New Direct Dublin City-Kilkenny-Waterford Bus Service

road_high

Dublin Bus launch new service between Dublin and KK non stop and direct via the motorway, great boost to Kilkenny;
http://www.dublincoach.ie/news.php#52

DerryRed

road_high wrote: »

Dublin Bus launch new service between Dublin and KK non stop and direct via the motorway, great boost to Kilkenny;
http://www.dublincoach.ie/news.php#52

I thought there would have been one that would get you into Dublin City Centre before 9am. Shame.

Any news on how much a return ticket is?

Gael23

Don't know anything about fares but they don't accept free travel passes so I'll be staying on the train

road_high

ryanf1 wrote: »

Don't know anything about fares but they don't accept free travel passes so I'll be staying on the train

God forbid people would have to pay for a service alright :eek:

thelad95

Will fares work out cheaper than Bus Éireann? I don't know much about Dublin Coach I presume they're a private company?

pegasus1

thelad95 wrote: »

Will fares work out cheaper than Bus Éireann? I don't know much about Dublin Bus, I presume they're a private company?

far as i know they are run by the same people who run air coach...and all the quick parks around the country..so yes private..

road_high

€20 return, not bad and cheaper than the train.

thelad95

road_high wrote: »

€20 return, not bad and cheaper than the train.

Dearer than Bus Eireann but probably worth it for the hour odd it cuts off the journey.

road_high

thelad95 wrote: »

Dearer than Bus Eireann but probably worth it for the hour odd it cuts off the journey.

Bus Eireann are stuck in a time-warp bless them, still all going via the old Castlecomer Athy route which on a good day takes two hours.

thelad95

road_high wrote: »

Bus Eireann are stuck in a time-warp bless them, still all going via the old Castlecomer Athy route which on a good day takes two hours.

What if people from Castlecomer or Athy want to go to Dublin by bus..?

To be fair to Bus Eireann, they do occasionally run express services to Kilkenny.

road_high

thelad95 wrote: »

What if people from Castlecomer or Athy want to go to Dublin by bus..?

To be fair to Bus Eireann, they do occasionally run express services to Kilkenny.

Any time I've used the majority of people were Kilkenny passengers, don't see why the rest of us should suffer to give small towns with a fraction of the population a rolls royce service? The Bus Eireann routing makes no sense and they've even acknowledged that themselves with a few direct motorway runs, especially to the airport.
Kilkenny city badly needed a direct Dublin daily service via the motorway and now thankfully it does. Handy link to Waterford also.

thelad95

road_high wrote: »

Any time I've used the majority of people were Kilkenny passengers, don't see why the rest of us should suffer to give small towns with a fraction of the population a rolls royce service? The Bus Eireann routing makes no sense and they've even acknowledged that themselves with a few direct motorway runs, especially to the airport.
Kilkenny city badly needed a direct Dublin daily service via the motorway and now thankfully it does. Handy link to Waterford also.

The bus Eireann routes do make sense. You obviously haven't gotten the bus Eireann bus on a Friday or a Sunday, there are always loads of college students from Athy going to Dublin and vice versa. Small towns do need to be serviced and Bus Eireann should continue to do so as they're the only company who can survive the inevitable loss from doing so.

raze_them_all_

road_high wrote: »

Any time I've used the majority of people were Kilkenny passengers, don't see why the rest of us should suffer to give small towns with a fraction of the population a rolls royce service? The Bus Eireann routing makes no sense and they've even acknowledged that themselves with a few direct motorway runs, especially to the airport.
Kilkenny city badly needed a direct Dublin daily service via the motorway and now thankfully it does. Handy link to Waterford also.

I use it to go to Dublin, Comer would be the nearest bus stop to me. Weird thing turns out the availability of a public service shouldn just be limited to the public that live in cities

Odyssey 2005

road_high wrote: »

Any time I've used the majority of people were Kilkenny passengers, don't see why the rest of us should suffer to give small towns with a fraction of the population a rolls royce service? The Bus Eireann routing makes no sense and they've even acknowledged that themselves with a few direct motorway runs, especially to the airport.
Kilkenny city badly needed a direct Dublin daily service via the motorway and now thankfully it does. Handy link to Waterford also.

This is one of the reasons that Bus Eireann should not fall into private hands. The small towns would loose their links with larger urban areas because it may not be profitable to service them. If they were to put on a few express services who would suffer?,where would the extra coaches come from to facilitate this service?. Fair play to this new crowd but there has to be a balance and we cannot let English companies how to run our bus services. This just shows what would happen if BE was sold off.

pegasus1

road_high wrote: »

don't see why the rest of us should suffer to give small towns with a fraction of the population a rolls royce service?

Take the high road much??
just because you live in a city, sorry glorified town..you have such disregard for the people living in small villages and towns around you..the sooner kilkenny gets a proper public local bus service to serve the city and the villages etc the better..kilkenny the only small city/town with no local bus service..

JJ Kavanagh also provides a great service, even though it's a private company. It still serves Castledermot and other little stops along the way. Great to have this new express service too, - but I hope it doesn't put Kavanaghs out of business.

Gael23

inthehat wrote: »

JJ Kavanagh also provides a great service, even though it's a private company. It still serves Castledermot and other little stops along the way. Great to have this new express service too, - but I hope it doesn't put Kavanaghs out of business.

Eh they take 4 hours to get to Dublin. Only any way useful if you want to travel to somewhere along the way but painful if you want to go to Dublin.

Odyssey 2005

Not everybody that gets on the bus or train in Waterford or Kilkenny travel all the way to Dublin. The world doesn't start or finish in Dubland.. People have family all over the place,not just between Kilkenny,Waterford and Dublin but in every town between cork and Donegal,Kerry and Mayo etc. there is always a quicker and prob cheaper way to travel between the major urban areas....but don't forget the small rural places. People not only live there,they have family who depend on public transport to visit them and God forbid they may want to travel themselves!.

thelad95

While Bus Eireann should continue to run services through small towns, it's been clear for some time that there is sufficient demand to operate a profitable express service from Dublin to Kilkenny and vice versa.

dewdrop

I had hoped that this new service would allow me travel from Cork to Kilkenny by bus without excessive delay. When I checked in the past I saw that the cork express bus arrived in Waterford at 10.55 which made it impossible to get the 11 am train to Kilkenny. Alas I see the new bus will leave at 11 too which means a possible 2 hour wait for the net one. Any ideas? Incidentally how long would it take to go from bus station to the railway for an elderly couple?

road_high

Anybody use it yet? Today was the inaugural service.

PropJoe10

Used it today, its great. Was only a couple of people on the bus though so hopefully word will spread. Its so much better than Kavanaghs or Bus Eireann.

Mo14

I got it home from Dublin yesterday. There was me and one other person on it, and the driver actually rang the head office to tell them there were passengers on board! I hope they don't cancel the service before I have time to use my return journey. Very good service though.

PropJoe10

They dont seem to have advertised it much. Was talking to the driver earlier and he said the same thing happened with their Limerick service, it was absolutely dead for the first while and then it took off. They need to do better with advertising this route, for sure.

road_high

PropJoe10 wrote: »

They dont seem to have advertised it much. Was talking to the driver earlier and he said the same thing happened with their Limerick service, it was absolutely dead for the first while and then it took off. They need to do better with advertising this route, for sure.

Apart from Facebook and here, I've heard or seen nothing. They need to have a proper launch of the service, asi t really is an excellent addition, especially during the Summer.

tibolt

5 of us were waiting at the bus shelter in Ormonde Rd. (There was a Kavanagh's bus parked in the bus bay, which might have obscured the shelter.) The Dublin Coach came along, slowed down and then drove off without stopping!! F*** that. We had to wait 45 minutes and get a Bus Eireann instead. If you need to be somewhere ON TIME, don't rely on this shower.

road_high

tibolt wrote: »

5 of us were waiting at the bus shelter in Ormonde Rd. (There was a Kavanagh's bus parked in the bus bay, which might have obscured the shelter.) The Dublin Coach came along, slowed down and then drove off without stopping!! F*** that. We had to wait 45 minutes and get a Bus Eireann instead. If you need to be somewhere ON TIME, don't rely on this shower.

I'd suggest contacting them directly via their Facebook page or website/email to make them and their driver aware of this. He really should have stopped to double check.

PropJoe10

tibolt wrote: »

5 of us were waiting at the bus shelter in Ormonde Rd. (There was a Kavanagh's bus parked in the bus bay, which might have obscured the shelter.) The Dublin Coach came along, slowed down and then drove off without stopping!! F*** that. We had to wait 45 minutes and get a Bus Eireann instead. If you need to be somewhere ON TIME, don't rely on this shower.

You'd be as well to actually tell Dublin Coach this so that it doesnt happen again, rather than bitch about it on Boards. I'm sure the driver just didnt see you. Its an excellent service and I really hope it takes off.

tibolt

And who says I didn't tell them.
As I mentioned there were 5 of us at the bus stop, so the driver should have seen us.

Don't get me wrong, I welcome the service - more options and more competition, but the service has to be reliable. (It has been running for less than 2 weeks, so it's a bit early to deduce that it's an "excellent service".) Time will tell.
Pity it doesn't continue from the City Centre to the Airport. (Their Portlaoise service, incidentally, goes to the Airport.)

JoseJones

You can change at the red cow and get on the Portlaoise bus to continue on to the airport.

Chah

Does the 7.45 bus get into dublin city centre in 1 1/2 hrs? Or does it get caught in rush hour?

thelad95

What are these buses like in terms of comfort? Some of the Bus Eireann buses are shocking. From damp seats, to seats that are broken and jam-jars in the air-con.

PropJoe10

thelad95 wrote: »

What are these buses like in terms of comfort? Some of the Bus Eireann buses are shocking. From damp seats, to seats that are broken and jam-jars in the air-con.

Used the service twice now and the seats are very comfortable, buses are clean and some of them have toilets on board which is great. No complaints there at all.

DerryRed

Thinking of getting this bus tomorrow morning. Where exactly at McDonagh does it pick up? Is it at the roundabout near Eddie Rockets?

road_high

DerryRed wrote: »

Thinking of getting this bus tomorrow morning. Where exactly at McDonagh does it pick up? Is it at the roundabout near Eddie Rockets?

Yea ya know the bus stop area just down from Eddie Rocketts (as you head towards John st), it stops there.

DerryRed

I got the 7.45am bus up yesterday morning and the 4pm bus back home. The journey both ways were approximately 95 minutes. There were only 4 other people on the bus each time. Hard to see it lasting with those numbers. I guess it's still early days though.

ebbsy

road_high wrote: »

God forbid people would have to pay for a service alright :eek:

+1

Would'nt mind one of those passes meself.

thelad95

DerryRed wrote: »

I got the 7.45am bus up yesterday morning and the 4pm bus back home. The journey both ways were approximately 95 minutes. There were only 4 other people on the bus each time. Hard to see it lasting with those numbers. I guess it's still early days though.

There's been little or no promotion apart from hear-say which is a pity. They should have adds and promotions in the Kilkenny people at least and maybe one or two ads on Beat and KCLR.

ebbsy

inthehat wrote: »

JJ Kavanagh also provides a great service, even though it's a private company. It still serves Castledermot and other little stops along the way. Great to have this new express service too, - but I hope it doesn't put Kavanaghs out of business.

Might just do that - it drove a nail through Bus Eireann on the N7.

road_high

thelad95 wrote: »

There's been little or no promotion apart from hear-say which is a pity. They should have adds and promotions in the Kilkenny people at least and maybe one or two ads on Beat and KCLR.

No one knows about it. How anyone would continue to use JJ Kavannagh or Bus Eireann via the old roads with this new service on offer is beyond me.
They should have had a big launch, I'd have thought there'd be a big demand in Waterford too as it's quicker than the train and cheaper.

thelad95

I don't know much about Dublin Coach but I'm presuming it's being run on a shoe-string? The lack of promotion is just absolutely baffling. If they even half-tried they have the potential to blow Kavanaghs and Bus Eireann out of the water.

Kilkennyfella

thelad95 wrote: »

There's been little or no promotion apart from hear-say which is a pity. They should have adds and promotions in the Kilkenny people at least and maybe one or two ads on Beat and KCLR.

It has been advertised on Beat for the last month or so. Cant comment on KCLR as i dont listen to it.

PropJoe10

thelad95 wrote: »

I don't know much about Dublin Coach but I'm presuming it's being run on a shoe-string? The lack of promotion is just absolutely baffling. If they even half-tried they have the potential to blow Kavanaghs and Bus Eireann out of the water.

They seem to run a very successful service to Limerick from Dublin with services every couple of hours so they must be a decent sized operation. They should definitely be doing more to promote the Waterford service though. I've shared it on Facebook, maybe you folks with Facebook accounts could do the same? I dont want to see this service going to the wall, considering how crap the alternatives are!

road_high

Need to get like a high profile hurler to launch it or someone like that for some profile. It just began and there was precious little bar Facebook (costs next to nothing) and tiny ad in the Kk people.
It's a great service and Id hate to see it lost or reduced due to lack of patronage due to nobody being aware of it.

PropJoe10

road_high wrote: »

Need to get like a high profile hurler to launch it or someone like that for some profile. It just began and there was precious little bar Facebook (costs next to nothing) and tiny ad in the Kk people.
It's a great service and Id hate to see it lost or reduced due to lack of patronage due to nobody being aware of it.

Aye. I sent them a message on their website telling them to advertise it more. I really hope it takes off.

pegasus1

inthehat wrote: »

JJ Kavanagh also provides a great service, even though it's a private company. It still serves Castledermot and other little stops along the way. Great to have this new express service too, - but I hope it doesn't put Kavanaghs out of business.

Reduced service in the new time table...not good for the small towns that used to be on the regular route
http://jjkavanagh.ie/images/stories/timetable/Route-736-from-Waterford-to-Airport-and-from-Airport-to-Waterford.pdf

Gael23

pegasus1 wrote: »

Reduced service in the new time table...not good for the small towns that used to be on the regular route
http://jjkavanagh.ie/images/stories/timetable/Route-736-from-Waterford-to-Airport-and-from-Airport-to-Waterford.pdf

Surely they'll create a new service to pick up some of those towns, or some operator at least. They had to reduce it in order to survive in reality.

pegasus1

pegasus1 wrote: »

Reduced service in the new time table...not good for the small towns that used to be on the regular route
http://jjkavanagh.ie/images/stories/timetable/Route-736-from-Waterford-to-Airport-and-from-Airport-to-Waterford.pdf

At least there is still a few buses stopping in the smaller towns but it looks like a much reduced service. It's the sad reality for rural Ireland. I suppose it had to happen to make the service profitable. Wonder will Bus Eireann follow suit? They still serve some little towns like Mullinavat, Thomastown, Gowran, Royal Oak but that could change too.

road_high

Would imagine the Clonmel/Kilkenny service will follow suit. It was inevitable the buses would start using the motorway direct as it's clearly what the bulk of their customers want and is a more efficient use of resources due to less time spent on the roads and less wear and tear from crap roads like the old N9. I'm only surprised it's taken this long.

PropJoe10

inthehat wrote: »

At least there is still a few buses stopping in the smaller towns but it looks like a much reduced service. It's the sad reality for rural Ireland. I suppose it had to happen to make the service profitable. Wonder will Bus Eireann follow suit? They still serve some little towns like Mullinavat, Thomastown, Gowran, Royal Oak but that could change too.

I'm sure Bus Eireann will continue to serve the smaller towns considering they are a public service rather than private. I'm surprised that Kavanaghs have taken this long to cotton on to the fact that people generally dont want to be rattling around sideroads for hours on end.

thelad95

If this service means I won't have to continue to use the rat and pigeon infested airplane hangar that is Busaras, then it will have been a success