Bus Eireann Rant

jamo2oo9

Recently, I've moved to UL from Louth as I begin my new course and because I"m not settling in quite well as I would've thought, I travel back home to Louth every Friday and back down on Sundays, using the 100X to Dublin Airport and X12 to UL. For the past 3 Fridays, my bus has been late by at least 30mins minimum. One Friday, it was due to arrive into Dublin Airport at 7:20, didn't arrive into Busaras until 8:20, chucked off the bus only to be told that they always end the service at Busaras on Fridays.. Perhaps they should put that sort of information on the timetables and there was 8 of us left and we all needed to get to Dublin Airport as soon as possible (3 were catching a flight to France and 5 of us were getting the bus to Dundalk). The 3 frenchies missed their flight by just 5 minutes and us 5 had missed the Dundalk bus twice already.
BE did try to get us on another bus that would stop in Dublin Airport but that bus wouldn't leave for another 40mins. Fuming we were so we demanded that they pay for our taxi to Dublin Airport in compensation as we were supposed to be in Dublin Airport by 7:20. They refused and basically told us to fcuk off and find our own way to get there.


Last night, I was getting the bus home and the X12 was 30mins late. Missed the 7pm bus to Dundalk so I just waited around for an hour to get the next bus. Of course, I miss that one as well. Normally the 100X bus picks up at Gate 16. I was standing at gate 16 for 20mins and the 100X never came. At 8:05, I went inside to check the board and it has already departed... I consulted with the BE staff who were out and about helping customers about and they said, they had no clue about it and he just walked outside to have a smoke... I was really pissed off about that so I got the train home instead. Vowing to avoid buses when travelling across the country. Trains are much better, rarely ever late and even if they are, it's not by a lot (10mins max), better facilities and you have toilets on the train.



Can Bus Eireann do things right ever? Buses always late, bus drivers treat you like sheite and the staff never have a decency to be nice to anyone if they are in an inconvenience due to their buses.

Peter File

Would you not be better off getting a Matthews coach to Dublin and a train from Heuston?

jamo2oo9

Peter File wrote: »

Would you not be better off getting a Matthews coach to Dublin and a train from Heuston?

Matthews Coach from Dundalk to Dublin doesn't accept FTP

Victor

Make a written complaint to them, mentioning that you will be appealing it to the National Transport Authority if things aren't rectified.

Peter File

jamo2oo9 wrote: »

Matthews Coach from Dundalk to Dublin doesn't accept FTP

Is that a new policy?.

jamo2oo9

Peter File wrote: »

Is that a new policy?.

I tried taking them over the summer to go to Dublin with my friends and the bus driver wouldn't accept the FTP so I had to pay for the fare. Since then, I've tried to avoid them.

Victor wrote: »

Make a written complaint to them, mentioning that you will be appealing it to the National Transport Authority if things aren't rectified.

We will be doing that anyway. Just have to wait for the friends to come back from France and we'll get together to get all the specific details corrected in our complaints.

jahalpin

Why would you expect them to compensate you if you were travelling on a free travel pass?

spurious

The Matthews bus site says:
Matthews Coach Hire is delighted to accept the Department of Social Protection Free Travel Pass on the following routes:
Dundalk – Drogheda – Dublin (Parnell St & UCD) and return
Bettystown & Laytown to Dublin (Parnell St & UCD)
Dublin (Parnell St) to Bettystown & Laytown

Please note that as a participant in the Free Travel Pass scheme Matthews Coach Hire are obliged to ensure that the person presenting a Free Travel Pass is the same person whose name is stated on the Free Travel Pass. As such drivers/inspectors may ask to see supporting ID including photographic ID.
link here

You may have just got a driver who didn't know.

jamo2oo9

jahalpin wrote: »

Why would you expect them to compensate you if you were travelling on a free travel pass?

They didn't get us to the destination that we paid for (not me anyway) and we were awfully late, 1hr and 20minutes late. When we arrived at Busaras, we were told that the bus will be ending service there like they always do every Friday so we were told. They failed to offer the proper route that they had available to their customers and we were inconvenienced by that and they should offer compensation i.e. pay for our taxi to the airport.

The other 7 people who got the bus paid for the full fare to Dublin Airport which was €17 I believe.

spurious wrote: »

The Matthews bus site says:
Matthews Coach Hire is delighted to accept the Department of Social Protection Free Travel Pass on the following routes:
Dundalk – Drogheda – Dublin (Parnell St & UCD) and return
Bettystown & Laytown to Dublin (Parnell St & UCD)
Dublin (Parnell St) to Bettystown & Laytown

Please note that as a participant in the Free Travel Pass scheme Matthews Coach Hire are obliged to ensure that the person presenting a Free Travel Pass is the same person whose name is stated on the Free Travel Pass. As such drivers/inspectors may ask to see supporting ID including photographic ID.
link here

You may have just got a driver who didn't know.

Perhaps it was, will try it next time anyway!

nd001

Does the 100x not pick up at custom house quay not gate 16 havnt seen the 100x at busaras in a long time

Peter File

nd001 wrote: »

Does the 100x not pick up at custom house quay not gate 16 havnt seen the 100x at busaras in a long time

Your right, it doesnt stop at busaras.

nd001

Peter File wrote: »

Your right, it doesnt stop at busaras.

I thought as much not having a go at the original poster just wanted that clarified as he/she mentioned they waited at gate 16 for the 100x

n97 mini

Any reason you're trying buses when cost isn't an issue?

jamo2oo9

Seems a few of you are a bit confused. Yesterday, I got the bus to Dublin X12 and because it was 30mins late and I knew I wasn't going to catch the 7pm bus, I decided to get off at Eden Quay and get something to eat and then go to Busaras where I'll get the 100X bus to Dundalk. This was on my own.

I always thought Custom House Quay would be Busaras as it's basically right beside each other. I did get the 100X bus from Busaras before so why not yesterday? I waited at the gate 16 from 7:50 till 8:05 and all I saw were buses going to UK, Belfast, Mullingar, Cavan and Wexford. Didn't see 100X bus to Dundalk.

Even if the bus didn't stop at the Busaras, the staff should've given me a bit of better information than "Oh, I wouldn't have a clue" and walk away.

nd001

Custom house quay is not busaras. The 100x comes through the city centre and onto the north quays stopping on the river side of custom house Quay and then down to the o2 and out to the airport via the port tunnel. The 100x use to start at busaras until the terminus change to wilton terrace so you could have stood at busaras all weekend and would not have seen a 100x

jamo2oo9

n97 mini wrote: »

Any reason you're trying buses when cost isn't an issue?

Convenience and timings. Getting the bus to Limerick is handy as it'll drop me off at my house, literally. Getting the train home on Fridays is not the best timing for me as I try to get into Dundalk at 8:30, which is when my mother finishes work and take me home (I live about 30mins away in the countryside) and I don't finish college till 4 every Friday and then I need to get the bus into the city to get to the train station and the next train I can get once I arrive into Heuston is at 8:50 from Connolly. Train to Limerick, I'd still have to get the bus from the city centre to Castletroy. I know there are buses running from the train station to UL but it's much more convenient getting the bus that drops you off at your house.

LXFlyer

The 100X does NOT serve Busaras at all and hasn't done since the current routing to/from Wilton Terrace was introduced, and that is at least three years ago!! You may be thinking of the 101?

The 100X timetable is here and clearly states "Custom House Quay".

The stop is on Custom House Quay just after the railway bridge.

No excuse though for the attitude of the staff member - they should have told you where the stop was. That's just not good enough.

The X12 timetable changed two weeks ago (in case you weren't aware) - the new timetable is here:
http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1409242475-012X.pdf

jamo2oo9

lxflyer wrote: »

The 100X does NOT serve Busaras at all and hasn't done since the current routing to/from Wilton Terrace was introduced, and that is at least three years ago!! You may be thinking of the 101?

The 100X timetable is here and clearly states "Custom House Quay".

The stop is on Custom House Quay just after the railway bridge.

No excuse though for the attitude of the staff member - they should have told you where the stop was. That's just not good enough.

The X12 timetable changed two weeks ago (in case you weren't aware) - the new timetable is here:
http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1409242475-012X.pdf

I was aware of the new timetable but this new timetable still hasn't made it any better in terms of being on time or close to being on time.

Last year, I got the bus to Dundalk for the FlightFest show and I got the 100X bus from Busaras to Dundalk so I assume that I could get it there yesterday?

LXFlyer

jamo2oo9 wrote: »

I was aware of the new timetable but this new timetable still hasn't made it any better in terms of being on time or close to being on time.

Last year, I got the bus to Dundalk for the FlightFest show and I got the 100X bus from Busaras to Dundalk so I assume that I could get it there yesterday?

Re the X12, I was just advising you in case you weren't aware of the change. If it persists in being late, report it to Bus Eireann. If you don't get satisfaction there, report it to the National Transport Authority.


As for the 100X, the Quays were closed to traffic for Flightfest - it was diverted. It could hardly have served Custom House Quay on that day. I don't think you could make an assumption based on a day when there were mass diversions - the timetable for the 100X couldn't really be clearer in terms of listing where it stops in Dublin.

jamo2oo9

lxflyer wrote: »

Re the X12, I was just advising you in case you weren't aware of the change. If it persists in being late, report it to Bus Eireann. If you don't get satisfaction there, report it to the National Transport Authority.


As for the 100X, the Quays were closed to traffic for Flightfest - it was diverted. It could hardly have served Custom House Quay on that day. I don't think you could make an assumption based on a day when there were mass diversions - the timetable for the 100X couldn't really be clearer in terms of listing where it stops in Dublin.

Well I just thought that the 100X would go via Busaras. Anyway, the staff should've been more helpful and informative about that anyway.

LXFlyer

jamo2oo9 wrote: »

Well I just thought that the 100X would go via Busaras. Anyway, the staff should've been more helpful and informative about that anyway.

Agreed about the staff, but for future reference there are quite a few Bus Eireann routes that do NOT serve Busaras.


The timetable states exactly where they do stop in each case.

jamo2oo9

lxflyer wrote: »

Agreed about the staff, but for future reference there are quite a few Bus Eireann routes that do NOT serve Busaras.


The timetable states exactly where they do stop in each case.

Noted but I'll be sticking to trains for travels to Limerick anyway because I'm not happy with the delays incurred everytime I take the X12. The 100X is meticulous, rarely ever late and if they are, it isn't huge like 10mins or more.

horseburger

jamo2oo9 wrote: »

Noted but I'll be sticking to trains for travels to Limerick anyway because I'm not happy with the delays incurred everytime I take the X12. The 100X is meticulous, rarely ever late and if they are, it isn't huge like 10mins or more.

The disadvantage of just using trains is that they are more expensive and don't operate between cities throughout the night in the way the various bus companies do.

JJ Kavanagh's and Dublin Coach run services between Limerick and Dublin throughout the day and night.

For example, from Arthurs Quay Limerick, JJ Kavanagh's run services to Dublin at 1am and 4am.

http://jjkavanagh.ie/images/stories/timetables/Limerick-Dublin%20Amended%20for%20JJ%20June%2013th%202014.pdf

Dublin Coach, run services from Limerick Arthurs Quay at 1.45am and 4.45am.

http://www.dublincoach.ie/timetables-fares/M7-bus-ennis-limerick-to-dublin-city.php

Other companies that run services at night include Aircoach which operates a service from Cork to Dublin every 2 hours throughout the night and an hourly service at night between Belfast and Dublin.

Also, the companies Citylink and Go Bus, run services at night from Galway to Dublin

Another example is the Translink Ulster Bus/Bus Eireann services to and from Dublin and Belfast throughout the night.