Can you get the Nitelink back into town?

ProudDUB

Hey, does anyone know if you can do the Nitelink backwards, and take it back into town, after it has done it run to its suburban destination? Is that allowed?

On Friday night, I'll be at a party out in Blanchardstown. I need to be in town for another one at around 2am. As things stand now, I'd have to leave Blanch at around 11pm, to get the last scheduled #39 bus back into town. I really don't want to have to leave the partay in Blanch that early, or arrive in town that early.

It would be dead handy to be able to jump on the 1am Nitelink to Blanch, AFTER it arrives at the stop in Blanch & get it back into town. But I dunno, would the driver allow that? Are they one way services only? Ta.

pclive

No you cant

_Kaiser_

Not an option unfortunately. Even in this day and age :rolleyes:

Was watching that show on BBC 2 last night about London Transport and it happened to be about the Night Buses this week. Just shows how backwards we still are in this country that the powers that be haven't caught on that there are a lot of people working shifts, out and about, or otherwise awake that might want to avail of the bus.

No doubt the argument is that it's not cost-effective but is that down to the costs of running the bus, or the costs of paying the driver? If it's the latter, simply hire new drivers on different contracts. Plenty of people out of work that would jump at the chance of a steady wage I'd bet.

I'd say the demand is/would be there anyway.

ProudDUB

Yeah, the Blanch/Castleknock/Consilla area has a huge, huge population. I am having a hard time believing that there aren't a lot of people out there, who would go for a few drinks in their local pub, or go for a meal in their local restaurants, and would also love to go for a bob in town afterwards. But they can't or won't, as the last bus into town left an hour ago, and they can't or won't fork out 30 quid for a taxi.

It's one thing saying that the demand isn't there, but have they ever even tried? Make the Nitelinks two way buses, or put on additional 39's that run a couple of hours later. Do it in the summer, when weather is milder and young people in particular are off from work/school/college. Then market and publicize the crap out of it, so people know about it. Then if you come back and say the demand isn't there and the number don't add up, fair enough. But to say that there is no market for a service that hasn't even been tried is a bit daft imo.

It's also a wee bit silly to put all the time, effort and money into getting people home from town in the wee hours of the morning, and to not put as much effort into seeing how you can make more money from getting them into town in the first place. It doesn't suit everyone to head into town between 8-11pm.

Oh well, who are we to question the powers that be that run Dublins Buses? We are only the people who ride on the shaggin' things ! :rolleyes:

AlekSmart

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

Not an option unfortunately. Even in this day and age :rolleyes:

No doubt the argument is that it's not cost-effective but is that down to the costs of running the bus, or the costs of paying the driver? If it's the latter, simply hire new drivers on different contracts. Plenty of people out of work that would jump at the chance of a steady wage I'd bet.

I'd say the demand is/would be there anyway.

That arguement has not been the case for some years,as Nitelink services are in the main now operated by a specific grade of specific Late Shift drivers.

I totally agree with the point,and am quite angry that neither Trade Unions nor Management appear interested in expanding out of this recession,instead preferring to stay immersed in the Fleet and Service Cutback mode.

The human and material resources are all in place,however the understanding of what the Bus Service should be about has still to be gleaned from the likes of BBC2.....:(

dowlingm

The time to have expanded night service in Dublin was during the boom when it could have dealt with the load the taxi industry were claiming the existing stock of licences couldn't meet. Now any move to create a coherent night service would be opposed by the taxi lobby on the grounds that it would push their members closer to the financial edge.

ProudDUB

dowlingm wrote: »

The time to have expanded night service in Dublin was during the boom when it could have dealt with the load the taxi industry were claiming the existing stock of licences couldn't meet. Now any move to create a coherent night service would be opposed by the taxi lobby on the grounds that it would push their members closer to the financial edge.

I disagree. If there is a demand for late night bus service into the city centre, than Dublin Bus should be allowed to get on with providing it, without having to worry about how it will impact other transport sectors. You don't see Aer Lingus or Ryanair being told that they can not add more flights to the Dublin-London route, as it will have a negative impact on Irish Ferries or Bus Eireann's coach/boat service to London do you?

All transport entities should be willing and able to adapt to changes in the economy, customers needs and shifts in the business in general, no? If the taxi industry needs to get its own house in order, and reign in the number of plates it doled out in the boom times, than it should do so. The ordinary people of Dublin who just want to be able to get from A to B without it costing an arm and a leg, shouldn't be held to ransom in the middle imo.

Lifelike

If DB have no will to operate (or even trial) a bus service on weekday nights, then at least they should 'normalise' the Nitelink at weekends by running a bidirectional service, allowing pick-up and set-down at every stop, and accepting the usual rambler and T90 tickets, using a flat fare of 2.80 cash/2.45 leap. Let people know of the changes through a PR campaign on buses and bus shelters, and maybe DB would then start to appreciate the custom that they lose due to the crazy set-up they have in place with the Nitelink. The 'Nitelink' name should also be phased out, as I don't think it has such a good reputation at this stage.

n97 mini

While I generally have zero time for lobby groups that look out for their own interests ahead of citizens' interests, the taxi industry's is completely ineffective.

Losty Dublin

Lifelike wrote: »

If DB have no will to operate (or even trial) a bus service on weekday nights, then at least they should 'normalise' the Nitelink at weekends by running a bidirectional service, allowing pick-up and set-down at every stop, and accepting the usual rambler and T90 tickets, using a flat fare of 2.80 cash/2.45 leap. Let people know of the changes through a PR campaign on buses and bus shelters, and maybe DB would then start to appreciate the custom that they lose due to the crazy set-up they have in place with the Nitelink. The 'Nitelink' name should also be phased out, as I don't think it has such a good reputation at this stage.

Nitelink ran mid week for years but it was pulled a few years ago through a lack of patronage; understandable given the limited service it offered and the slump in patrons in town to use it. A later normal service would be welcome and Dublin Bus staff and unions agreed to it yonks ago. The Humphries in Kildare Street are the ones holding it up for reasons unknown.

Lifelike

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Nitelink ran mid week for years but it was pulled a few years ago through a lack of patronage; understandable given the limited service it offered and the slump in patrons in town to use it. A later normal service would be welcome and Dublin Bus staff and unions agreed to it yonks ago. The Humphries in Kildare Street are the ones holding it up for reasons unknown.

The midweek Nitelinks in the past were a disaster. They only operated at 0030 and 0200, 2am is too early for anyone going to a nightclub and few people are going to pay extra for a Nitelink at half 12 when the last normal bus is an hour earlier. It was no substitute for a proper night bus service, like that seen in London and most other large cities across Europe.

Considering Ireland's reputation for its' drinking and socialising, it would be foolish to suggest that there is absolutely no demand for any public transport past 11:30pm in our capital city, but seeing as nothing has been done about it up to now I can't see any progress happening on the matter in the foreseeable future :mad:

dowlingm

ProudDUB wrote: »

You don't see Aer Lingus or Ryanair being told that they can not add more flights to the Dublin-London route, as it will have a negative impact on Irish Ferries or Bus Eireann's coach/boat service to London do you?

I wonder if we went back through Ministerial files around the time the EU was deregulating air route licences what submissions we might find.

LXFlyer

Lifelike wrote: »

The midweek Nitelinks in the past were a disaster. They only operated at 0030 and 0200, 2am is too early for anyone going to a nightclub and few people are going to pay extra for a Nitelink at half 12 when the last normal bus is an hour earlier. It was no substitute for a proper night bus service, like that seen in London and most other large cities across Europe.

Considering Ireland's reputation for its' drinking and socialising, it would be foolish to suggest that there is absolutely no demand for any public transport past 11:30pm in our capital city, but seeing as nothing has been done about it up to now I can't see any progress happening on the matter in the foreseeable future :mad:

I think the line that I've highlighted may drop some hint as to why (in my opinion) there is a general reluctance to provide such a service.

Unfortunately this country has a drink problem (and there is no getting away from that), and I suspect that the powers that be are not too keen on doing anything that may encourage it further, such as cheap public transport at night.

Any operator can apply to do it but no one has. All the private operators that provided the original service have (bar one) vanished.

Losty Dublin

Lifelike wrote: »

The midweek Nitelinks in the past were a disaster. They only operated at 0030 and 0200, 2am is too early for anyone going to a nightclub and few people are going to pay extra for a Nitelink at half 12 when the last normal bus is an hour earlier. It was no substitute for a proper night bus service, like that seen in London and most other large cities across Europe.

The 00:30 was at a perfect time for people in city centre bars and it had no takers. Agreed about 02:00 being a poor time for clubbers but as it is the current Nitelink isn't overstretched by any means; indeed it stripped down routes a while back. As this rate perhaps it may mean the end of late buses if people are choosing to not use them as is.

Lifelike

Losty Dublin wrote: »

The 00:30 was at a perfect time for people in city centre bars and it had no takers. Agreed about 02:00 being a poor time for clubbers but as it is the current Nitelink isn't overstretched by any means; indeed it stripped down routes a while back. As this rate perhaps it may mean the end of late buses if people are choosing to not use them as is.

I agree that 00:30 is a good time for people in bars, but the problem is there's no point in paying an extra fiver on top of your rambler ticket when you can get a normal bus home an hour earlier. Because of this, I have never gotten a Nitelink at 00:00 or 00:30. However, if there was a regular bus at this hour, I would certainly use it.

Basically, my point here is DB should trial a normal night bus service, like other similarly-sized cities in Europe. If it doesn't work out then so be it, but it should be tried, it would make life a lot easier not only for people who want to socialise but also for people who work late shifts, have early morning /late night flights etc.

ProudDUB

Lifelike wrote: »

The 'Nitelink' name should also be phased out, as I don't think it has such a good reputation at this stage.

True 'dat. I don't know why they can't call it the Vomit Comet, just like everyone else. :P

Lifelike wrote: »

Considering Ireland's reputation for its' drinking and socialising, it would be foolish to suggest that there is absolutely no demand for any public transport past 11:30pm in our capital city, but seeing as nothing has been done about it up to now I can't see any progress happening on the matter in the foreseeable future

It really is nuts. And seeing as Dublin Bus are always going on about how broke they are are, you'd think that ferrying people to and from massively huge population centres such as Blanch/Clonsilla/Castleknock, could be a massive revenue generating stream for them. I mean, it's not like they are being asked to lay on buses to take a small handful of aul fellas to and from the pub, in sparsely populated parts of rural Kerry !

We are talking about a part of Dublin that probably has a bigger population than several mid lands towns combined. Add in the fact that that a lot of the transport competition that Dublin Bus face during the day (people taking their cars, or getting lifts from others, Dart's, Luas trams, private bus companies, or people walking etc etc) does not exist late at night. This could be a license to print money for them, if ran & marketed properly.

lxflyer wrote: »

Unfortunately this country has a drink problem (and there is no getting away from that), and I suspect that the powers that be are not too keen on doing anything that may encourage it further, such as cheap public transport at night.

Dublin Bus are already willing to take people home at 3am, when they are out of their heads with the demon drink. So I don't think they are all that bothered about playing Mother Superior over our drinking culture & nor should they have to imo.

LXFlyer

It wasn't Dublin Bus I was referring to - more like an unwritten government policy.

the_syco

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

Plenty of people out of work that would jump at the chance of a steady wage I'd bet.

One of the main problems with that is, you guessed it, the unions.

Anyhoos, most nitelinks have had their numbers cut.

patrickbrophy18

Unfortunately, Dublin doesn't have a 24 hour public transport system which leaves club goers with minimum flexibility when it comes to getting home or going out on the cheap. For those working night shifts, this is extremely inconvenient and pricey. I'm not too sure if this is a move to make it less attractive to go out or pump demand into the taxi service. Either-way, the prospect of forking out the guts of €30 for a 6 mile journey is nothing short of extortionate. Let's not forget that many taxi drivers deliberately take a longer route to up the price which is essentially stealing.

To answer the OP's question, the Nitelink is a one way journey which travels outbound. Depending on the length and route of the journey, there may be two or three outbound pickup points at key suburban destinations. Generally, these are high profile locations such as hotels, shopping malls, airports or ferry terminals. While I strongly suspect that there is demand for an inbound Nitelink journey, my hunches tell me that this demand is being crippled on purpose so that some of the drivers can finish their shift to get home.

Losty Dublin

the_syco wrote: »

One of the main problems with that is, you guessed it, the unions.

How is it the fault of the unions?

AlekSmart

the_syco wrote: »

One of the main problems with that is, you guessed it, the unions.

Anyhoos, most nitelinks have had their numbers cut.

How so..?

The Unions already agreed to the new Late Rosters some years back,which have been operating smoothly.
The same Unions have co-operated fully with the virtual removal of Overtime Operation on Nitelink,which now operates on a flat-time basis.

In fact I would suggest that if anything,what pressure there is for an expanded Night-Time service,is coming from a few Union activists,as it does not appear to be on anybody else's agenda....(Except perhaps a few prospective customers )

ProudDUB

patrickbrophy18 wrote: »

While I strongly suspect that there is demand for an inbound Nitelink journey, my hunches tell me that this demand is being crippled on purpose so that some of the drivers can finish their shift to get home.

Considering how broke Dublin Bus seem to be, I really, really hope that they are not sending out 4 different drivers in 4 different buses to service one Nitelink route. If each driver goes back to the depot after he has done his run & another one takes over, that seems like a crazy & very wasteful way to run things.

The Maverick

ProudDUB wrote: »

Considering how broke Dublin Bus seem to be, I really, really hope that they are not sending out 4 different drivers in 4 different buses to service one Nitelink route. If each driver goes back to the depot after he has done his run & another one takes over, that seems like a crazy & very wasteful way to run things.

I always thought it was the same driver who operated an entire Nitelink route on a night. I would have thought this is one of the reasons the bus doesn't pick up on it's inbound run. There mightn't be enough time to make the next departure if the bus had to follow the exact same route inbound and outbound.

Dravokivich

The Maverick wrote: »

I always thought it was the same driver who operated an entire Nitelink route on a night. I would have thought this is one of the reasons the bus doesn't pick up on it's inbound run. There mightn't be enough time to make the next departure if the bus had to follow the exact same route inbound and outbound.

I doubt it. There'd be very little time for'em to get back for the next departure. on a lot of the long routes.

Anyhow OP, if you are suggesting the outbound service does pickups when returning from Blanch, you won't be back in town in any rush. If it's gonna go both ways, it'll need a bus running in each direction, otherwise you won't have people getting into town until the clubs are winding up.

The Maverick

Dravokivich wrote: »

I doubt it. There'd be very little time for'em to get back for the next departure. on a lot of the long routes.

Anyhow OP, if you are suggesting the outbound service does pickups when returning from Blanch, you won't be back in town in any rush. If it's gonna go both ways, it'll need a bus running in each direction, otherwise you won't have people getting into town until the clubs are winding up.

True, though I have noticed the few times I've got the Nitelink lately the bus is arriving very close to its time of departure. They used to be idling at the stop about 20 minutes beforehand. Of course, this could just be that the bus is parked up somewhere else before hand and not that its only coming back from a trip.

ProudDUB

I agree that if the drivers are to pick up passengers on the way back into town, having one driver may not be enough on some routes. Some of them would need more than an hour to make it back into town. However, the Nitelink that I get most often is from town to Howth. I get off in Sutton, at around 20-25 mins past the hour. That gives the driver approx 30 mins to get back into town from Howth. That is not a tall order given the lack of traffic at 2am.

If the same driver had to be in town to do the next run, I can't see how picking up passengers at the Howth terminus, Sutton Cross and Raheny village would add hugely to the over all trip time. I realize that some Nitelink routes may be longer than that, so you'd need a second driver to cover the 2am run if the 1am driver wasn't back yet. But overall, I think that it could be doable with a bit of thought and forward planning. Saying that the driver can not stop to pick up passengers, as he has to be back in town for his next run, is a daft policy when there are people wanting to give Dublin Bus money to do just that.

AlekSmart

Just to underline the attitudinal issues .....have a look at the latest NightBus enhancements from Lothian Buses...

http://lothianbuses.com/our-community/article/changes-to-nightbus-services-from-morning-of-1-july-2013

http://lothianbuses.com/our-community/article/we-are-making-bus-travel-easier

Simple stuff,but with very significant attractions for those who might just drift to the Taxi's after a few pints....

Edinburgh is not London,but in a real sense has many similarities with.....Dublin.

Lothian Buses is a publicly owned company,but such is the difference in attitude,it may as well be owned and operated by Martians.....:eek:

bk

DB should really really trial a standard 24 hour bus service on the 16 route, perhaps with it also heading out to Swords.

"Standard" as in picks up and drops off passengers in both directions and you can use standard tickets on it (maybe with an extra €1 fare if necessary).

The 16 would be the prefect route to try this on for very obvious reasons.