Driving into Trinity College daily, advise welcome

Jerrica

gvn wrote: »

I'm sure it's a struggle to provide staff with adequate parking, let alone students.

It sure is, currently a 4-5 year wait for staff to get a parking space.

username123

HowItsMade wrote: »

Too far too cycle there's a back road or too, based out in Hollystown.

Too far to cycle? Is that not about 7 or 8k? Forgive me, I dont know the area well, I just estimated that from here. Im based in Firhouse and my hubby commutes daily to and from the north side of the city centre by bike and itd be about 14k each way. I would think 10-14k each way would be a grand cycle and you could wear hi vis and good lights - save you a bomb on petrol etc and stay fit at the same time, plus give you complete freedom of movement.

Arciphel

As someone in D15 I found driving to and from DCU and parking there very quick and easy. €7 a week for 6 stays in the onsite multistory car park, duration doesn't matter. Depends what the course is though regarding comparing it to Trinners, if it is anything computer or engineering based (ie not the arts or humanities) then I'd be looking at DCU, even forgetting about the commuting angle. Give us some more details and maybe someone can advise you further on that side, or drop me a PM ;-)

ted1

HowItsMade wrote: »

Thanks lads, I can't get my head around the way there's no student spaces in campus whatsoever. Money isn't a problem I work 2 jobs, still very determined to find a cost effective way of driving in though. Driving to a train station could be one option

its a campus in the middle of a capital city, with the Luas at one side, Dart on the other side with nearly every bus route that enters the city passing by it.

how can't get your head around that?

HowItsMade

Arciphel wrote: »

As someone in D15 I found driving to and from DCU and parking there very quick and easy. €7 a week for 6 stays in the onsite multistory car park, duration doesn't matter. Depends what the course is though regarding comparing it to Trinners, if it is anything computer or engineering based (ie not the arts or humanities) then I'd be looking at DCU, even forgetting about the commuting angle. Give us some more details and maybe someone can advise you further on that side, or drop me a PM ;-)

Yeah or you can park in some of the estates beside dcu for free, 10 minute walk though. But the car park has a great price. Yeah I'm looking to do engineering or computer science so Dcu is definitely up there

HowItsMade

ted1 wrote: »

its a campus in the middle of a capital city, with the Luas at one side, Dart on the other side with nearly every bus route that enters the city passing by it.

how can't get your head around that?

I saw that before the edit, 21st century life do you know how many cars are sold every year? I know that obviously most people don't have the luxury of owning a car and to some public transport is the most convenient but where I live, for me, it isn't.

HowItsMade

Mr.S wrote: »

Easiest option is to drive into town and use the car parks at Stephens Green / RCSI, Drury Street, Fleet street. All are ~5mins walk to Trinity, expensive per week but if moneys no problem!

Depending on your timetable, you might miss rush hour traffic.

Personally though, i'd just drive to a bus/luas/dart stop and then get that in.

Exactly it. Driving in is doable but at a price. I'll have to reconsider and weigh up the options

Knawted

I currently rent a space on Georges Street. It's an underground carpark and haven't had any issues with it at all.
I pay €125 per month so if you go to college everyday of the week it works out at about €6 per day, less if you use it at the weekends too. It's probably your only option as if you have limited transport you could nearly end up spending as much on buses!!

DylanII

I think the luas park and ride at the Red Cow is free. If you drove to there and then took the luas in to the City?

It would also mean that if you wanted to stay the night you wouldnt be worrying about getting your car home or out of expensive parking?

I drive to college myself... I go to Maynooth though, so there is plenty of parking, but driving does take away a lot of your student experience. You cant just decide to go for a few drinks and then home or lots of other things, you always have to think about getting home/back to college the next day/your car.

ted1

HowItsMade wrote: »

I saw that before the edit, 21st century life do you know how many cars are sold every year? I know that obviously most people don't have the luxury of owning a car and to some public transport is the most convenient but where I live, for me, it isn't.

a decreasing amount of cars are sold every year in Ireland. Believe me driving into town on a regular basis is not luxurious or the most convenient.

People making excuses is a problem with 21st century life.

rosie16

i drive to and from college (not a dublin based one) but commuting is a nightmare for me. I don't have that many hours so it's cheaper to live at home plus other reasons. I imagine getting in and out of dublin would be 10 times worse. I'm exhausted most of the time from commuting. Sometimes all I have the energy for is come home in the evening and eat and sleep and commute the following day. Having to leave before 7.30 for a 9 o clock lecture is madness!

Victor

Get a bike and cycle to Tyrellstown and then a bus into the city centre.

Limited bus service to Tyrellstown http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Your-Journey1/Timetables/All-Timetables/40d/

DylanII wrote: »

I think the luas park and ride at the Red Cow is free.

No, it's a few Euros per day and he'd have to pay the toll on the M50.

Maynooth rail line would make much more sense.

Knawted

rosie16 wrote: »

i drive to and from college (not a dublin based one) but commuting is a nightmare for me. I don't have that many hours so it's cheaper to live at home plus other reasons. I imagine getting in and out of dublin would be 10 times worse. I'm exhausted most of the time from commuting. Sometimes all I have the energy for is come home in the evening and eat and sleep and commute the following day. Having to leave before 7.30 for a 9 o clock lecture is madness!

Rosie I'm afraid that's the reality for a lot of people, work or college!

I live in Rathfarnham and leave the house at 7.30 to get to work in Dublin city center for 9am

Abby19

If you are doing the LC this year - you have a bit of time, but you may be trying to figure this out for your CAO choices.

Just a thought but you could try and do the drive in to Trinity for 9am and see how long it takes you. But bear in mind that if the schools aren't back at the moment then the traffic is not representative of a normal day. The drive may be grand at other hours, but if you are doing a science/engineering course you have longer hours, so will most likely be hitting commuter peak traffic. And heaven forbid there is a bit of rain, as that slows things up more.

You will be also be doing a lot of stop/start driving and idling in traffic - your fuel economy will be shot. From the sounds of things you will probably still have your car, so tax and insurance are fixed costs, but petrol and parking are your flexible costs, and these should be weighed up against public transport costs (also pricey enough based on what mates tell me) if you try a park and ride. I cycle, so I have a fixed time commute allowing for wind and rain, but come exam time I envy those on public transport who can look over notes and stuff. Also buses can use the bus lanes, faster than driving.

I also have a car, but have only driven in a handful of times, and have been fairly stressed about the traffic and getting in on time each and every time I have done so.

Victor

Abby19 wrote: »

From the sounds of things you will probably still have your car, so tax and insurance are fixed costs, but petrol and parking are your flexible costs, and these should be weighed up against public transport costs (also pricey enough based on what mates tell me) if you try a park and ride.

Even if parking is available at €7-10 per day, the parking is much more expensive.

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Fares--Tickets/Tickets/Student-Tickets/

Student 30 Day Rambler €91.50
Valid for unlimited travel for 30 non consecutive days
Valid on Dublin Bus scheduled services including Xpresso (excluding Airlink, Nitelink, Tours, Special Events and Private Contract services)
Student Travelcard - Leap Card required
Now available on Leap Card

-> €3.05 per day.

Student Monthly Short Hop €119.00
Valid for unlimited travel for 1 calendar month
Valid on Dublin Bus scheduled services including Xpresso (excluding Airlink, Nitelink, Tours, Special Events and Private Contract services) and DART and Suburban Rail services
Student Travelcard required

-> €3.84-5.95 per day depending on number of days attending college.

ted1

Knawted wrote: »

Rosie I'm afraid that's the reality for a lot of people, work or college!

I live in Rathfarnham and leave the house at 7.30 to get to work in Dublin city center for 9am

Do you walk? Its a 25 min cycle?

username123

ted1 wrote: »

Do you walk? Its a 25 min cycle?

Depends where in Rathfarnham. Mt Venus Rd is in Rathfarnham and it's a 15 min cycle from there to Rathfarnham shopping centre!

HowItsMade

Will have to reconsider driving, looks like I'd save about 50 euro a month getting the bus, could take me more time though

Del2005

HowItsMade wrote: »

Will have to reconsider driving, looks like I'd save about 50 euro a month getting the bus, could take me more time though

If your on a bus you can study or sleep neither can be done in a car. If public transport didn't require me going into and back out of Dublin to get to work I'd dump the car.

Have a look at the tax saver tickets if your working, better have the money in your pocket.

Polka_Dot

HowItsMade wrote: »

Will have to reconsider driving, looks like I'd save about 50 euro a month getting the bus, could take me more time though

The bus can actually be a lot quicker if the route you're going on has a lot of bus lanes!

robindch

HowItsMade wrote: »

Driving in is doable but at a price.

Last time I calculated my per-mile, per-year costs, I think was running at around 40 cents per km, not including the cost of parking and wasted time.

If you've 15k to do, then in the absence of a direct link, the easiest -- by far -- is to buy a good bike and learn to cycle it in city traffic. You'll spend a couple of months cursing both, then you'll get used to it, then you'll wonder why you ever bothered hauling a half a ton or a ton of useless, expensive metal around town, spending most of your time sitting in traffic jams going stop-start, stop-start, stop-start for hours at a time.

FWIW, I've worked next to Trinity for the last fifteen years and I'm familiar with the traffic and the time-wasting involved with car journeys around the city center. Also, if you're environmentally-minded (it sounds like you're not) then you might also want to consider the environmental damage that pointless car-driving causes and the health benefits of regular exercise. As well as the relaxation that ensues from not having to find a parking place on campus or elsewhere.

tl;dr summary - driving? Nuts to that.

Haven't read through all the replies here, so apologies if I'm repeating what others have said. I'd just like to say that driving to TCD every day would be utter madness (take it from someone who knows). The campus is small, with a very small number of parking spaces for staff (.....let alone students!). Likewise, you'll be right in the city centre where traffic is sheer chaos (a 25 minute drive could take 2 hours)

Public transport is your friend op

Best of luck in the leaving!

Jonnykitedude

There's 400 spaces on campus with 4 permits for every space! Approx 2500+ staff work in the college and there is currently a 4ish year wait......what cant you get your head around?

Even if you could park you would need to be parking at 8.15 to get a space.

HowItsMade

Jonnykitedude wrote: »

There's 400 spaces on campus with 4 permits for every space! Approx 2500+ staff work in the college and there is currently a 4ish year wait......what cant you get your head around?

Even if you could park you would need to be parking at 8.15 to get a space.

Parking on campus forbidden for students!

lebowskilite

If I wasn't on the phone Id quickly do this for you: check www.hittheroad.ie. Best public transport map there is for Dublin, it will calculate several route options and their cost, then its up to you to find out how frequent they are. I really would advise against driving as the city just isn't designed for car commutes (as a city resident, I thank the stars for that).

Also, as a 20-something graduate, I would advise against anything that is likely to get in the way of the pleasant daily dice roll that is student life. On that note, no matter how you commute I suggest that you plan on spending the odd night on a sofa or in a spare bed. Dunno how that squares with car park rules :P

TheBandicoot

LaughOrDie wrote: »

You'd be about a 20 minute walk away though.

err, what? 20 minutes from Prussia St from TCD? Even Google Maps says that is is 34 minutes to College Green, and for the average person dealing with busy pedestrian crossings I'd think it's closer to 45 minutes.

Knawted

ted1 wrote: »

Do you walk? Its a 25 min cycle?

When I get the bus I need to be on it at 7.40 so leave the house at 7.30 (Stocking Lane)

I drive most of the time and if I leave the house a second later than 7.40 I hit the school traffic

EuropeanSon

TheBandicoot wrote: »

err, what? 20 minutes from Prussia St from TCD? Even Google Maps says that is is 34 minutes to College Green, and for the average person dealing with busy pedestrian crossings I'd think it's closer to 45 minutes.

Google maps vastly exaggerates how long walks take (generally anything from a 50-100% overestimation). If maps says it takes 34 mins, I'd well believe you could do it in 20.

Edit: glancing at maps and seeing the actual distance, I'd guess at just under half an hour.

TheBandicoot

HowItsMade wrote: »

Parking on campus forbidden for students!

Because there is very very little demand for it. Out of my course, almost all took DART/Luas, a few took the bus, a few walked, and one took a motorbike. It's similar across all courses as far as I know. Almost all students take public transport to Trinity, it is perfectly placed for it ; or they cycle.

TheBandicoot

Drive/cycle to the Blanch center, take 39a/39/etc.. to College Street, done. Should only take ~45 minutes on the bus. Might be a bit longer coming back in the evening due to the lack of an outbound bus lane on the Navan Road.