Dublin Bus - Extra (trial) 142 bus service from Eden Quay

ollie103

Hi all,

This is just a notification that, following much effort with Dublin Bus, they are trailing a new evening-peak 142 bus service from Eden Quay to Portmarnock (via the Port Tunnel). Those who use this bus will be aware that 3 (of 4) buses pass through the city centre by 5.30pm - not must use for a lot of us who work to 5.30pm. The last bus is then at 6.10/15pm; a long gap to wait

But this new service is much better timed. Unfortunately, DB won't put this new bus on their RTPI system so hopefully we can spread the word and use the new bus, otherwise it'll be pulled.

This new bus departs Eden Quay at 5.50pm so will remove the 30 minute gap between the 3rd and 4th (last 142) bus.

Thanks.

richard2010

Just to say that one of reasons why the bus might not show on RTPI is down to the fact the bus maybe operated by what's called a EURO duty. These EURO duties are extra services operated in addition to the regular schedule. It won't appear on RTPI until it is in the actual timetable as RTPI works from the published timetable.

ollie103

Yes: this is the reason DB won't put it on the RTPI system. They accidently put it on it last week, which is how I discovered it! I have asked them to put it back on RTPI for the trail period but I doubt they will.

Hopefully enough people will use it to retain the service and make it permanent.

Banjoxed

The city centre and Portmarnock are served by DART. Why don't they put additional buses on routes not well served by trains or trams? Classic zero sum thinking.

LXFlyer

Banjoxed wrote: »

The city centre and Portmarnock are served by DART. Why don't they put additional buses on routes not well served by trains or trams? Classic zero sum thinking.

And does the DART serve Holywell estate? What other bus route services this particular area?

You should look at the entire route before making comments like this.

A bus route is not just about the areas at the end of the route.

KD345

The 142 is a very busy route and could do with a few more services.

While this addition is welcome, I worry that without featuring in a timetable passengers will not be aware of it. If they are planing to make a decision on retaining this service based on passenger numbers then they need to announce it. Even something as simple as a temporary online timetable note, which could be done in 5 minutes.

This sounds similar to the extra departure on the 84x at 18:10, which is not in the timetable and only operates if there's a driver available.

ollie103

lxflyer wrote: »

And does the DART serve Holywell estate? What other bus route services this particular area?

You should look at the entire route before making comments like this.

A bus route is not just about the areas at the end of the route.

Excellent point: the 142 serves places with limited bus services (Holywell and Waterside) or which are a long way from the DART (such as Seabury). The route also provides great connectivity from North County Dublin to UCD, something not possible with the DART. The 142 also makes great use of the Port Tunnel and directly connects to employment in the northern Docklands.

ollie103

KD345 wrote: »

The 142 is a very busy route and could do with a few more services.

While this addition is welcome, I worry that without featuring in a timetable passengers will not be aware of it. If they are planing to make a decision on retaining this service based on passenger numbers then they need to announce it. Even something as simple as a temporary online timetable note, which could be done in 5 minutes.

This sounds similar to the extra departure on the 84x at 18:10, which is not in the timetable and only operates if there's a driver available.

I totally agree: I only discovered this new bus when I saw it on the RTPI system last Thursday. I have suggested that DB put it on their system and I'll keep plugging away at them. It'll be great if others can as well! A short notice on their web site can't hurt either. I have also asked a few of the local councillors to contact DB to promote/protect the service. Hopefully DB will see sense with this as it will make the route more profitable.

Victor

Do we know where it starts?

Any time I've used the 142 (usually boarding in Rathmines, sometimes travelling to the city, sometimes Malahide) loadings have been middling.

LXFlyer

Victor wrote: »

Do we know where it starts?

Any time I've used the 142 (usually boarding in Rathmines, sometimes travelling to the city, sometimes Malahide) loadings have been middling.

Victor, I think you may need new glasses!!

ollie103 wrote: »

This is just a notification that, following much effort with Dublin Bus, they are trialling a new evening-peak 142 bus service from Eden Quay to Portmarnock (via the Port Tunnel).

ollie103 wrote: »

This new bus departs Eden Quay at 5.50pm so will remove the 30 minute gap between the 3rd and 4th (last 142) bus.

Victor

lxflyer wrote: »

Victor, I think you may need new glasses!!

Any time I have used the 142, loadings has been 40-50.

My point about starting place is that no other route 142 service starts at Eden Quay.

ollie103

The 'normal' 142's start at Portmarnock in the morning (towards UCD) and then the reverse in the evenings with 4 services each way. Dublin Bus have also introduced an additional bus (morning and evening) to address overcrowding: these additional buses start in Yellow Walls Road (morning) and Eden Quay (evening).

And while you may not believe it: the first 2 morning buses are always full and standing-room only (frequently, the first bus can't pick-up any passengers at all in Holywell - the estate the bus was proposed to service!).

Evening loadings are slightly lighter but thats because DB starts the evening buses too early: the 3rd (of 4) buses often passes through the city centre by 5.30pm. The last 142 (arriving in town around 6.10/15pm) is often packed. Ideally DB would start the evening peak 15 minutes later and then have a 20 minute gap between the 4 services - I have suggested this but to no avail...

LXFlyer

ollie103 wrote: »

The 'normal' 142's start at Portmarnock in the morning (towards UCD) and then the reverse in the evenings with 4 services each way. Dublin Bus have also introduced an additional bus (morning and evening) to address overcrowding: these additional buses start in Yellow Walls Road (morning) and Eden Quay (evening).

And while you may not believe it: the first 2 morning buses are always full and standing-room only (frequently, the first bus can't pick-up any passengers at all in Holywell - the estate the bus was proposed to service!).

Evening loadings are slightly lighter but thats because DB starts the evening buses too early: the 3rd (of 4) buses often passes through the city centre by 5.30pm. The last 142 (arriving in town around 6.10/15pm) is often packed. Ideally DB would start the evening peak 15 minutes later and then have a 20 minute gap between the 4 services - I have suggested this but to no avail...

The issue with this is that the buses on the 142 are operated by drivers on what are known as "12 hour spreadover duties".

In other words, their total duty length is 12 hours, they book on in the morning, do several hours work, then have a long break, and return in the evening to finish their duty. They have to finish within 12 hours of starting.

Therefore the evening journey times are constrained by the times that they start in the morning. The driver of the first bus from Portmarnock in the morning, will operate the first bus from UCD in the evening and so on.

Changing the times as you outlined above would require more drivers as the existing drivers would probably go over their duty hours.

LXFlyer

Victor wrote: »

Any time I have used the 142, loadings has been 40-50.

My point about starting place is that no other route 142 service starts at Eden Quay.

Sorry I was being somewhat facetious - I wasn't commenting on the loads at all, but rather that the OP did on several occasions state that this extra service was starting at Eden Quay.

It's an extra work, probably a Universal duty, that is being added to fill the gap in the service, starting from Eden Quay onwards. It may well be doing something else beforehand that precludes it starting at UCD.

ollie103

lxflyer wrote: »

The issue with this is that the buses on the 142 are operated by drivers on what are known as "12 hour spreadover duties".

In other words, their total duty length is 12 hours, they book on in the morning, do several hours work, then have a long break, and return in the evening to finish their duty. They have to finish within 12 hours of starting.

Therefore the evening journey times are constrained by the times that they start in the morning. The driver of the first bus from Portmarnock in the morning, will operate the first bus from UCD in the evening and so on.

Changing the times as you outlined above would require more drivers as the existing drivers would probably go over their duty hours.

That would makes sense as its the same driving crew on morning and evening buses. Its a pity that this 12-hour 'rule' may be limiting flexibility on the evening peaks: a minor tweak to the timetable would increase loadings and provide a better service (and potentially reduce the need for the additional bus in the evening - saving DB money).

Banjoxed

lxflyer wrote: »

And does the DART serve Holywell estate? What other bus route services this particular area?

You should look at the entire route before making comments like this.

A bus route is not just about the areas at the end of the route.

I'll ask the obvious then. Why don't they run it to and from Holywell? A classic suburban development miles from where it purports to be.

KD345

Banjoxed wrote: »

I'll ask the obvious then. Why don't they run it to and from Holywell? A classic suburban development miles from where it purports to be.

Aside from Holywell, there are hundreds of people use this service daily between Portmarnock/Malahide to link to the Docklands, IFSC and St. Stephen's Green areas.

LXFlyer

Banjoxed wrote: »

I'll ask the obvious then. Why don't they run it to and from Holywell? A classic suburban development miles from where it purports to be.

The route also serves housing estates in Portmarnock (around Wendell Avenue) that are over 3km from Portmarnock Station, and Seabury in Malahide which is 2.5km away from Malahide Station.

They are hardly within walking distance.

It provides a fast link from all of them into the Docklands area and the city via the Port Tunnel and then onto Rathmines and UCD.

I really don't see the issue - if the limited number of buses are busy surely adding an extra one makes sense.

Conway635

Banjoxed wrote: »

I'll ask the obvious then. Why don't they run it to and from Holywell? A classic suburban development miles from where it purports to be.

Because, while Holywell clearly NEEDS a bus service, it on its own would not fill the whole service.

So it makes sense to start it from the 42 terminus at Portmarnock, run it along the 42 part of the way, and then send it through Holywell and onto the motorway. That way the people of Holywell get a bus service, and you have also created a "semi-fast" 42 variant at the same time.

The smart solution in bus route design is linking a series of "traffic objectives" together to make a viable service. Get enough of them and the route is able to have a better level of service than you could justify by just linking any two.

The 75 on the southside is a great example of that - few people ever travel all the way Tallaght to Dun Laoghaire, but it links so many hotspots along the way that it earns a great level of service for an orbital route.

C635

ThunbergsAreGo

Wasnt one of these today, maybe it was a trial

Jonathan

I've also noticed this extra 17:50 bus from Eden Quay. The day I got it, it was pretty empty (10 passengers max).

It would be better served as a full service from UCD and advertise it as part of the timetable. Doing that would relieve the pressure on the final 142.

ollie103

Errr.... I don't know what happened today but I had to leave work early so intended to get the 'normal' 142 and I ended up getting the 'old' additional bus. Seems like the trial departure at 5.50pm is over?

Loadings were on the low side but it's not advertised and only going 3 days.

I agree that a full service from UCD is the best option (or alternatively have a fixed 20 minute gap between buses).

LXFlyer

ollie103 wrote: »

Errr.... I don't know what happened today but I had to leave work early so intended to get the 'normal' 142 and I ended up getting the 'old' additional bus. Seems like the trial departure at 5.50pm is over?

Loadings were on the low side but it's not advertised and only going 3 days.

I agree that a full service from UCD is the best option (or alternatively have a fixed 20 minute gap between buses).

As another poster said, the reason they're not advertising it is probably that like the unadvertised 18:10 84X - it only operates if a spare driver is available, and if there isn't one then the bus will not operate.