Dublin Bus experience thread

IrishLad90

At some stage we all end up on Dublin Bus and have a memorable experience.
I get the bus regularly and have quiet a few stories I could tell. But whether its your first time and your taking in the sites or if you work 5 days a week and hate the public I wanna hear your experience. GOOD,bad and the ugly.
(this is not a thread to slag off dublin bus)

foggy_lad

I was on a 145 a while ago and two tourists got on and presented a fiver to the driver who tried to explain the whole no notes concept but then just told then to fold it in half and stick it in the slot. They got their two tickets and the change ticket and went to sit upstairs very happy with the whole experience. Nice to see people are still able to think on their feet like that despite the rules forbidding it. (would it take much to add the ability to take €5 & €10 notes into the cashbox?)

Cookie_Monster

On a 45a once that had a seat cushion blocking the upstairs because someone had taken a **** up there.
Had to go rescue the girlfriend from one (45a) as well as 4 lads upstairs decided to start fighting a but a bench through a window.
That last 45a from DL was always a bit of an adventure.

Also made the mistake of getting the 86 home from Earlsfort terrace one day, biggest waste of 2 hours ever.

Aard

foggy_lad wrote: »

I was on a 145.....

I find the 145 drivers a very cheerful bunch myself. Always very friendly and helpful. Maybe it's the numbers of tourists they deal with at Heuston.

HansHolzel

From the complaint letter archives (late 1999):

Since last July I have had to use the 19/19A service on a daily basis and in general the impression I have formed it is that it is an utter disgrace. What prompts me to write this letter, however, is analogous to the straw that broke the camel’s back. This morning I was the last passenger on a single-decker 19A that turned on to Cedarwood Road. The driver stopped the bus and disembarked, saying he’d be back in a couple of minutes. Given that the terminus for the 19A is McKee Road, for which I had paid, what really made me lose my temper was the fact that the same driver had pulled the same stunt at the same point a couple of months earlier.

On that occasion he at least said he wanted to go into a shop to get his breakfast so I said it was okay, got off and walked up Sycamore Road. This time, I got off and asked why he wouldn’t do his job – with a few expletives added, admittedly – and he then gave the excuse that he wanted to go to the toilet. Colleagues of mine who use the same route have had similar experiences with this individual and he embodies the nadir of our dissatisfaction with the quality of this service.

Employees like him and another individual who happens to live on Sycamore Road and who has been witnessed taking breaks in his own house during shifts only add to the common impression that many of your drivers treat the public with contempt. Even a fellow driver parked on McKee Road confessed that the last chap indicated was taking the piss.

Banjoxed

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

On a 45a once that had a seat cushion blocking the upstairs because someone had taken a **** up there.
Had to go rescue the girlfriend from one (45a) as well as 4 lads upstairs decided to start fighting a but a bench through a window.
That last 45a from DL was always a bit of an adventure.

Also made the mistake of getting the 86 home from Earlsfort terrace one day, biggest waste of 2 hours ever.

Re the 86 I always reckoned it replaced the Harcourt Street line as a way of pushing the Protestant Solicitors of Carrickmines (Tod Andrew's phrase) into car dealerships belonging to his mates

Cookie_Monster

one a more positive note I got the 145 home from Nassau St on it's first day in service. 22 minutes from there to the Kilbogget park stop in Cabinteely, noone flagged it at stops, was great

the groutch

used to love getting the 746, people were always dumb enough to wait for a 46a instead of getting on it, so it flew into town in about half the time

foggy_lad

If going from O'Connell St to Sandyford or Stillorgan I get the 11 as it is usually faster than the Luas after you walk to St Stephen's Green.

AlekSmart

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

On a 45a once that had a seat cushion blocking the upstairs because someone had taken a **** up there.
Had to go rescue the girlfriend from one (45a) as well as 4 lads upstairs decided to start fighting a but a bench through a window.
That last 45a from DL was always a bit of an adventure.

Also made the mistake of getting the 86 home from Earlsfort terrace one day, biggest waste of 2 hours ever.

Incredibly enough,the phantom crapper has returned with a vengeance it seems,in recent weeks !....thankfully CCTV is now available to identify these deranged folks with,hopefully,a LIFETIME Ban from Public Transport of all types put in place.:mad:

IrishLad90

my most memorable experience was this lad shouted
"I was going too kill myself"
the wholebus was shocked
then a brave lady said " Its not worth it dont"
then he turned around and said "i decided suicide was a bit depressing|"
shocked faces all around!!!!!!
"Im goinng to take a few F$£kers with me"
SILENCE

LoonyLovegood

I left my purse on a Bus Eireann bus coming back from Drogheda, and had 20 minutes to get from the Quays to Wilton Terrace so I could get it back, or I was going to be stranded in Dublin for the night. 39A at the stop, ran up, explained to the driver what had happened. He got me on the bus, messaged the 37 driver that was down at the terminus to try make sure the bus didn't leave, and dropped me at the stop at the end of Wilton Terrace, Got my purse back, complete with money and bus ticket to Galway.

Absolute gent of a driver, I only hope I see him again to thank him.

Vahevala

foggy_lad wrote: »

If going from O'Connell St to Sandyford or Stillorgan I get the 11 as it is usually faster than the Luas after you walk to St Stephen's Green.

Try that at peak time and you won't get the same time. I got it a few times and took well over an hour, closer to an hour and half...:eek: I will stick with the Luas!

AlekSmart

Vahevala wrote: »

Try that at peak time and you won't get the same time. I got it a few times and took well over an hour, closer to an hour and half...:eek: I will stick with the Luas!

Only one issue here....The M50

Huge volume of single occupancy vehicles headed M50wards every evenin along the Clonskeagh/Goatstown Roads.....NO attempt ever made by the relevant Authorities to make full use of available roadspace to either facilitate the Private Motorist (Making greater use of twin-lane stretches as opposed to swathes of scutch-grass) OR prioritizing Public Transport (Install Bus-Lane stretches where space allows (several such locations along this stretch).

OH..and BTW,the entire process is repeated in the opposite direction EVERY morning too,for those who missed the previous evenings episode...!

However it appears to be the policy of every relevant Authority, Local and National,to look at the rapidly worsening issues (Readily apparent every year at UCD Term Commencement) give a collective HMMMmmmmmmm :cool: and then Do NOTHING :eek:

It's safer that way,y'know...If ya want stuff done,Vote for a German

foggy_lad

Vahevala wrote: »

Try that at peak time and you won't get the same time. I got it a few times and took well over an hour, closer to an hour and half...:eek: I will stick with the Luas!

Left o connell st at about 5.30 the few times I used it so not too bad. Maybe it just has its bad days like most things?

Vahevala

foggy_lad wrote: »

Left o connell st at about 5.30 the few times I used it so not too bad. Maybe it just has its bad days like most things?

You might want to try going in the opposite direction at that time and see how you get on...

foggy_lad

Vahevala wrote: »

You might want to try going in the opposite direction at that time and see how you get on...

I would have thought most people would have been travelling out from the city centre towards the suburbs in the evening rush hour? Buses are usually the new double door models too and most drivers use the centre doors which is great.

TheBandicoot

I kind of wish they could treat a day like today as a weekday for bus lane purposes, quays are jammed right now.

Max Keller

Was upstairs on a 38A bus once and I'm nearly sure someone was heating up chicken wings etc at the back of the bus

HansHolzel

Once I got on a single-decker outside the hospital in Beaumont. The only other passengers were a couple of girls of student age and a Dub in his forties. The driver was evidently in a hurry because we were then flung from side to side, careering around corners etc., before he screeched to a halt behind another single-decker, parked in Ballybough.

He got out of his cabin and told us to follow him onto the one in front.

The Dub in his forties was the last to step on.

"Jaysus, Michael Schumacher! Wuz de udder won not faast enough for ya?"

Alun

I've had many experiences like this on the 145 too. Once took one from Bray to Heuston Stn. at about 6pm, and had to go and sit down somewhere quiet in the station for 15mins and have a cup of tea to recover.

Also some drivers seem to be better than others regarding the smoothness of their driving. It's not the bus itself, as I've experienced terrible journeys with one driver, and then as soon as another driver takes over at a changeover, the difference is like night and day.

hfallada

I love how when I was running for the bus and needed to get it to ensure I wasnt late. The bus drivers waited for me at the stop or opened the doors when I was running so I could jump in.

What I hate about DB is the smart attitude of some of the drivers. Like asking them a question with a I dont a give a **** response. Also how they like to run one bus after another so they dont have to stop as much

dfx-

Thread isn't so much about operational issues I think...

One of the more recent funny sightings I've seen was AV351 and shortly followed by VT21 on Parkgate Street both full of uniformed Gardai presumably being ferried to some event in the Phoenix Park.:pac:

LXFlyer

dfx- wrote: »

Thread isn't so much about operational issues I think...

One of the more recent funny sightings I've seen was AV351 and shortly followed by VT21 on Parkgate Street both full of uniformed Gardai presumably being ferried to some event in the Phoenix Park.:pac:

True - just explaining why certain things happen!

SimonQuinlank

Was on a 69 a few years ago,the drivers button to open the door was apparently broken so we were asked to use the button over the windscreen ourselves when getting off and the driver had to get up and press it himself at a stop with passengers waiting to board and nobody wanting to get off.

end of the road

Banjoxed wrote: »

Re the 86 I always reckoned it replaced the Harcourt Street line as a way of pushing the Protestant Solicitors of Carrickmines (Tod Andrew's phrase) into car dealerships belonging to his mates

oh i'd go further and say that mans mission in life was to get as many deals for his little friends as possible, or in relation to selling off of railway lands by him and others who have been let loose on them, i've no doubt some votes for whatever government in charge at the time were used as a barganing tool

Fratton Fred

the groutch wrote: »

used to love getting the 746, people were always dumb enough to wait for a 46a instead of getting on it, so it flew into town in about half the time

Was the 746 The Dun Laoghaire to Dublin airport bus?

It always made me laugh that it took one and a half hours, whereas the express bus (746x?) would whisk you there in a mere 90 minutes!

Doh!

devnull

Being the day it is, and the fact I can't get a lift today, I took the bus this morning for pretty much only the second time this year apart from airport runs and nitelinks.

My experience was that the first bus did not turn up at the terminus, and the second one was very full after the first three stops Every stop we went past had 20-30 people all trrying to get on the bus in the section of the route that is shared with other routes.

One of the passengers said to me they had been waiting almost 25 minutes for a bus that has two high frequecy routes going through it and one route every 15 minutes and by the crowds at many stops, there' hadn't been a bus in a while.

Of course this was a bus with one door, and at every busy stop we were stopped at for 2-3 minutes at least. The last 30 minutes of the journey, consisted of almost 15 minutes of dwell time, 5 minutes of traffic and 10 minutes of actual driving. I'd say overall at the minimum 20 minutes of the 70 minute journey time were down to dwell time alone/

Then I changed bus in the city center, and had to wait over 20 minutes to get my connecting "High Frequency Cross City Bus" since the one I just missed, went past full.

Back to the car tomorrow, there was a noticeable lack of buses on O'Connell Street around 8.30 - 8.40 clearly timetables were not being run as full or there was some serious gridlock somewhere.

TheBandicoot

What day is it today?

Banjoxed

TheBandicoot wrote: »

What day is it today?

Pissing Rain Day? At least it was earlier. Years ago there was a good billboard for DART with the slogan "Recipe for Traffic Jam: add rain and allow to set"

LuckyLloyd

the groutch wrote: »

used to love getting the 746, people were always dumb enough to wait for a 46a instead of getting on it, so it flew into town in about half the time

Loved this bus when I was in UCD. The vast majority waiting for a 46a would never twig that it would get them where they needed to go.

You see the same things in the mornings these days when people who get the 46a to Westmoreland St or so won't get on a 145 or 47 eventhough it will get them to a stop in and around where they're going with a negligible difference in time.

Davidth88

had a couple of great experiences that shows DB bus drivers are 'good eggs'

I was waiting for a bus on a route where there was only one every 40 mins or so , bus approaches around the time one was due , I hold out my hand , then see the bus is out of service so put it down .
Next thing I know the bus stops , the driver says ' hop in '

Wouldn't take a fare and got me to sit directly behind him so I was basically out of sight , I got a free ride in a yellow and blue taxi into town !


Another time , get to the the stop , bus was just pulling up , I get on , realise I have very little change ,went to get off , driver says ' stick what you have in there ( it was about 40p ... pre Euro ) and he issued tkt ..... nice one !!

TBH always found DB services pretty good.

SimonQuinlank

Was great back before the country was broke and there was weeknight Nitelink's.I'd often be the only person on the old 51N,so the driver would ask where I was going and would go the quickest way there and drop me outside my house.

€4.50 (as it was back then I think) for your own massive taxi!

jimmycrackcorm

A few years ago I got an Xmas nitelink home as it goes right outside my house. Getting off and feeling very xmassy generous I decided to offer the driver a €5 tip. He refused, saying, they dont accept tips.

I stuffed it in his collector anyway.

spurious

Credit where credit is due.

Young lad in the school I work in left his bus ticket and a fiver on the 38b bus this morning. Very upset, not helped by almost everyone he told saying things like 'Sure that will be long gone!'.

I didn't really hold out much hope myself (whatever about the ticket I thought someone would have swiped the fiver) but I rang a Dublin Bus garage, who put me in touch with control, who contacted the driver, who found the kid's wallet, complete with ticket and fiver. Driver contacted control and control contacted me.

Cue one delighted little man going up to Phibsboro garage this afternoon to collect his wallet. Hopefully a lesson learned by him.

All Dublin Bus staff I encountered were extremely courteous and helpful.

VG31

I was on the 145 a few months ago and there was a woman with an American accent. She was standing slightly over halfway up the stairs with her head poking around the corner at the top. I not to sure what she was saying but it was complete rubbish. When people tried to get past her going down the stairs, she shoved them into the side of the stairs! (I didn't happen to me as she was gone before I got off).