Dublin Bus route 145 - Will it be fully converted to the new GT class?

LordSutch

Have had the misfortune to travel on the 145 quite a bit recently, and I was just wondering will the
current crop of bone shakers be replaced with the New GT class of double deckers in the near future?

I have done three early morning jaunts on the 145 in recent weeks and I have not been impressed with the machines that I have been on board.
I don't know what model/type it is, but it has a crescent rear window downstairs and it only has one door up front! Its noisy (very noisy) its cramped, its jerky (seat belts wouldn't go amiss), and on one journey the heating wasn't working either! which left me cold and unimpressed with the old bone shaker. So I don't relish the thought of travelling on that route on a regular basis, unless & until something more appealing comes along to my Stop. Like the new GT class maybe?

Maybe it is already making an appearance on Route 145 at certain times?

thomasj

LordSutch wrote: »

Have had the misfortune to travel on the 145 quite a bit recently, and I was just wondering will the
current crop of bone shakers be replaced with the New GT class of double deckers in the near future?

I have done three early morning jaunts on the 145 in recent weeks and I have not been impressed with the machines that I have been on board.
I don't know what model/type it is, but it has a crescent rear window downstairs and it only has one door up front! Its noisy (very noisy) its cramped, its jerky (seat belts wouldn't go amiss), and on one journey the heating wasn't working either! which left me cold and unimpressed with the old bone shaker. So I don't relish the thought of travelling on that route on a regular basis, unless & until something more appealing comes along to my Stop. Like the new GT class maybe?

Maybe it is already making an appearance on Route 145 at certain times?

I don't know what buses you have been travelling on but I find the vt buses to be grand for travelling and manys a time I spent 20-30 minutes standing on them no problem (albeit having to grip something) these buses would be used on the 145 a fair bit.

converting the 145 route to gt class would be a step back as it would cause a reduction in capacity which given the stories of full buses passing packed bus stops on that route is out there this would not be needed.

They generally put the EV or VT class on the 145, neither of which I'd consider to be a bad bus. I quite like the EVs actually.

LXFlyer

The oldest VTs (tri-axles) are only 8 years old, while the EVs are only 4-6 years old - hardly that old.

All of the GTs are now in service on other routes so no the 145 is not getting any.

V_Moth

I got a GT from Bray to Cornelscourt yesterday - much nicer than the older models. One thing I don't understand is the lack of a little gate by the driver to stop people getting off at the front.

V_Moth

V_Moth wrote: »

I got a GT from Bray to Cornelscourt yesterday - much nicer than the older models. One thing I don't understand is the lack of a little gate by the driver to stop people getting off at the front.

That would be fine if the drivers actually did what they were told. Most don't.

thomasj

Karsini wrote: »

That would be fine if the drivers actually did what they were told. Most don't.

+1 add to that that people still have to board at front, having a gate there would be a serious obstacle if a considerable number are boarding at a stop

V_Moth

thomasj wrote: »

+1 add to that that people still have to board at front, having a gate there would be a serious obstacle if a considerable number are boarding at a stop

Eh? What I meant was something like this - a simple one way gate. Passengers enter at front of bus and exit through central sliding doors. It works fine in most other European countries.

markpb

V_Moth wrote: »

Eh? What I meant was something like this - a simple one way gate. Passengers enter at front of bus and exit through central sliding doors. It works fine in most other European countries.

Stick around here and you'll quickly find out that, when it comes to public transport, things that are considered routine everywhere else are incomprehensibly impossible here in Ireland.

the groutch

V_Moth wrote: »

Eh? What I meant was something like this - a simple one way gate. Passengers enter at front of bus and exit through central sliding doors. It works fine in most other European countries.

what about wheelchair users? there's only a ramp for them at the front door

LordSutch

Was on the 145 again today, it was an ENVIRO 400, and I might have been a bit harsh in the 1st post )

I guess they are functional, and they do exactly what they say on the tin. I went upstairs this morning to get away
from the engine noise, the heater was off (again), but I got to work ok 'and on time' so I shouldn't complain too much . . .

I get the car back from the garage tomorrow, so no more 145 for me, for the time being anyway!

dfx-

LordSutch wrote: »

I have done three early morning jaunts on the 145 in recent weeks and I have not been impressed with the machines that I have been on board.
I don't know what model/type it is, but it has a crescent rear window downstairs and it only has one door up front! Its noisy (very noisy) its cramped, its jerky (seat belts wouldn't go amiss), and on one journey the heating wasn't working either! which left me cold and unimpressed with the old bone shaker. So I don't relish the thought of travelling on that route on a regular basis, unless & until something more appealing comes along to my Stop. Like the new GT class maybe?

That'd be the EV type. They live on the 145 and in Bray generally. I'm a fan of the latter half of the fleet. Half in 2007 and half in 2008...the 2008 lot are a substantial improvement on the older ones. The 145 sees both types..and they can't cope with the loads on the route. They are very jerky. They're also not comfortable downstairs with no cushioning on the seats. The 145 should be siginficantly taken up by VTs.

I'd much rather a VT than a GT..

LordSutch

I should have said 'eye' shaped rear window instead of crescent, but it was an Enviro 400 with Volvo+Alexander Dennis badges too.

davidlacey

I think EV's are rubbish and uncomfortable and have very little place on the 145 other than when they are predominately used which is off-peak and weekends. I have seen a few GTs on the 145 route but so far only on at the weekends which makes more sense due to capacity issues

devnull

GT's are a huge leap forward for passenger comfort, it's a shame that it took Dublin Bus so long to order something to a decent interior specification, as before then apart from low floor access there has been little change to Dublin Bus interiors since the early 90's.

Don't like the EV's they're badly put together, and are plagued by awful rattling around the destination display on the upper deck, a problem which plagued ALX400's which the EV is basically a newer version of to a degree as well, You'd think they'd have learnt now to resolve that but obviously not. The Gemini's are much better bolted down. I do agree that the 2008 EV's are better, but they're still not great and have a very poor heating system.

dfx-

I really haven't taken to the GTs. I think with the individual seating, they're a disimprovement on the VGs, which I wasn't the biggest fan of in the first place.

The EVs are fine, but they're not for arterial routes like the 145. They're fine for the likes of the 31, 32, 68, 69, 65/B, 84, 123, 184, 185 and the odd one appearing on the 140/83/130/4/25s, the 46A at weekends or even rarer - euro duties to Blanchardstown.

The thought of them being always on the 16, 39A/37, 7 etc...:eek:

dfx-

dfx- wrote: »

the 2008 lot are a substantial improvement on the older ones.

I've never noticed much of a difference myself, except that there's a partition between the wheelchair space and the first seat on the 08s, as well as a different outer LED screen on the side. I'm not disagreeing, just genuinely didn't notice anything else.

starviewadams

Not a fan of the seating on the GT's,I'm only 6'3,but my legs are completely cramped into the seat in front of me when I sit upstairs, and my knees take a battering whenever the bus goes over a ramp or is on a bumpy road.

dfx-

I was on GT22 tonight on the 25A, first experience of a talking bus. Not a fan.

Karsini wrote: »

I've never noticed much of a difference myself, except that there's a partition between the wheelchair space and the first seat on the 08s, as well as a different outer LED screen on the side. I'm not disagreeing, just genuinely didn't notice anything else.

You can tell too if one is approaching from the handlebar at the front upstairs. It is visible on the 08s. They seem more powerful or smooth/less jerky, able to put the power down..

Conway635

dfx- wrote: »

I was on GT22 tonight on the 25A, first experience of a talking bus. Not a fan.
.

Interestingly, wheras I have never minded the next stop audio in London, I find it intrusive in Dublin.

I think it is because we include so many more words in our version.

For example, a London bus might say:

"Ballsbridge"

The Dublin one would say:

"Next stop - Ballsbridge. An gach stop eile: Droichid Na Dothera"

So just the fact that we include the "next stop" phrase adds six extra words to what might only be a one word location.

Cutting that out in the example above would reduce it from 10 words to 4.

C635

dfx-

You can also add in the tourist information bits as well. As it arrived into the city at Nassau Street, the stop messages included a bit about the NI tourist office or some such as well as the stop information.

And squeezed between that was the smoking message..

LXFlyer

That's the name of the Bus Stop - Nothing to do with tourist info - It's just opposite the NI Tourist Office - that's how they named the stop.