Barna commute

aistag

Hi I am new here
I need some advice about travelling to barna from galway city centre, I am starting a job out there next week and dont drive..!:( so buses/taxis for now!
I will need to be out there at 9 am and just wondering does anyone know how long it would take at that time?lots of info around for barna-city in mornings but not the opposite direction!! There is an 8.20 bus from town but i am worried about getting caught in town in traffic,
Any advice appreciated!
Thanks

wotausername

http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1277300272-424.pdf

you should make it out to barna in about 20 mins!

ArraMusha

The bike is the only job there. 10mins barna to city centre..via kingston road.
In rush hour traffic it can take 40-50mins(east side of city centre to barna) depending on route....ie a living nighmare. Good luck with new job

McTigs

ArraMusha wrote: »

The bike is the only job there. 10mins barna to city centre..via kingston road.
In rush hour traffic it can take 40-50mins(east side of city centre to barna) depending on route....ie a living nighmare. Good luck with new job

i agree with this but it's more like a 20-25 minute easy pace cycle.

Still an infinitely better option than driving or relying on buses.

Ludikrus

The Barna road seems a fairly dangerous road for cycling to me. I wouldn't fancy cycling it twice a day.

McTigs

Ludikrus wrote: »

The Barna road seems a fairly dangerous road for cycling to me. I wouldn't fancy cycling it twice a day.

Do you cycle yourself?

anamara86

Ludikrus wrote: »

The Barna road seems a fairly dangerous road for cycling to me. I wouldn't fancy cycling it twice a day.

Have to agree - roads are so narrow on the Barna road with lots of bends, really not the best during rush hour traffic!

McTigs

anamara86 wrote: »

Have to agree - roads are so narrow on the Barna road with lots of bends, really not the best during rush hour traffic!

and do you cycle yourself?

galah

ArraMusha wrote: »

The bike is the only job there. 10mins barna to city centre..via kingston road.
In rush hour traffic it can take 40-50mins(east side of city centre to barna) depending on route....ie a living nighmare. Good luck with new job

but the rush hour always goes INTO Galway from Barna, not out of Galway TO Barna. Never seen any issues in that direction - not sure which way the bus goes though, it may get stuck in Taylor's Hill maybe?

Other than that it should only be 20 minutes max from town.

Ludikrus

McTigs wrote: »

Do you cycle yourself?

I had a Raleigh Burner. And a Grifter after that.

pleasant Co.

Ludikrus wrote: »

The Barna road seems a fairly dangerous road for cycling to me. I wouldn't fancy cycling it twice a day.

Ah no, I pass cyclists all the time on that road. I have seen stupid people do stupid dangerous things on the road though (motorists, cyclists, pedestrians ->all groups have their numpties)

anamara86

McTigs wrote: »

and do you cycle yourself?

I've cycled that road a few times before - why?

McTigs

Ludikrus wrote: »

I had a Raleigh Burner. And a Grifter after that.

That would be no then.

I have cycled that stretch of road thousands of times (literally, i grew up in barna and went to secondary in town) and i still cycle it regularly now recreationally. It's not dangerous.

The bends anamara86 mentioned actually make it somewhat safer, you just have to know how to cycle confidently and competently. I'm not having a go but it always seems to be people who haven't been up on a bike in years are the first to claim it's dangerous, anybody who cycles regularly will tell you it's not.

Snap on the Grifter btw, they were a class bike.

Ludikrus

McTigs wrote: »

That would be no then.

I have cycled that stretch of road thousands of times (literally, i grew up in barna and went to secondary in town) and i still cycle it regularly now recreationally. It's not dangerous.

The bends anamara86 mentioned actually make it somewhat safer, you just have to know how to cycle confidently and competently. I'm not having a go but it always seems to be people who haven't been up on a bike in years are the first to claim it's dangerous, anybody who cycles regularly will tell you it's not.

Snap on the Grifter btw, they were a class bike.

Fair enough but the OP might not have been up on a bike in years either, and probably never cycled on the Barna road before. There have been a lot of accidents on that road. I think it is a fairly dangerous road. I drive it a lot and see motorists do stupid things to overtake cyclists all the time.

Gremlinertia

Try asking for a carshare perhaps - noticeboards in dunnes or joyces might help.. I'm sure there's a site for this but can't remember currently

McTigs

Ludikrus wrote: »

Fair enough but the OP might not have been up on a bike in years either, and probably never cycled on the Barna road before. There have been a lot of accidents on that road. I think it is a fairly dangerous road. I drive it a lot and see motorists do stupid things to overtake cyclists all the time.

which is also fair enough. I'd be dragging the thread way off topic if i went into the multitude of reasons but suffice to say i just get riled whenever i hear cycling, especially cycle commuting described as "dangerous".

aistag

galah wrote: »

but the rush hour always goes INTO Galway from Barna, not out of Galway TO Barna. Never seen any issues in that direction - not sure which way the bus goes though, it may get stuck in Taylor's Hill maybe?

Other than that it should only be 20 minutes max from town.

That's what I'm wondering really! Because I'm going towards barna is the traffic really that bad?! As for cycling unfortunately I wouldn't have the confidence on any road to be honest! Something I should look into though. I just hate relying on buses but paying for taxis no fun either! Any one know the name of the car share website?? Ill google now, thanks so much for all replies!!

galwaycyclist

OK I understand where you are coming from with this

McTigs wrote: »

I have cycled that stretch of road thousands of times (literally, i grew up in barna and went to secondary in town) and i still cycle it regularly now recreationally. It's not dangerous.

The bends anamara86 mentioned actually make it somewhat safer, you just have to know how to cycle confidently and competently. I'm not having a go but it always seems to be people who haven't been up on a bike in years are the first to claim it's dangerous, anybody who cycles regularly will tell you it's not.

Snap on the Grifter btw, they were a class bike.

And I also appreciate this - I also have an ingrained knee-jerk reaction to claims that cycling is "dangerous".

McTigs wrote: »

which is also fair enough. I'd be dragging the thread way off topic if i went into the multitude of reasons but suffice to say i just get riled whenever i hear cycling, especially cycle commuting described as "dangerous".

But I also have to acknowledge that, depending on the time of day, the nature of the traffic and the driver behaviour on the coast road/kingston can make it feel quite intimidating for less experienced cyclists.

As someone who is already an assertive cyclist I would find myself being very assertive at times on the Kingston Rd. It is a road I tolerate rather than enjoy.

It is not just an issue for people who might wish to cycle to work in Barna. If, as a community, we want to get more kids cycling to school from Knocknacarra to Salthill/Taylors Hill (Endas, Salerno etc). Then the coast road/Kingston is a very real obstacle.

Iwannahurl

I would have to agree that the Kingston Road and Barna Road are not conducive for cycling. These routes are narrow and drivers often go too fast, in my experience. Dangerous overtaking is common, and I have had one or two instances of that myself. A friend told me she was knocked off her bike twice along the Barna Road, and so she gave up cycling when living out that direction.

A pity really, because it could be a very pleasant cycle commute. One possibility I thought of, OP, is inter-modal commuting, ie bike-bus combo using something like this. There are three bus services from the city centre to the Knocknacarra area, and if you felt able to cycle from there it would be a short hop to Barna.

Cocolola

I didn't want to start a thread so I hope it's ok to ask a quick question here. If I buy a monthly pass from a driver on a 412 bus could it be used for the 411?

biko

Yes. A bus pass is valid for all buses from that company.


Edit http://www.taxsaver.ie/ticket-types/Bus-Eireann-Point-to-Point/Monthly-Galway-City/
Monthly Galway City tickets are valid on all Galway City bus services. Regulations and validity.

Cocolola

biko wrote: »

Yes. A bus pass is valid for all buses from that company.

That's brilliant thanks biko!

Mrs OBumble

biko wrote: »

Yes. A bus pass is valid for all buses from that company.


Edit http://www.taxsaver.ie/ticket-types/Bus-Eireann-Point-to-Point/Monthly-Galway-City/
Monthly Galway City tickets are valid on all Galway City bus services. Regulations and validity.

Edit some more. Your original statement about "all buses from that company" is correct. The monthly tax saver ticket is for Bus Éireann

It appears that City Direct do taxsaver too, but only an annual ticket: http://www.citydirectgalway.ie/uploads/Taxsavertickets.pdf And of course their ticket cannot be used on BÉ.

Just to be totally clear.