie/about_us/double_decks.asp

Dublin Bus Fleet @ 1st December: 922
http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/About-Us/Dublin-Bus-Fleet/

Fleet as a percentage of start of 2008: 80.45%
Means a cut to the total fleet of 19.55%

Average wage to the year ending 31st December 2007: €53,077 (0.8% more than in their last accounts)

So here we have the stats, all taken from Dublin Bus website and also the official published company accounts and we come to the conclusion that while subsidy has come down by a decent chunk, the fleet has shrunk by an even bigger percentage and average wage is down by just 0.8% from 2007 to the last published accounts to the end of 2010.

This means that subsidy per vehicle is higher than it was in 2006, but unfortunately people on here don't mention that fact and apply spin. I myself simply quote the facts from materials which were published by Dublin Bus themselves.

I do agree that we are subsidised less than other countries, but to suggest that subsidy has been cut hugely is misleading. Do you really think we should tell our companies. Hey you can cut 150 buses out of your fleet, but we'll pay you the same amount. That is not keeping subsidy the same, that is increasing it because they are doing circa 20% less work for the same pay.

schemingbohemia

lxflyer wrote: »

Specifically on the fare issue, the airport was never within the more heavily subsidised city bus area.

The bus service at that point is not a city bus route but is a suburban service and is priced accordingly.

You have a number of options:
1) Single fare - € 3.90 and Return Fare - €6.90
2) 10 Journey Ticket - € 32.50
3) Monthly Commuter Ticket - € 81

Option 3 does include unlimited travel all other Cork city and suburban services (up to the boundaries quoted above).

It can also be purchased via the Taxsaver scheme if your employer participates in it (www.taxsaver.ie) allowing you a considerable saving in tax, PRSI and USC, meaning that the effective monthly cost would be €38.88 instead of €81 if you pay the higher rate of tax.

Whether you have business at the boundary points or not is irrelevant - the point is that the ticket offers you a lot more than just travel between Cork and the Airport.

As Solair point out it all boils down to the priority the Government attaches to public transport - this frankly is not high on their priority list - hence we have far lower subsidies when compared with continental Europe.

Not sure there's any point in posting this though as the OP still hasn't copped onto the fact that they are ignorantly paying more than is necessary and spouting off about fares in other EU countries with totally different taxation systems, S/He has bothered to research monthly fares there and not bothered to do so here or to even, it seems, acknowledge that cheaper fares are available if they can bother their barney to get them.

I'm not sure how many other EU states have schemes similar to the brilliant taxsaver scheme in operation here. I would love to see if the OP's research found another member state that provides (through the taxsaver scheme) unlimited travel to the airport for just over a euro a day.

devnull

I generally don't think that the monthly ticket is that badly priced, certainly not the most expensive ticket in Ireland as he said. Look at the price of a Dublin Bus Monthly ticket, it's higher than that, especially if your employer, like many, does not offer taxsaver tickets.

wimmy

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Not sure there's any point in posting this though as the OP still hasn't copped onto the fact that they are ignorantly paying more than is necessary and spouting off about fares in other EU countries with totally different taxation systems, S/He has bothered to research monthly fares there and not bothered to do so here or to even, it seems, acknowledge that cheaper fares are available if they can bother their barney to get them.

Ah well, I won't argue much, I've done my research, still find it exorbitant, poorly managed and not integrated to other routes, and the way taxation is run in this country still does not account for all of the aforementioned caveats.

And then there is this http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056831054

highdef

With about a 120m climb in about 3km in a generally southerly direction, not only would this be quite a torturous climb if done on a daily basis in calm conditions but the majority of the time it would be with a headwind due to our prevailing winds being south westerly. Also, wind strength would increase significantly as altitude increases and as Cork is by the sea in the south, any strong winds on-shore will be quite great in comparison to most other parts of the country.

I think the OP is very fair to not want to cycle this route regularly. The cycle home would be rather nice though

Alias G and Cookie_Monster, you might want to check out things a bit more before thrashing out comments like that with regards to biking it. And as for Cookie_Monsters comment - "8km will take you less than 20 mins", if you can cycle the 8km route with an average speed of about 25kmh which also contains a 120m climb in 3km, then I'd love to see some video evidence.

KCAccidental

thanks highdef, just saved me typing out the exact same thing!

20 mins would be a very unrealistic time for a cycle journey from the city centre to airport. As you mention of course, the hill would add another 10/15 mins to the journey, there's also the fact that that cycle route would be closer to 10km as it would have to avoid the N27 south city link and go through turner's cross. That adds about 10 more minutes to your ride. Then you have to go through the magic roundabout via 4 pedestrian crossing, which would add about 5 mins or so.

it's easy to spout platitudes about cycling, but in reality it's a very tough and slightly dangerous commute to the airport.

LeftBlank

I would count myself as an experienced cyclist and there's no way that I would commute a long the airport road to Cork Airport, especially in the depths of winter.

The Idyl Race

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

worst excuse ever, your bike will have lights what more do you need. the chances of rain are also pretty low. Amsterdam gets more rain than Dublin or Cork and that the cycling capital of Europe.
8km will take you less than 20 mins, it's probably even quicker than the bus.

I'd rather the rain be in Amsterdam. Come to think of it, if I was an Amsterdam resident...under certain circumstances the rain wouldn't matter..

LXFlyer

wimmy wrote: »

Ah well, I won't argue much, I've done my research, still find it exorbitant, poorly managed and not integrated to other routes, and the way taxation is run in this country still does not account for all of the aforementioned caveats.

And then there is this http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056831054

Why do you keep saying it is not integrated with other routes when it has been repeatedly pointed out that the monthly ticket can be used on any Cork city or suburban bus?

wimmy

lxflyer wrote: »

Why do you keep saying it is not integrated with other routes when it has been repeatedly pointed out that the monthly ticket can be used on any Cork city or suburban bus?

Because I live by the lough, have to walk 15 mins in the morning to my stop, there is not a single bus going that direction, even then it would never be on time, would add to the commute etc etc.
The bus in the evening does not service the capwell/douglas street bus stop (despite saying so on its so called timetable) and goes straight to the bus station, best stop being the city hall, which is another fecking 20 mins from where I live!!!!

Now is that integration for you>????!!!

LeftBlank

wimmy wrote: »

Because I live by the lough, have to walk 15 mins in the morning to my stop, there is not a single bus going that direction, even then it would never be on time, would add to the commute etc etc.
The bus in the evening does not service the capwell/douglas street bus stop (despite saying so on its so called timetable) and goes straight to the bus station, best stop being the city hall, which is another fecking 20 mins from where I live!!!!

Now is that integration for you>????!!!

So it's not integrated because it doesn't go past your house?

The Idyl Race

LeftBlank wrote: »

So it's not integrated because it doesn't go past your house?

A comprehensive public transport network for the country's second city? Nah, that's just for dem forreigeners abroad. We drive like the little GOP Americans we are. Yee-hah!

LXFlyer

wimmy wrote: »

Because I live by the lough, have to walk 15 mins in the morning to my stop, there is not a single bus going that direction, even then it would never be on time, would add to the commute etc etc.
The bus in the evening does not service the capwell/douglas street bus stop (despite saying so on its so called timetable) and goes straight to the bus station, best stop being the city hall, which is another fecking 20 mins from where I live!!!!

Now is that integration for you>????!!!

That is a completely different argument - the 226 timetable does not mention Douglas Road or Capwell anywhere.

Just because it does not suit your particular journey does not mean it is not integrated. It links the Airport with the bus station and the railway station and most city bus routes are a short walk away from the bus station.

If you mean the 249, then if it is not following the official route then you should complain to The District Manager at Bus Eireann's Capwell depot as that is not acceptable.

I would ask though how many other people are making the exact trip that you do? It's far easier to plan out radial routes to/from the city centre as there is demand all along the route. Orbital journeys are far more difficult to facilitate as very few people's individual journeys are identical.

Many people have a 15 minute walk to/from the bus, particularly if they are not going along a radial route to/from the city. I've often had a 15 minute walk in Dublin and other cities to get a particular bus service.

wimmy

LeftBlank wrote: »

So it's not integrated because it doesn't go past your house?

Try anybody living in Ballyphehane.

wimmy

249 it is. Asked the driver the other night, you servicing Capwell? Was told nope, 226 does. Got 226 the next day, was told it's not on their route.

I agree with radial/orbital, but bus routes are supposed to offer options, eg provide a solution to most journeys. Now if you work in Hollyhill and live in Ballyphehane, how do you go about it? Wake up at 6am?

You have to get to the city centre, so if you live in Sundays well, Ballyphehane, Togher etc you're screwed. Might as well there was no bus service at all.

LXFlyer

But how many people would be making that precise journey by public transport (even if a direct option existed)? Would it justify a bus?

I'm not trying to be difficult - just pointing out that it is not as straightforward as you suggest.

wimmy

Of course, I understand.
10 of us at that stop only. (and for that journey)
I'd say 50 to 100 staff getting there everyday (all journeys)

Complaints logged by companies every week. Bus Eireann does not give a flying *****

LXFlyer

The 226 goes direct from the Bus Station to the Airport Business Park.

The 249 serves Douglas Road and Capwell.

If a driver tells you differently then he is wrong, and you do have grounds for complaint.

If it reoccurs, contact Bus Eireann management at Capwell Depot directly in writing, and if you do not get a satisfactory reply, then contact the National Transport Authority.

LXFlyer

wimmy wrote: »

249 it is. Asked the driver the other night, you servicing Capwell? Was told nope, 226 does. Got 226 the next day, was told it's not on their route.

I agree with radial/orbital, but bus routes are supposed to offer options, eg provide a solution to most journeys. Now if you work in Hollyhill and live in Ballyphehane, how do you go about it? Wake up at 6am?

You have to get to the city centre, so if you live in Sundays well, Ballyphehane, Togher etc you're screwed. Might as well there was no bus service at all.

Unfortunately the same problem exists in Dublin - many orbital journeys do require going via city centre, although there are 6 orbital routes. It just is not possible to facilitate every potential orbital journey with a separate bus route.

schemingbohemia

Have you ever thought of moving to somewhere with better connections to your place of work?

Your OP was about the cost, when it was pointed out to you that you could do this journey a lot cheaper you then changed tack to complain about buses not running outside your front door. Did someone put a gun to your head and force you to live where you live?

wimmy

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Have you ever thought of moving to somewhere with better connections to your place of work?

Cork is a small town. Should be sorted with coverage. Why would I move?

The Dagda

wimmy wrote: »

Because I live by the lough, have to walk 15 mins in the morning to my stop, there is not a single bus going that direction, even then it would never be on time, would add to the commute etc etc.
The bus in the evening does not service the capwell/douglas street bus stop (despite saying so on its so called timetable) and goes straight to the bus station, best stop being the city hall, which is another fecking 20 mins from where I live!!!!

Now is that integration for you>????!!!

If you live by the lough cycling up over Lehenagh More through Togher makes total sense, once you get used to the hill it would be a piece of p1ss. Google maps has it at 7.9km so it should take less the 30 minutes. Your current commute must take the bones of an hour so you'd save loads of time each day too, as well as the exercise and monetary savings...

wimmy

The Dagda wrote: »

If you live by the lough cycling up over Lehenagh More through Togher makes total sense, once you get used to the hill it would be a piece of p1ss. Google maps has it at 7.9km so it should take less the 30 minutes. Your current commute must take the bones of an hour so you'd save loads of time each day too, as well as the exercise and monetary savings...

Don't get me wrong, love mountain biking. I was a guide for three months on Bolivia's death road, altitude of 4600 Meters. So I know about dangerous roads. But I will not cycle up that hill in business outfit or with a change of clothes. Half an hour cycle plus shower etc is an hour too. I just want a functioning/affordable bus!!!

On another note I just rang Bus Eireann in Cork and they'll follow up on that driver not stopping at Capwell in the evenings. She was very helpful and gave me her direct line and email address, asking me to get in touch if it happens again. sound.

The Dagda

wimmy wrote: »

Don't get me wrong, love mountain biking. I was a guide for three months on Bolivia's death road, altitude of 4600 Meters. So I know about dangerous roads. But I will not cycle up that hill in business outfit or with a change of clothes. Half an hour cycle plus shower etc is an hour too. I just want a functioning/affordable bus!!!

On another note I just rang Bus Eireann in Cork and they'll follow up on that driver not stopping at Capwell in the evenings. She was very helpful and gave me her direct line and email address, asking me to get in touch if it happens again. sound.

Ok I was only offering an alternative, I didn't think about you having to change clothes, etc. Hope you come up with a viable solution...

wimmy

The Dagda wrote: »

Ok I was only offering an alternative, I didn't think about you having to change clothes, etc. Hope you come up with a viable solution...

No worries

LXFlyer

wimmy wrote: »

Don't get me wrong, love mountain biking. I was a guide for three months on Bolivia's death road, altitude of 4600 Meters. So I know about dangerous roads. But I will not cycle up that hill in business outfit or with a change of clothes. Half an hour cycle plus shower etc is an hour too. I just want a functioning/affordable bus!!!

On another note I just rang Bus Eireann in Cork and they'll follow up on that driver not stopping at Capwell in the evenings. She was very helpful and gave me her direct line and email address, asking me to get in touch if it happens again. sound.

Talk to your employer about the taxsaver scheme - it will make a serious dent into your transport costs.

schemingbohemia

wimmy wrote: »

Cork is a small town. Should be sorted with coverage. Why would I move?

I give up, you want buses to go everywhere and to be cheaper than the already cheap taxsaver monthly ticket, even the monthly non-taxsaver ticket is good value?:rolleyes:

How do you propose that this happens without everyone paying much higher taxes?

wimmy

I'm saying such a small town should be easy to set up, service should be better and customers should not have to go about asking their employer or set up a taxsaver thing or whatever. Turn up or go online, get the pass, that's it! Or make it affordable in the bus! Why on earth are tickets still not valid for a time period like in any other town in Europe???? That's very easy to fix. But in 2012 Ireland, I buy a ticket 1.80 or 2 euro, hop off to get what I need, and if I hop back on, that ticket is no longer valid!!! I'm good to buy a new one!! How on earth is this something justified???

LXFlyer

Because that is how our political masters have set the system up.

I understand your frustration, but I've shown you a way of potentially halving your public transport costs. If you don't like it, so be it, but stop moaning about the cost when you can't be bothered to even try and do something about it.

wimmy

lxflyer wrote: »

Because that is how our political masters have set the system up.

I understand your frustration, but I've shown you a way of potentially halving your public transport costs. If you don't like it, so be it, but stop moaning about the cost when you can't be bothered to even try and do something about it.

Well have I said I will not use the taxsaver incentive? I'd be stupid no to. So I will. As to "can't be bothered and do something about it", once again, you're making uninformed comments. I've already rang them this morning. A letter is on the way. And I will contact Bus Eireann in Dublin. At least I'm doing what I can.