Dublin Coach Experience Discussion Thread

bk

punisher5112 wrote: »

We have ok wifi and power points are on all 2017 upwards. Issue with these is I've seen many damaged and stuff like gum stuffed into them or missing completely.

Haven't noticed that on the private company buses, nor surprisingly on the new Dublin Buses with them, but only time will tell, fingers crossed.

punisher5112 wrote: »

Leg room is an issue for us tall folk alright.

Yes, it was really impressive on the Brazilian coaches, you could stretch WAY out. There was so much room people had kids playing on the ground in front of them!

BTW Here is an example of an impressive beasts you would see in Rio. Though in fairness most were more standard tri-axle single deckers:



Of course this isn't all of South America, I've no doubt there are some other countries and areas there with terrible buses and coaches.

punisher5112

Our roads couldn't take those the size of it.

bk

punisher5112 wrote: »

Our roads couldn't take those the size of it.

Oh I know, absolutely, not saying they should, just thought it was interesting from a geeky bus spotter perspective. The intercity coach services are really quiet impressive over there, here is what lonely planet has to say:

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/brazil/transport/getting-around/bus

Bus services in Brazil are generally excellent. Departure times are usually strictly adhered to, and most of the buses are clean, comfortable and well-serviced Mercedes, Volvo and Scania vehicles.

All major cities are linked by frequent buses – one leaves every 15 minutes from Rio to São Paulo during peak hours – and there is a surprising number of long-distance buses. Every big city, and most small ones, has at least one main long-distance bus station, known as a rodoviária (pronounced ho-do-vi-ah-ree-ya).

Brazil has numerous bus companies and the larger cities have several dozen rival agencies. The easiest resource to search national bus routes is Busca Ônibus (www.buscaonibus.com.br).

Classes

There are three main classes of long-distance bus. The ordinary convencional or comum is indeed the most common. It’s fairly comfortable and usually has a toilet on board. An executivo or semi-leito is more comfortable (with reclining seats), costs about 25% more and stops less often. A leito (overnight sleeper) can cost twice as much as a comum and has fully reclining seats with blankets and pillows, air-con and sometimes an attendant serving sandwiches, coffee, soda and água mineral (mineral water).

With or without toilets, buses generally make pit stops for food and bathroom breaks every three or four hours.

Air-con on buses is sometimes strong; carry a light sweater or jacket to keep warm.

Of course a lot of that wouldn't be applicable to Ireland. Distances there are much greater then Ireland. North of Brazil to South of Brazil is about the same distance as Ireland to Poland! Thus the sleeper coaches.

Being in the coach station in Rio was truly impressive. I've never seen so many coaches in my life. Though what was noticeable was on average the very high quality of most coaches there, most looked expensive and very well maintained.

Thing about coaches there, it is a hyper competitive market. There are dozens of private companies operating the same routes. Don't like the quality of service from one company, choose another. This is why they all have such good coaches, lots of competition and you can really see how people benefit from that.

Again, I'm not saying that is suitable for Ireland. Different market, different size.

Stephen15

The thing about Brazil and many other South American countries though is that intercity rail travel is pretty much non existent and air travel there remains extremely expensive due to the fact that no budget airlines have been allowed to take off and drive down prices. So there is a gap in the market for long distance intercity coaches. The competition in the bus market in Brazil is made up by the lack of it in the air travel sector.

Here in Europe Ryanair and other discount airlines have pretty much put a death to long distance intercity coaches which are only used by a minority compared to air or rail travel. It used to fairly common for people from Ireland to go England and on to Europe by bus before discount airlines.

bk

Stephen15 wrote: »

The thing about Brazil and many other South American countries though is that intercity rail travel is pretty much non existent and air travel there remains extremely expensive due to the fact that no budget airlines have been allowed to take off and drive down prices. So there is a gap in the market for long distance intercity coaches.

Yes, big time. People take coaches there over distances that we would normally fly nowadays.

Though budget airlines are starting to develop there, though it is still a long way behind here.

devnull

Stephen15 wrote: »

Here in Europe Ryanair and other discount airlines have pretty much put a death to long distance intercity coaches which are only used by a minority compared to air or rail travel. It used to fairly common for people from Ireland to go England and on to Europe by bus before discount airlines.

PolskiBus and Flixbus are still doing pretty well!

Stephen15

devnull wrote: »

PolskiBus and Flixbus are still doing pretty well!

Mostly domestically within Germany and Poland not over the wider EU market.

bk

Stephen15 wrote: »

Mostly domestically within Germany and Poland not over the wider EU market.

Yes, just like Aircoach, etc. here.

Though I will say even the coaches on short journeys (2 to 4 hours) in Brazil were on average better then here.

Stephen15

bk wrote: »

Yes, just like Aircoach, etc. here.

Though I will say even the coaches on short journeys (2 to 4 hours) in Brazil were on average better then here.

I'm not sure about Poland but they have taken off more so as a budget option for students and the likes to high speed rail travel which is more so for business travellers and richer passengers who want a quicker way of getting there and work on the way.

The_Wanderer

devnull wrote: »

PolskiBus and Flixbus are still doing pretty well!

Myself and a friend were forced to use both operators last October when we got stranded overnight in Leipzig after hurricane force winds seriously disrupted DB rail services in northern Germany.

Flixbus to Berlin from Leipzig at 0530 in the morning and found our train to Poznan was also cancelled so we used Polskibus from Berlin to Poznan.

Both buses pretty much full, but late due to tight schedules and traffic congestion.

aaakev

https://coachandbusjobs.com/jobs/electrical-mechanical-technician/

belfast stephen

i have used the serivce between Belfast and Dublin a number of time and not had any problem the coaches are clean and plenty of leg room if you get 1 of the 181 reg coaches on the Route you will get USB points as well 
but Aircoach also have new coaches on there Belfast Dublin route as well

belfast stephen

looks like there open topper are on the road again this year 
[font=helvetica neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]http://cityscapetours.ie/[/font]

devnull

belfast stephen wrote: »

i have used the serivce between Belfast and Dublin a number of time and not had any problem the coaches are clean and plenty of leg room if you get 1 of the 181 reg coaches on the Route you will get USB points as well 

That's because Dublin Coach are having a bus war against an incumbent and they are happy to throw huge resources at that route whilst starving their other routes of the same kind of investment that they so desperately need as their long suffering customers continue to have to put up with 14 year old, well worn vehicles.

I'm no fan of the Aircoach Panther's since I think they are a downgrade on what they replaced, but at the same time, the maintenance of the Aircoach fleet, it's general appearance and a focus on providing a good service on reliable, modern vehicles network wide, makes me rate them as higher quality operator.

I don't know what routes/duties the Road Safety Authority charges against Dublin Coach were based on, but the report said there was serious and systematic non-compliance with safety regulations and this alone would make me think twice about taking their services.

devnull

belfast stephen wrote: »

looks like there open topper are on the road again this year 
[font=helvetica neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]http://cityscapetours.ie/[/font]

€5 tickets? Are they really paying their staff that little to be able to afford such pricing?

What do we reckon their costs are? Can't be cheap to keep a bunch of 15 year old tridents running.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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dashcamdanny

Go ahead are going to fill up with Dublin coach and Dublin Bus spare drivers.

devnull

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

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Indeed but the ticket is for a hop on and hop off tour and they're charging the same for a 24 hour hop on hop off ticket as they are for a single journey from Red Cow to the Airport?

Doubt Dublin Bus or Dualway will be happy with this, seems a similar kind of strategy to what they did on the Belfast Route against Aircoach with ultra cheap pricing.

Quackster

Been traveling on AirCoach between Cork and Dublin a bit recently and must say I'm very impressed with their service. Punctuality was spot-on; something that's sorely lacking with Dublin Coach. One annoyance though is that you can only book online up to 5pm the day before departure.

In contrast, I travelled Donegal to Dublin with Bus Éireann a few weeks ago on a new bus and the seats were so close together, my face was practically up against the back of the seat in front of me. Felt very claustrophobic.

One thing I liked with the BÉ bus were the very accommodating seat-side power options - Domestic & Europlug sockets and standard USB & USB-C.

AlekSmart

devnull wrote: »

Indeed but the ticket is for a hop on and hop off tour and they're charging the same for a 24 hour hop on hop off ticket as they are for a single journey from Red Cow to the Airport?

Doubt Dublin Bus or Dualway will be happy with this, seems a similar kind of strategy to what they did on the Belfast Route against Aircoach with ultra cheap pricing.

I doubt that either BAC or DW will be too surprised at the relaunch discount.

2017 saw similar action,with the CS Fares rising as the season got going.

The savings with CS appear to be based upon seasonal contracts for Drivers at low fixed rates,with the Drivers therefore responsible for their own Social Contributions (A very prevalent practice in the Coaching world,where one can still find people wondering why there are so few new entrants...:rolleyes: )

With buoyant inward visitor numbers,the Dublin tour market can just about support two full time operators,but whether CS can make a fulltime business model out of their operation remains to be seen ?

devnull

Quackster wrote: »

Been traveling on AirCoach between Cork and Dublin a bit recently and must say I'm very impressed with their service. Punctuality was spot-on; something that's sorely lacking with Dublin Coach. One annoyance though is that you can only book online up to 5pm the day before departure.

The Cork, Belfast and Dublin depots got new ticket machines last month and last week they updated their website booking system to be easier to use on mobile devices and they seem to be processing payments on their site directly rather than via Worldpay and there is talk that contactless payment options will be coming. So perhaps this restriction will be removed soon - it already has been for the 700 service.

devnull

AlekSmart wrote: »

I doubt that either BAC or DW will be too surprised at the relaunch discount.

Indeed, but there's low pricing and then there is ridiculously low pricing. I'm the first one to be supportive of good value public transport, but considering the opinions of patrons of Dublin Coach on this thread and also the well known issues they have suffered with, some would suggest they are focusing too much on being the cheapest and price wars and not enough on other areas.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

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bk

devnull wrote: »

The Cork, Belfast and Dublin depots got new ticket machines last month and last week they updated their website booking system to be easier to use on mobile devices and they seem to be processing payments on their site directly rather than via Worldpay and there is talk that contactless payment options will be coming. So perhaps this restriction will be removed soon - it already has been for the 700 service.

Hope so, it is one of the two reasons why I've mostly been taking GoBE to Cork over the last two years.

Stephen15

devnull wrote: »

Indeed, but there's low pricing and then there is ridiculously low pricing. I'm the first one to be supportive of good value public transport, but considering the opinions of patrons of Dublin Coach on this thread and also the well known issues they have suffered with, some would suggest they are focusing too much on being the cheapest and price wars and not enough on other areas.

Indeed but look around at other operators who's main selling point is low cost. For example Megabus over in the UK aren't running delapdated old buses but yet their main selling point is low cost.

In fact most low cost operators have the newest vehicles in order to save money as newer vehicles can be cheaper if bought in bulk, they require less maintenance also saving on cost and are generally more fuel efficient.

DC seem have an unusual business strategy that seems to based on saving money the short term rather than the long term.

The_Wanderer

The_Wanderer wrote: »

Myself and a friend were forced to use both operators last October when we got stranded overnight in Leipzig after hurricane force winds seriously disrupted DB rail services in northern Germany.

Flixbus to Berlin from Leipzig at 0530 in the morning and found our train to Poznan was also cancelled so we used Polskibus from Berlin to Poznan.

Both buses pretty much full, but late due to tight schedules and traffic congestion.

Have to say I was impressed with FlixBus. Had a 5 hour cross-border journey and while there was a delay which was frustrating there were a couple of automated texts to let me know so I could have pints at the bus station and relax. :P Buses were clean, comfortable, charging points and all that jazz and all for €9 booked the day before.

bk

Stephen15 wrote: »

In fact most low cost operators have the newest vehicles in order to save money as newer vehicles can be cheaper if bought in bulk, they require less maintenance also saving on cost and are generally more fuel efficient.

Very much the same as the Ryanair model. Ryanair have the youngest airline fleet in the world. Buy in large bulk, so get a discount from the manufacture, young age so has low maintenance costs, plus most major maintenance falls under the manufactures warranty anyway due to the young age and of course the latest fuel efficiency technology.

It is counter intuitive how the cheapest airlines can have the newest fleets.

However doing the above requires deep pockets for the initial capital. I suspect DC simply doesn't have access to that kind of money. Also it feels like they are just trying to grab as much market in the short term, at the expense of long term profitability. That would perhaps make sense if the business plan is to sell DC in the short term. The more market share you have, the higher you can sell it for.

Though I'd hope any buyer would take into account the investment they would need to fix the deficiencies in the fleet and bring it up to a stable standard. But then some companies specialise in the sort of thing.

AlekSmart

bk wrote: »

..............

............................It is counter intuitive how the cheapest airlines can have the newest fleets.

However doing the above requires deep pockets for the initial capital. I suspect DC simply doesn't have access to that kind of money. Also it feels like they are just trying to grab as much market in the short term, at the expense of long term profitability. That would perhaps make sense if the business plan is to sell DC in the short term. The more market share you have, the higher you can sell it for.

Though I'd hope any buyer would take into account the investment they would need to fix the deficiencies in the fleet and bring it up to a stable standard. But then some companies specialise in the sort of thing.

The arrival of the Go-Ahead group onto the Republic's playing field might provide an interested party,specifically for the Cityscape operation.

Go-Ahead already have a substantial level of experience,either directly or via link-ups,in operating short-duration City Tours....

https://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/open-top-tours/

http://www.buses.co.uk/page.shtml?pageid=1344

https://www.chambersbus.co.uk/coaches/

https://www.goaheadlondon.com/bus_hire

If,as it appears the Go-Ahead group is gearing up for further expansion into the Republic,then ALL of the Dublin City Tour operators would be a valuable asset for any interested,and well resourced newcomer.

However,given the past experience of DC's senior management with developing & selling-on as a concept,it would hardly be surprising should such a situation occur ?

bk

AlekSmart wrote: »

The arrival of the Go-Ahead group onto the Republic's playing field might provide an interested party,specifically for the Cityscape operation.

Yes, I was thinking exactly that. GA have clearly shown that they are interested in more then just City bus services with them also winning some BE Kildare routes.

Actually the more I think of it, the more it seems like almost a perfect fit. DC operates a lot of services around Red Cow, which is very close to GA's new depot. GA's ex-BE Kildare routes will overlap a lot with DC's M7 services. The tours, Belfast route and M9 services would be an added bonus.

GA's depot there could end up having City buses, tour buses and medium and long distance coaches for all those routes. It would give them real scale from which to grow.

Let me say, that I've zero knowledge of this, just pure speculation, but it does make a massive amount of sense.

AlekSmart wrote: »

However,given the past experience of DC's senior management with developing & selling-on as a concept,it would hardly be surprising should such a situation occur ?

Yes, I wouldn't be surprised at all. It would easily explain why they seem to be trying to expand so quickly, while not really having the resources (fleet or money to buy new coaches) to really do so. It is poor from a customers perspective, but can be a business gamble that can pay off big (or go terribly wrong).

Chivito550

I’ll probably need to get a bus to Waterford with Dublin Coach on Saturday. Where on earth is the bus stop exactly on Burgh Quay? Can’t find any info on their website.

Can you pay on the bus?