Dublin Bus route 47 inbound

coylemj

Yesterday I was attempting to catch the inbound 47 (Belarmine to Fleet St.) which was due to leave the terminus at 18:30 but it never showed up, not the first time this has happened.

Today I need to catch it again and was looking at how long it would take to get to Booterstown Ave. where I plan to pick it up. The official departure time from Belarmine is 16:45 but according to RTPI, it made it to Booterstown Ave. (which is the 25th stop on the route) in only 5 minutes.

Apart from not running at all, does this route have a history of leaving early or does it depart from a different terminus (maybe closer to Stillorgan) at weekends?

Edit: just before pressing 'submit new thread' I see that the 16:45 has disappeared from RTPI so it obviously was cancelled 'did not operate' yet again.

copacetic

It used to be a decent route, running pretty much on time every 30 mins. Then they cut the number of buses in half but it still ran reliably enough on the hour. Then they adjusted the route for the 5th time and now it takes longer for the buses to get in and out of town that the timetables allows, so they are never on time. It also doesn't appear on displays on half the bustops it passes and the app is a farce with buses appearing and dissapearing at random! Don't rely on it, most people with options have given up on it at this stage.

If it actually ran it would take about 15-20 mins to get to booterstown ave from terminus.

dfx-

I've always found the 47 at the termini reliable, but it wanders so much that mid-route I wouldn't rely on it.

Was there a VT on it yesterday evening? One '05 VT was parked on Fleet St around 7pm and the 46A/47 are operated together

coylemj

dfx- wrote: »

I've always found the 47 at the termini reliable, but it wanders so much that mid-route I wouldn't rely on it.

Some of the late morning/early afternoon Mon-Fri services divert and go via Mount Merrion, shown on the timetable with a 'v'...

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Your-Journey1/Timetables/All-Timetables/471/

rx8

coylemj wrote: »

Some of the late morning/early afternoon Mon-Fri services divert and go via Mount Merrion, shown on the timetable with a 'v'...

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Your-Journey1/Timetables/All-Timetables/471/

Any of them that actually do make the turn at Sydney Parade, take the numbers off and operate set-down only to the city centre.

Not that the controllers know anything about it either.

AlekSmart

The 47 is,sadly,a rather good example of a Network Direct route which was sound in its original concept.
After a shaky start,it was showing signs of stabilization and even growth,when somebody in authority felt it would benefit from being "fixed"....once that process began,it was inevitable that we would end up with what we now have,a route which fulfills no single purpose,yet purports to successfully fulfill many.

KD345

coylemj wrote: »

Today I need to catch it again and was looking at how long it would take to get to Booterstown Ave. where I plan to pick it up. The official departure time from Belarmine is 16:45 but according to RTPI, it made it to Booterstown Ave. (which is the 25th stop on the route) in only 5 minutes.

Apart from not running at all, does this route have a history of leaving early or does it depart from a different terminus (maybe closer to Stillorgan) at weekends?

Edit: just before pressing 'submit new thread' I see that the 16:45 has disappeared from RTPI so it obviously was cancelled 'did not operate' yet again.

There is no 16:45 from Belarmine. It departs at 16:30 and is scheduled to pass Booterstown Avenue at 16:50.

Are you reading the intermediate timetable from Stillorgan Village? This shows the bus passing through there at 16:45. From your timings above it seems the bus ran on time, and probably disappeared from the RTPI because it had passed the stop.

I use the 47 occasionally and find it to be reliable, apart from drivers putting the bus out of service through Ringsend when heading inbound. Perhaps they want the 1 to do the work, but unless it's cancelled from the RTPI screen and app, it's clear to passengers that the out of service bus carrying passengers is in fact a 47.

Just to add, the protest march today caused delays to many routes through town. Things like this can cause buses to be cancelled.

AlekSmart

KD345 wrote: »

There is no 16:45 from Belarmine. It departs at 16:30 and is scheduled to pass Booterstown Avenue at 16:50.

Are you reading the intermediate timetable from Stillorgan Village? This shows the bus passing through there at 16:45. From your timings above it seems the bus ran on time, and probably disappeared from the RTPI because it had passed the stop.

I use the 47 occasionally and find it to be reliable, apart from drivers putting the bus out of service through Ringsend when heading inbound. Perhaps they want the 1 to do the work, but unless it's cancelled from the RTPI screen and app, it's clear to passengers that the out of service bus carrying passengers is in fact a 47.

Just to add, the protest march today caused delays to many routes through town. Things like this can cause buses to be cancelled.

The Out Of Service through Ringsend issue is really the nub of the problem.

The entire route 47 ethos was turned upside down with the decision to divert it from it's original Rock Road alignment as some form of sop for the loss of the 2 +3 Routes.

It was a bad call then,and it's still a Bad Call as it sabotaged what could have been a very productive and useful route
47,turing it instead into yet another Route attempting to be all things to everybody and eventually satisfying nobody.

If the Driver is taking it Out Of Service,it is on the instructions,and with the knowledge of,the Controller,with peak running-time largely being the contributory factor,along with incidents such as protests etc.

The inability of the On-Street RTPI to display curtailments is already known of and debated on elsewhere,but still underlines a situation which should not be happening.

If it were me,I'd revert to Rock Road via Mount Merrion Avenue as the preferred routing.

KD345

I don't have a problem with regulating a route to keep buses on time for the various reasons above, but when passengers are being fed the incorrect information it disrupts their travel. If the controller is instructing the driver then they have an equal responsibility to communicate this with passengers. It's a similar situation in Ballsbridge with 7s turning out of service running to the city centre.

I don't think the changes to the 47 have been all that bad. It has created new connections for passengers around Ringsend and Sandymount, with many trips now happening between there and Stillorgan/Sandyford. The link to Belfield was always going to be retained. I'm not sure what other options there were with limited resources.

Niles

Used the 47 to get to and from work last year and while it started out reliable, it did indeed seem to suffer after the route change, with late running becoming more commonplace, and buses out of service (in some cases picking up passengers as between Bellarmine and Stillorgan, before terminating at Belfield, but on occasion simply passing people in places like Sandyford leaving them with a long wait).

AlekSmart

KD345 wrote: »

.

I don't think the changes to the 47 have been all that bad. It has created new connections for passengers around Ringsend and Sandymount, with many trips now happening between there and Stillorgan/Sandyford. The link to Belfield was always going to be retained. I'm not sure what other options there were with limited resources.

The main option was to allow the original routing to find it's level,which it actually was doing when the latest alteration was imposed.

The Ringsend/Sandymount/Belfield alignment (old 2+3 Routes) is certainly deserving of enhancement but,it is a standalone case which required a dedicated stand-alone solution rather than the appropriation of the then "new" 47 for this other work.

The running "Out of Service",in service is an unwelcome return to a practice which is virtually guaranteed to inflict long-term damage to any route on which it gains a hold.

The 45 and "old" 84 routes,are two examples which should be warnings of the eventual results of short-termism...emasculation and extinction.

LXFlyer

I'd have to say that as an occasional 47 user I have not ceased to be surprised by the strong loadings from Ringsend, Irishtown and Sandymount that remain on the bus after UCD - I'd suggest that on the basis of the loadings that the change was a good decision.

The issue frankly is the running time given to do the trip, which at times is not sufficient and that should be addressed.

The_Wrecker

dfx- wrote: »

I've always found the 47 at the termini reliable, but it wanders so much that mid-route I wouldn't rely on it.

Was there a VT on it yesterday evening? One '05 VT was parked on Fleet St around 7pm and the 46A/47 are operated together

The VT was awaiting a DBK driver to bring it back to the garage only.
The 47 isnt great at peak TBH, bring 'em down to the N11, bring 'em down to UCD and maybe bring 'em down to the 1 terminus. Then go out of service. The afternoon divertion sometimes means the 1500 from CC doesnt happen. The 1800/1830 from Belamine is traffic dependant (mon to fri). Normally a none runner.

rx8

The only way that anything is going to be done with it is if all the drivers stick together for a couple of weeks and only operate as per board.Do not call control to be regulated and insist on taking their full breaks.
They won't be long sorting it out then.

coylemj

Yet again the 18:30 inbound No. 47 failed to show yesterday.

It was on RTPI from 18:00 onwards. Soon after 18:30 (when it was supposedly running), it showed an expected arrival time at Booterstown Ave at 18:44, this then gradually moved forward to 18:50 - further proof (to gullible DB customers) that it was on the move. I went to the stop at UCD where it was on the display and it gradually moved up to the top line, expected in 6, 5, 4, 3 - gone! Never showed up.

For 20 minutes from 18:30 the RTPI system (Android app and bus stop RTPI display) said it was on the move and gradually getting closer, all the while it was never running

This is my big beef, you can't phone DB after 18:00 and their system says a bus is running when it has been cancelled 'did not operate'.

The_Wrecker

Delayed in Sandyford, the 1800 is sent home and the 1830 sent special to town. When the screen goes 4,3,2,1 ~ under bridge dive. 7034449 is manned and will put you through to central control.

eclectichoney

Will hopefully be getting the 47 from Stillorgan (leaving Belarmine at 4:30) into pearse street and back in the evenings (leaving fleet street at 19:30) for the next while - is it still as unreliable?? When people say it goes out of service after sandymount, is it the same on the return journey or can you board at pearse street?

Thanks

LXFlyer

The 47 timetable has changed - the new timetable is more reliable and journeys should not be dropped anymore as they have extended the running times.

Check the website before travelling to check departure times.

eclectichoney

Excellent - thanks Ixflyer!

First Up

I'm reviving this thread, having had a weird experience with the mysterious 47 last night. It is scheduled to operate from Belarmine via Sandyford, Stillorgan and Sandymount to Poolbeg St. I planned to use it from Stillorgan/Mount Merrion to the Bord Gáis theatre so I checked timetables, route maps (it varies) and the RTPI for buses around 5pm.

None of these three information sources seemed to be connected; the RTPI showed buses due on different variations of the route (some via Mount Merrion). None of the estimated times tallied with the schedules and the RTPI showed two buses 15 minutes apart, although the service operates every 45 minutes.

I eventually saw one due at my closest stop at 16.55 so we headed off for that. When we arrived at the stop, the screen said it was due at 17.09 but five minutes later it changed to 17.30 and then seemed to vanish completely. At that point we abandoned it and took a 46a to town and then a Luas. While waiting at the stop, I noticed a printed timetable for the 47, showing the timetable for the route as from Stillorgan Shopping Centre to Poolbeg St. There is no such route on the Dublin Bus website.

I see that none of the previous comments about this service generated a response from Dublin Bus and from the earlier comments it looks like this has been a shambles for years. So I'm not really expecting Dublin Bus to respond but maybe others have experiences to share.

Incidentally, we took a taxi home last night.

coylemj

First Up wrote: »

I see that none of the previous comments about this service generated a response from Dublin Bus ....

This is not a 'Talk to...' forum so you can't expect any official responses from DB.

First Up wrote: »

.... and from the earlier comments it looks like this has been a shambles for years. So I'm not really expecting Dublin Bus to respond but maybe others have experiences to share.

I'm the OP of this thread. I've given up on the inbound 47 which I used to get in the early evening but I occasionally use the outbound service in the late evening (10:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. departures) and they do operate per the timetable.

Stephen15

First Up wrote: »

I eventually saw one due at my closest stop at 16.55 so we headed off for that. When we arrived at the stop, the screen said it was due at 17.09 but five minutes later it changed to 17.30 and then seemed to vanish completely. At that point we abandoned it and took a 46a to town and then a Luas. While waiting at the stop, I noticed a printed timetable for the 47, showing the timetable for the route as from Stillorgan Shopping Centre to Poolbeg St. There is no such route on the Dublin Bus website.

The departures from Stillorgan SC means that is when the bus is due to reach Stillorgan SC having previously come from Belarmine. I wouldn't trust it's accuracy though.

First Up

coylemj wrote:

This is not a 'Talk to...' forum so you can't expect any official responses from DB.

No, but it would be nice to think they read it.

coylemj wrote:

I'm the OP of this thread. I've given up on the inbound 47 which I used to get in the early evening but I occasionally use the outbound service in the late evening (10:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. departures) and they do operate per the timetable.

I certainly won't be relying on it again. I'm fortunate to be on the 46a and 145 corridor; the 47 looked tempting last night but if they can't operate it properly then they can keep it.

Stephen15 wrote:

The departures from Stillorgan SC means that is when the bus is due to reach Stillorgan SC having previously come from Belarmine. I wouldn't trust it's accuracy though.

But it doesn't say that. I know it starts at Belarmine but some (like visitors) may not and would assume it starts up the road.

Stephen15

First Up wrote: »

But it doesn't say that. I know it starts at Belarmine but some (like visitors) may not and would assume it starts up the road.

But if someone wanted to go to Belarmine they would go to the stop on the other side of the road.

First Up

Stephen15 wrote:

But if someone wanted to go to Belarmine they would go to the stop on the other side of the road.

???
Who said anything about going to Belarmine?

Stephen15

First Up wrote: »

???
Who said anything about going to Belarmine?

The times at the bus stop are times from when the bus reaches Stillorgan SC not Belarmine

First Up

Stephen15 wrote:

The times at the bus stop are times from when the bus reaches Stillorgan SC not Belarmine

The printed timetable on the bus shelter shows a bus going to Poolbeg St leaving Stillorgan Shopping Centre at 16.50. That's what I said.