Dublin Bus Drivers - Riddle me this - please?

gerdalt

I get onto a 145 bus in Bray bound for the City. It's after 6pm on a Tuesday evening so very little traffic. The driver goes at about 40kph - driving deliberately slowly with long delays at any stops. By Stillorgan the following 145 has caught up. They both proceed slowly from there on. Journey time to Quays is 1.5 hours.
Coming back to Bray at 10pm the 145 travels between 60kph and 80kph. We get to Bray in about 55 minutes - about the same number of stops.
Now, the question:
Why does the inbound man drive deliberately slowly? What is in it for him? I would have thought that the sooner he arrives at Heuston Station, the longer his break?
Am I missing something?
What is the reason to go deliberately slowly?
Please, any bus driver, share with us.
Ger

foggy_lad

gerdalt wrote: »

I get onto a 145 bus in Bray bound for the City. It's after 6pm on a Tuesday evening so very little traffic. The driver goes at about 40kph - driving deliberately slowly with long delays at any stops. By Stillorgan the following 145 has caught up. They both proceed slowly from there on. Journey time to Quays is 1.5 hours.
Coming back to Bray at 10pm the 145 travels between 60kph and 80kph. We get to Bray in about 55 minutes - about the same number of stops.
Now, the question:
Why does the inbound man drive deliberately slowly? What is in it for him? I would have thought that the sooner he arrives at Heuston Station, the longer his break?
Am I missing something?
What is the reason to go deliberately slowly?
Please, any bus driver, share with us.
Ger

He might want to finish early so makes up his hours by driving slowly to prolong his time driving so by the time he takes a rest break there may not be time for him to return to bray and then back to Dublin, he might of course be told to go onto another route for his last run but it can be hard enough to match that up.

the above is purely hypothetical and I have no evidence it can or indeed does go on but it might explain your slow journey.

Del2005

The limit for buses with standing passengers is 65km/h. So the driver on the way into town was obeying the law and the driver on the way out wasn't.

end of the road

there is also the scheduling to take account of

punisher5112

Del2005 wrote: »

The limit for buses with standing passengers is 65km/h. So the driver on the way into town was obeying the law and the driver on the way out wasn't.

Rubbish all db fleet is limited to 65km/h.

Some drivers are slow always were always will be but there are some that drive so slow that they are purposely late so they can go light some of the way as they will be put up the field to try and get them back on time.

Some buses are quicker then others and I don't mean limit just more power and get up to speed quicker.

Some drivers also do this so the bus behind will catch up and then they are happy as they pass and do all their work.
This isn't anywhere as bad as it use to be as most of those have retired.

foggy_lad

punisher5112 wrote: »

Some drivers also do this so the bus behind will catch up and then they are happy as they pass and do all their work.
This isn't anywhere as bad as it use to be as most of those have retired.

Get some of the highly paid inspectors out on the roads and standing at stops like they used to and these dawdling drivers will soon strike claiming they are being spied on or victimised, pull their socks up.

Banjoxed

An hour and a half to the Quays? I don't know about the OP but I'd be losing the will to live before I got there. Getting the DART even with a walk to Bray Station would be quicker. Even getting off at the Silver Tassie and walking to the tram would be quicker. Pure madness for (Greater) Dubliners to be bus dependent for such long journeys. In my own view of course.

end of the road

Banjoxed wrote: »

An hour and a half to the Quays? I don't know about the OP but I'd be losing the will to live before I got there. Getting the DART even with a walk to Bray Station would be quicker. Even getting off at the Silver Tassie and walking to the tram would be quicker. Pure madness for (Greater) Dubliners to be bus dependent for such long journeys. In my own view of course.

well, its what we get for not modernizing the quality transport system we once had rather then ripping it up. of course the (in my opinion) dubious reasons for it all have been discussed to death

frankoreagan

Say a bus leaves the suburbs at 17:30 and it's return journey from town isn't til 19:00. Does that bus have to be at a certain point by a certain time along the journey? or can the driver complete the journey as quickly as humanly possible so that he'll have a longer break?

punisher5112

frankoreagan wrote: »

Say a bus leaves the suburbs at 17:30 and it's return journey from town isn't til 19:00. Does that bus have to be at a certain point by a certain time along the journey? or can the driver complete the journey as quickly as humanly possible so that he'll have a longer break?

Drivers don't get a break. Only when they officially hand over bus.

145 would be a struggle from what I have heard as they are so busy.

n97 mini

Sounds like the driver on the 66A a while back. Despite only stopping 3 times in 10 miles he still made the journey 12-15 mins longer than usual.

corktina

maybe thre was a fault on the bus and he was nursing it along

gerdalt

Hear me! I was there.
The man was deliberately driving as slowly as possible with long unnecessary pauses at each stop.
Unlike many of his colleagues who drive at a reasonable speed and get into town in about 50 minutes.
I just wondered about the reason and what he was trying to achieve.
Perhaps just bloody mindedness.
And yes, a walk to the Dart gets you into town in 45 mins max. Best choice.
Ger.

end of the road

gerdalt wrote: »

Hear me! I was there.
The man was deliberately driving as slowly as possible with long unnecessary pauses at each stop.
Unlike many of his colleagues who drive at a reasonable speed and get into town in about 50 minutes.
I just wondered about the reason and what he was trying to achieve.
Perhaps just bloody mindedness.
And yes, a walk to the Dart gets you into town in 45 mins max. Best choice.
Ger.

how do you know he was "deliberately" driving slow? maybe there was infact something wrong with the bus that the average person wouldn't know about?

markpb

end of the road wrote: »

how do you know he was "deliberately" driving slow? maybe there was infact something wrong with the bus that the average person wouldn't know about?

If only there was some way for the driver to communicate with his passengers, explain the nature of the problem and apologise for the delay and any inconvenience caused. Perhaps some of them might want to switch to another bus or make alternative arrangements instead of crawling into town. Some of them might even appreciate being treated as customers.

I'm sure someone will be back to tell me what a stupid idea that is, why it's technically not possible for dublin bus to do , why it's actually the NTAs fault and why passengers don't need to know anyway. Please, entertain me...

end of the road

markpb wrote: »

If only there was some way for the driver to communicate with his passengers, explain the nature of the problem and apologise for the delay and any inconvenience caused. Perhaps some of them might want to switch to another bus or make alternative arrangements instead of crawling into town. Some of them might even appreciate being treated as customers.

I'm sure someone will be back to tell me what a stupid idea that is, why it's technically not possible for dublin bus to do , why it's actually the NTAs fault and why passengers don't need to know anyway. Please, entertain me...

what the NTA has to do with this i don't know. of course people could always ask the driver themselves. i've often done it and i've asked if possible could i be let off to get another bus if there has been a problem, it works well for me anyway.

markpb

end of the road wrote: »

what the NTA has to do with this i don't know. of course people could always ask the driver themselves. i've often done it and i've asked if possible could i be let off to get another bus if there has been a problem, it works well for me anyway.

Since you managed to completely ignore the point of my post, I'll ask again. If, as you hypothesise, there was a problem with the bus and it delayed the trip, why couldn't or shouldn't the driver tell their passengers? Why is the onus on each of the passengers to individually ask the driver what's wrong.

end of the road

markpb wrote: »

Since you managed to completely ignore the point of my post, I'll ask again. If, as you hypothesise, there was a problem with the bus and it delayed the trip, why couldn't or shouldn't the driver tell their passengers? Why is the onus on each of the passengers to individually ask the driver what's wrong.

maybe the PA wasn't working.

L1011

end of the road wrote: »

maybe the PA wasn't working.

Realistically, the chances of that are nil

markpb

end of the road wrote: »

maybe the PA wasn't working.

Maybe the driver wasn't working.

Banjoxed

end of the road wrote: »

what the NTA has to do with this i don't know. of course people could always ask the driver themselves. i've often done it and i've asked if possible could i be let off to get another bus if there has been a problem, it works well for me anyway.

People taking responsibility for getting their own information? Shocking, I tell you, shocking.

ted1

Del2005 wrote: »

The limit for buses with standing passengers is 65km/h. So the driver on the way into town was obeying the law and the driver on the way out wasn't.

The limit for the bus lane on the n11 is 60

thickhead

gerdalt wrote:

I get onto a 145 bus in Bray bound for the City. It's after 6pm on a Tuesday evening so very little traffic. The driver goes at about 40kph - driving deliberately slowly with long delays at any stops. By Stillorgan the following 145 has caught up. They both proceed slowly from there on. Journey time to Quays is 1.5 hours. Coming back to Bray at 10pm the 145 travels between 60kph and 80kph. We get to Bray in about 55 minutes - about the same number of stops. Now, the question: Why does the inbound man drive deliberately slowly? What is in it for him? I would have thought that the sooner he arrives at Heuston Station, the longer his break? Am I missing something? What is the reason to go deliberately slowly? Please, any bus driver, share with us. Ger

But did you die ?

gerdalt

end of the road wrote: »

how do you know he was "deliberately" driving slow? maybe there was infact something wrong with the bus that the average person wouldn't know about?

Because as I let the bus I asked was there a union go slow in operation. His response left me in no doubt about the mechanical condition of the bus.

gerdalt

thickhead wrote: »

But did you die ?

No. Was just curious as to the reason.

zbluebirdz

OP, Why don't you get in touch with Dublin Bus customer services and ask them why the bus was so slow at that particular date/time?

thickhead

gerdalt wrote:

No. Was just curious as to the reason.

Did you ask the driver himself ?

Bob24

end of the road wrote: »

how do you know he was "deliberately" driving slow? maybe there was infact something wrong with the bus that the average person wouldn't know about?

end of the road wrote: »

maybe the PA wasn't working.

So there was something wrong with the bus, the PA was not working (not great in terms of safety), and Dublin Bus did not tell passengers to get the next bus or send another bus? (knowing this particular route stops very close to Dublin Bus facilities where there would for sure be spare buses available)

micar

gerdalt wrote: »

I get onto a 145 bus in Bray bound for the City. It's after 6pm on a Tuesday evening so very little traffic. The driver goes at about 40kph - driving deliberately slowly with long delays at any stops. By Stillorgan the following 145 has caught up. They both proceed slowly from there on. Journey time to Quays is 1.5 hours.
Coming back to Bray at 10pm the 145 travels between 60kph and 80kph. We get to Bray in about 55 minutes - about the same number of stops.
Now, the question:
Why does the inbound man drive deliberately slowly? What is in it for him? I would have thought that the sooner he arrives at Heuston Station, the longer his break?
Am I missing something?
What is the reason to go deliberately slowly?
Please, any bus driver, share with us.
Ger

I work out at Cherrywood and used to get the 145 to and from work from the city centre.

I've been on the 145 where this has happened.

Sometimes there is a problem with the engine. Especially noticeable when going up an incline.

It's is terribly annoying especially when another 145 catches up and flies by.

Really annoyed me as there was no explanation as to why the bus is travelling so slowly.

Surely, if there is problem with the engine the bus should be taken out of service and replaced with a fully functional bus.

I would have to get another bus from the city centre home.

Got so pi$$ed off with the bus that I started cycling to work. Rain, sleet or shine. I am now 55 mins door to door.

Using the bus, it sometimes took 2 hours to get home.

Bob24

micar wrote: »

ity centre home.

Got so pi$$ed off with the bus that I started cycling to work. Rain, sleet or shine. I am now 55 mins door to door.

Using the bus, it sometimes took 2 hours to get home.

I used to work in Cherrywood as well - I eventually went for the lazy option (compared to your cycle) and switched to the LUAS + walking 20 minutes; even though getting the 145 would bring me closer to my place or allow a free transfer to another bus route bringing me in front of the house.

I think the reliability of the bus service has improved over time (I started working in Cherrywood 10 years ago and stopped last year - at the beginning it was not rare to wait 30 minutes for a bus that is supposed to come every 10 minutes), but there still are many annoying things.

monument

dublinstevie wrote: »

what a moaning kunt.u got there safely didnt you.driver just doing his job.wind neck you fanny

After your last post, only a few days ago, was in the same vain and you have not changed after your warning and a large percentage of your posts in the last year are also of the same vain, please enjoy your week's ban.

Read the charter before posting again.

-- moderator