Bus Eireann - seriously poor

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Hi all,

Just wondering if any of ye have had other issues with the BE city services in Cork.

My route, 223 has been notoriously poor but this week really is taking the pi$$.

Yesterday, first day back to college, I rely on the once a day (7.39 am) 223 service that goes direct to CIT rather than the usual South Mall.

This service picked me up in Rochestown, late as usual, however instead of going to CIT like it's supposed to, the bus went into the city to the bus station, parked at a bay, the driver got out and barked back at us that there was a driver change.

This was nearly 9am and this bus is supposed to be in CIT at 8.35am.

Another driver got on at the bus station a few mins later, drove around the corner, parked the bus. Looked back at us all and said "what are ye all doing here lads?!" And told us to get off the bus and walk to Patrick's Street to catch another service to CIT.

His response when asked what happened; "ah we needed the bus for something else". I arrived to CIT an hour later than I was supposed to, and missed half my first lecture of my first day back.

Just unbelievable.

And it gets worse. Today, this morning, I'm waiting for the same 7.39 am service to CIT. And the bus never showed up. Nothing. I was waiting for over an hour until I finally hopped on the next bus I saw which was only going to town. Late again.

Spoke to the most obnoxious man in the inspectors office at Parnell Pl bus station this morning, who refused to give me his name and when I asked about these services he simply began to rant about lack of drivers, "operational issues" (a blanket excuse that seems to be used by both drivers and customer service) and told me that "because we're not Dublin the drivers are treated like scum".
Absolutely obnoxious and unprofessional. I contacted the services manager in Capwell Depot but have not heard back yet.

I'm just lost for words at how poor this company is. They are nearly always late, however simply not showing up and also diverting services and kicking people off the bus to walk to another service is just unforgivable and a disgrace.

Monkstown, Passage West, Rochestown and other areas all rely on this service and it is absolutely ridiculous that we have to put up with these shananigans. It's just so, so poor. This again is a once a day, 5 times a week service that us students in these areas have to rely on.

Apologies for the long post but I wanted to stress just what's actually going on here.

What are my options here, with regards to bringing it to the attention of others and government bodies if needed? Because this isn't acceptable at all.

Thank you.

Gamb!t

BE buses are unreliable and have some really obnoxious staff.
You can message them on twitter or facebook and they will get you to fill out the complaint form.
Thankfully I don't have to rely on them as much anymore.

punisher5112

Contact nta.

Email nta boss Anne Graham

Contact bus eireann chief executive and apply same to any manager you can get.

Also suggest any local TD.

That's shocking and is not on.

Keep a record of it all and keep at them about it.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

I've sent numerous complaints to them via email and twitter. The last two were never answered and the other was replied to after a month and a half. Useless. Bus Station didn't want to know. Staff are absolutely horrible.

boardsuser1

I seen on Seamus McGrath’s Facebook post on the issue that a local private operator is willing to provide the buses if the support is there.

Whether Bus Eireann and the NTA would allow this is unlikely.

Does anyone know if that route is a PSO route?

I believe it might well be, which could create problems.

boardsuser1

Curb Your Enthusiasm wrote: »

I've sent numerous complaints to them via email and twitter. The last two were never answered and the other was replied to after a month and a half. Useless. Bus Station didn't want to know. Staff are absolutely horrible.

The lads in Parnell place can’t do anything, the are lower down the Cork based pyramid.

Have you contacted Martin Walsh or Tom O’Leary in Capwell?

These are the 2 you should write to as a face to face meeting is probably next to impossible.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

The lads in Parnell place can’t do anything, the are lower down the Cork based pyramid.

Have you contacted Martin Walsh or Tom O’Leary in Capwell?

These are the 2 you should write to as a face to face meeting is probably next to impossible.

I understand they are limited in what they can do, however they were less than helpful when I approached them and just plain rude. There's no need for that and it just adds to the problem. I've contacted the services manager office in Capwell via phone and his secretary told me they would get back to me.

I would love another operator to operate the route as I'm sick of Bus Eireann as are a lot of people in Cork. I've chatted to a few others at stops in town who have similar issues with other routes also. "Phantom buses" seem to be a common complaint.. buses just not showing up.

I understand if the route is a PSO route this would be tricky.

Roca

Been on the 208 from the Northside a few mornings before 9am and when it got to the main bus station it stayed parked up. After about ten minutes there were an exodus of the bus..while the driver sat in the cab watching everyone get off.... after the third morning I rang bus eireann customer service..they told me the bus driver is entitled to a break.. I laughed..so I asked him why are your monitors saying Patrick st in 2 mins..he had no answer to that..the monitor should say coming down summerhill that bus is stopping at bus station because driver is having break..At least then should have a chance to get to work in time.

boardsuser1

Curb Your Enthusiasm wrote: »

I understand they are limited in what they can do, however they were less than helpful when I approached them and just plain rude. There's no need for that and it just adds to the problem. I've contacted the services manager office in Capwell via phone and his secretary told me they would get back to me.

I would love another operator to operate the route as I'm sick of Bus Eireann as are a lot of people in Cork. I've chatted to a few others at stops in town who have similar issues with other routes also. "Phantom buses" seem to be a common complaint.. buses just not showing up.

I understand if the route is a PSO route this would be tricky.

As the son of a former Bus Eireann Driver I can understand the approach taken by the lads in Parnell place, but they could do it in a nicer more polite way.

Was it inspectors you were dealing with?

Based on what you describe, it sounds like a few inspectors I know of.

If you’ve had no success with Capwell go to Broadstonein Dublin, the head office of Bus Eireann.

I note that Seamus McGrath hasn’t publicly replied to the offer by the private operator to provide buses, most likely because he knows in his heart it’s unlikely.

A lot of these PSO route are heavily load making for Bus Eireann.

Would you rather some or all of the Cork routes were put out to tender in a similar fashion to that in Dublin and Waterford?

Bus Eireann won the Waterford tender while a private operator called ‘Go Ahead’ won the Dublin tender.

Tendering in itself can also have negative impacts however, poor buses/low drivers pay etc.

boardsuser1

Roca wrote: »

Been on the 208 from the Northside a few mornings before 9am and when it got to the main bus station it stayed parked up. After about ten minutes there were an exodus of the bus..while the driver sat in the cab watching everyone get off.... after the third morning I rang bus eireann customer service..they told me the bus driver is entitled to a break.. I laughed..so I asked him why are your monitors saying Patrick st in 2 mins..he had no answer to that..the monitor should say coming down summerhill that bus is stopping at bus station because driver is having break..At least then should have a chance to get to work in time.

That was probably near mid shift for the driver.

They start at about 5.45/6am in Capwell in some routes, and that route is the busiest by far.

As for the software, I don’t know who programs that, I assume it is Volvo or Wright coach builders if it’s the Double deckers, Mercedes (mutec) if the 2016 single deckers.

pwurple

I have had the same issues the last couple of weeks.

55 minutes standing in the rain waiting for a 202 bus that is supposed to run every 15 mins. Asked the driver what was going on, didn’t know. The “real-time” app had 3 phantom buses on it in that time. Drove like he had never driven a bus before. Up on kerbs. Got stuck blocking traffic, took a wrong turn.

They seem to have stopped marking the number of the bus on them also. Just blank, or 1-lar.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

As the son of a former Bus Eireann Driver I can understand the approach taken by the lads in Parnell place, but they could do it in a nicer more polite way.

Was it inspectors you were dealing with?

Based on what you describe, it sounds like a few inspectors I know of.

If you’ve had no success with Capwell go to Broadstonein Dublin, the head office of Bus Eireann.

I note that Seamus McGrath hasn’t publicly replied to the offer by the private operator to provide buses, most likely because he knows in his heart it’s unlikely.

A lot of these PSO route are heavily load making for Bus Eireann.

Would you rather some or all of the Cork routes were put out to tender in a similar fashion to that in Dublin and Waterford?

Bus Eireann won the Waterford tender while a private operator called ‘Go Ahead’ won the Dublin tender.

Tendering in itself can also have negative impacts however, poor buses/low drivers pay etc.

Not sure if they were inspectors to be honest, however they were inside the inspectors office at the time. Judging from what they said to me they seemed to have a strong dislike for the company they work for and had no intention of even slightly helping me, even with contact details for Capwell, which I ended up finding online in my own time. He wouldn't even give me his name when I asked for it politely.

He told me with a smirk "my name is customer service advisor" and that "sure I only have to give my name to a guard if he asks". He also mentioned they were down 30 drivers and that I should "tweet Bus Eireann or something". These guys seem to do the absolute bare minimum and have no customer service skills whatsoever, which is a bit ridiculous consider they are working for such a customer-facing company.

magentis

This is the service level that our government is funding.

Small country.There are cities with bigger populations than Ireland with a tenth of the pen pushers(jobs for the boys)



Bus driver>local management>Bus Éireann board>CIÉ board>NTA>Dept of transport>Minister(too important for busses)Ross.

We have TFI in there too somewhere.

Most likely a ratio of 2 pen pushers to every driver.

It's leaving little money for the actual services.

boardsuser1

Curb Your Enthusiasm wrote: »

Not sure if they were inspectors to be honest, however they were inside the inspectors office at the time. Judging from what they said to me they seemed to have a strong dislike for the company they work for and had no intention of even slightly helping me, even with contact details for Capwell, which I ended up finding online in my own time. He wouldn't even give me his name when I asked for it politely.

He told me with a smirk "my name is customer service advisor" and that "sure I only have to give my name to a guard if he asks". He also mentioned they were down 30 drivers and that I should "tweet Bus Eireann or something". These guys seem to do the absolute bare minimum and have no customer service skills whatsoever, which is a bit ridiculous consider they are working for such a customer-facing company.

Down 30 drivers yet I applied to them recently and got no reply.

Perhaps I can see why that person doesn’t like his job if they are that short.

I’d say it was an inspector alright.

Tall,thin guy,moustache?

punisher5112

Curb Your Enthusiasm wrote: »

Not sure if they were inspectors to be honest, however they were inside the inspectors office at the time. Judging from what they said to me they seemed to have a strong dislike for the company they work for and had no intention of even slightly helping me, even with contact details for Capwell, which I ended up finding online in my own time. He wouldn't even give me his name when I asked for it politely.

He told me with a smirk "my name is customer service advisor" and that "sure I only have to give my name to a guard if he asks". He also mentioned they were down 30 drivers and that I should "tweet Bus Eireann or something". These guys seem to do the absolute bare minimum and have no customer service skills whatsoever, which is a bit ridiculous consider they are working for such a customer-facing company.

It's nothing against you personally so don't take it that way but you could have been any number of other passengers complaining.


It's extremely difficult working with the public and having no back up from your employer.

Not obviously saying you were wrong in any way but just understand it's very difficult.

Getting a name is something I won't ask for as its just condescending I feel and it's also something I don't like having to give out as then someone could easily start spreading it around online or through talking etc.

Go the nta boss route, bus eireann boss route and TD route.

Maybe a call to Joe Duffy on liveliness could be an idea also.

Best of luck with it as it is very poor service and it should not be like that.

I understand things will go wrong at times but not the same bus every day.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

Down 30 drivers yet I applied to them recently and got no reply.

Perhaps I can see why that person doesn’t like his job if they are that short.

I’d say it was an inspector alright.

Tall,thin guy,moustache?

If it was indeed an inspector I'm shocked. It's just bizarre that these people are hired and in these kind of jobs with zero customer service or even basic people skills.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

punisher5112 wrote: »

It's nothing against you personally so don't take it that way but you could have been any number of other passengers complaining.


It's extremely difficult working with the public and having no back up from your employer.

Not obviously saying you were wrong in any way but just understand it's very difficult.

Getting a name is something I won't ask for as its just condescending I feel and it's also something I don't like having to give out as then someone could easily start spreading it around online or through talking etc.

Go the nta boss route, bus eireann boss route and TD route.

Maybe a call to Joe Duffy on liveliness could be an idea also.

Best of luck with it as it is very poor service and it should not be like that.

I understand things will go wrong at times but not the same bus every day.

I understand that some may be uncomfortable giving out their name, however I only wanted a first name or even ID number/something to reference when contacting customer service. I think that's fair.

He was incredibly unhelpful and rude. I deal with customers everyday in my job and would be fired if I even dared speak to a customer in such a manner. It's just unacceptable and makes the whole operation look even more unprofessional.

Look at Bus Eireann's customer charter; http://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=374

They contradict it on a good few points;

Our drivers will be well presented, friendly, helpful and courteous to you at all times.

Buses and coaches will display correct destination information and/or route number at all times

Our staff at Bus stations will be well presented, friendly, helpful and courteous to you at all times.

It is our policy that no scheduled service should operate ahead of its timetable.

Staff at Bus Eireann are obviously not aware of the charter.

punisher5112

Curb Your Enthusiasm wrote: »

I understand that some may be uncomfortable giving out their name, however I only wanted a first name or even ID number/something to reference when contacting customer service. I think that's fair.

He was incredibly unhelpful and rude. I deal with customers everyday in my job and would be fired if I even dared speak to a customer in such a manner. It's just unacceptable and makes the whole operation look even more unprofessional.

Having the time and even request CCTV to prove you complained.

I fully get what you are saying but I deal with the public and some can be seriously deranged and dangerous and still look for names and numbers and take pictures and video and absolutely mad things.


I ain't giving any personal details out .

j8wk2feszrnpao

Curb Your Enthusiasm wrote: »

He was incredibly unhelpful and rude. I deal with customers everyday in my job and would be fired if I even dared speak to a customer in such a manner. It's just unacceptable and makes the whole operation look even more unprofessional.

Sums up BE and a lot of their drivers.
But it starts at the top in any customer service profession. The drivers are like that cause they can get away with it.

namloc1980

munstermagic11 wrote: »

Sums up BE and a lot of their drivers.
But it starts at the top in any customer service profession. The drivers are like that cause they can get away with it.

Poor customer service is a hallmark of monopolies. From the top down there is no incentive to be customer focussed. Add in a heavily unionised workforce and the customer ends up being an inconvenience on a daily basis.

magentis

munstermagic11 wrote: »

Sums up BE and a lot of their drivers.
But it starts at the top in any customer service profession. The drivers are like that cause they can get away with it.

The drivers are like that because they have been cleaned out and many don't care any more.Walk into busaras(I'm sure Parnell place will be the same)and you will find all the ticket desks closed,all the information points closed,no porters,no ancillary staff.Drivers passing through most likely on their break time being asked questions about services,one inspector expected to do everything.

It's like this because government policy and spending dictates it.

JupiterKid

It comes from the top. The government just don’t care about proper public transport and it is grossly starved of funds and investment, just like with social housing. You see, it’s all about “the free market” at the expense of a proper level of public services.

It is all about survival of the fittest and those in society who can’t afford a car or a house on a mortgage can go hang...

whisky_galore

JupiterKid wrote: »

It comes from the top. The government just don’t care about proper public transport and it is grossly starved of funds and investment, just like with social housing. You see, it’s all about “the free market” at the expense of a proper level of public services.

It is all about survival of the fittest and those in society who can’t afford a car or a house on a mortgage can go hang...

That's it in a nutshell.
The govt would rather you help fill their coffers by buying a nice new car and hand over wodges of cash taxing and running it.

j8wk2feszrnpao

magentis wrote: »

The drivers are like that because they have been cleaned out and many don't care any more.

Define cleaned out? Pay and pension details.
They drive a bus. It has a degree of responsibility, but not high skill level. I worked in a shop before, minimum pay and zero benefits in the job; still treated customers with respect. The drivers are like that because of they get away with it.

snotboogie

JupiterKid wrote: »

It comes from the top. The government just don’t care about proper public transport and it is grossly starved of funds and investment, just like with social housing. You see, it’s all about “the free market” at the expense of a proper level of public services.

It is all about survival of the fittest and those in society who can’t afford a car or a house on a mortgage can go hang...

I would say that Bus Eireann is the exact opposite of the free market.

magentis

munstermagic11 wrote: »

Define cleaned out? Pay and pension details.
They drive a bus. It has a degree of responsibility, but not high skill level. I worked in a shop before, minimum pay and zero benefits in the job; still treated customers with respect. The drivers are like that because of they get away with it.

A degree of responsibility-no greater responsibility than being responsible for transporting people.In that drivers are often carrying over 80 people in a >€700,000 46 foot double deck coach on motorways,through towns and often on roads that are unsuitable.Plenty skill involved there,far removed from stacking shelves in a shop.

That same driver could be nearing the end of a day spread over 13 hours(excluding his commute time),he may also have done the same the 2 or 3 days before.15 hours from the time he left his own house and family to the time he got back.Not very conducive to road safety now is it?Where the RSA recently stated fatigue is a major issue on our roads.

j8wk2feszrnpao

magentis wrote: »

A degree of responsibility-no greater responsibility than being responsible for transporting people.In that drivers are often carrying over 80 people in a >€700,000 46 foot double deck coach on motorways,through towns and often on roads that are unsuitable.Plenty skill involved there,far removed from stacking shelves in a shop.

That same driver could be nearing the end of a day spread over 13 hours(excluding his commute time),he may also have done the same the 2 or 3 days before.15 hours from the time he left his own house and family to the time he got back.Not very conducive to road safety now is it?Where the RSA recently stated fatigue is a major issue on our roads.

So no details on pay and pension? The usual response when asked to clarify 'cleaned out'.

No greater responsibility? Give over. There is a degree of responsibility, but don't try over play it.

I mentioned 'shelf stacking' (but it also involved handling large sums of cash, transactions with vendors/customers, it was an off licence so dealing with drunk customers and ensuring we followed the law for underage drinkers; so some responsibility there) in terms of the low pay involved but still maintaining a courteous relationship with the customer; which you also avoided to address.

Cherry_Cola

Well they refused to let a woman on in a wheelchair initially this morning on the Kinsale bus. Had to be lifted in out of the chair. Pretty disgraceful.

SusieBlue

That's interesting, I actually had huge issues with the 202 this week. I normally get the 8:20am bus, and its meant to go every 10 minutes. When I arrived at the bus stop, there were already about 7/8 people there. One women told me she had been waiting since 7:50am.

One bus finally arrived at 9:50, but due to so many missed busses, it was heaving and was so full it was a safety hazard. Regardless, it didn't stop. A bus finally arrived at 9:05. I asked the driver what was going on and apparently a few drivers had called in sick so routes had to be cut, coupled with heavy traffic.

I was dead late for work, not to mention freezing from standing out in the cold. I felt even sorrier for the poor woman standing there an hour and 15 minutes.

end of the road

Curb Your Enthusiasm wrote: »

Hi all,

Just wondering if any of ye have had other issues with the BE city services in Cork.

My route, 223 has been notoriously poor but this week really is taking the pi$$.

Yesterday, first day back to college, I rely on the once a day (7.39 am) 223 service that goes direct to CIT rather than the usual South Mall.

This service picked me up in Rochestown, late as usual, however instead of going to CIT like it's supposed to, the bus went into the city to the bus station, parked at a bay, the driver got out and barked back at us that there was a driver change.

This was nearly 9am and this bus is supposed to be in CIT at 8.35am.

Another driver got on at the bus station a few mins later, drove around the corner, parked the bus. Looked back at us all and said "what are ye all doing here lads?!" And told us to get off the bus and walk to Patrick's Street to catch another service to CIT.

His response when asked what happened; "ah we needed the bus for something else". I arrived to CIT an hour later than I was supposed to, and missed half my first lecture of my first day back.

Just unbelievable.

And it gets worse. Today, this morning, I'm waiting for the same 7.39 am service to CIT. And the bus never showed up. Nothing. I was waiting for over an hour until I finally hopped on the next bus I saw which was only going to town. Late again.

Spoke to the most obnoxious man in the inspectors office at Parnell Pl bus station this morning, who refused to give me his name and when I asked about these services he simply began to rant about lack of drivers, "operational issues" (a blanket excuse that seems to be used by both drivers and customer service) and told me that "because we're not Dublin the drivers are treated like scum".
Absolutely obnoxious and unprofessional. I contacted the services manager in Capwell Depot but have not heard back yet.

I'm just lost for words at how poor this company is. They are nearly always late, however simply not showing up and also diverting services and kicking people off the bus to walk to another service is just unforgivable and a disgrace.

Monkstown, Passage West, Rochestown and other areas all rely on this service and it is absolutely ridiculous that we have to put up with these shananigans. It's just so, so poor. This again is a once a day, 5 times a week service that us students in these areas have to rely on.

Apologies for the long post but I wanted to stress just what's actually going on here.

What are my options here, with regards to bringing it to the attention of others and government bodies if needed? Because this isn't acceptable at all.

Thank you.

you need to report this to the national transport authority. do everything else punisher5112 has suggested also. let us know how you get on if you can.

munstermagic11 wrote: »

So no details on pay and pension? The usual response when asked to clarify 'cleaned out'.

No greater responsibility? Give over. There is a degree of responsibility, but don't try over play it.

I mentioned 'shelf stacking' (but it also involved handling large sums of cash, transactions with vendors/customers, it was an off licence so dealing with drunk customers and ensuring we followed the law for underage drinkers; so some responsibility there) in terms of the low pay involved but still maintaining a courteous relationship with the customer; which you also avoided to address.

he isn't over playing it. driving a bus is a very responsible job.

Cherry_Cola wrote: »

Well they refused to let a woman on in a wheelchair initially this morning on the Kinsale bus. Had to be lifted in out of the chair. Pretty disgraceful.

agreed, that is very unfortunate for that woman. however unfortunately it's not in the job description of the driver to lift people as far as i know. maybe it should be but that's a different argument, i'm not sure how practical it would be in practice.
the bus should have a wheel chair ramp anyway and drivers should be obligated to let it up and down when required. there is no excuse for PSO busses not to have ramps in this day and age.

j8wk2feszrnpao

end of the road wrote: »

he isn't over playing it. driving a bus is a very responsible job.

He said "no greater responsibility than being responsible for transporting people". That's over playing it to huge degree.

Xterminator

.

It's like this because government policy and spending dictates it.

no. the rudeness is cultural and endemic in the organisation. the customer should be the focus of the business, not an inconvenience at best. you don't see it happening in the private sector, where we are told the terms and conditions are worse.

Its not acceptable, and blaming it on government subvention levels is excusing the individuals who are responsible for how they go about their job.

end of the road

Xterminator wrote: »

no. the rudeness is cultural and endemic in the organisation. the customer should be the focus of the business, not an inconvenience at best. you don't see it happening in the private sector, where we are told the terms and conditions are worse.

really? you don't see it happening in the private sector? sorry to burst your bubble but yes you do. there is for the most part less of a chance of getting away with such behaviour and rightly so, but to suggest such behaviour doesn't happen in the private sector is just not true.

Xterminator wrote: »

Its not acceptable, and blaming it on government subvention levels is excusing the individuals who are responsible for how they go about their job.

such behaviour isn't exceptible, agreed. however suggesting that government underfunding is causing problems is not excusing the individuals at all. nobody has excused them.

Stephen15

I don't get this complaining about staff when complaining about DB/BE/IE. Staff are just doing a job which they are paid a wage to do. For example a bus driver does not have to be or need to be super courteous and friendly as they are not customer service assistants they are bus drivers who are paid to drive a bus in a safe and efficient manner.

I meet very friendly people and some very unfriendly people on a daily basis some these people happen to work for private companies too such as in shops. When they are rude I accept that they're personality is unfriendly or they are having a bad day same goes for bus drivers some are very nice and friendly some are grumpy and the majority are somewhere in between just like people in everyday life who can also fit into these categories.

If you don't like people being rude to you stay at home because it's a fact of everyday life that some people will be rude to you.

Company/Government is another issue as it requires drivers to communicate with passengers and vice versa as you have either pay a fare to the driver or tag a leap card on which is done by the driver. If all city buses were made cashless and leap cards were validated separately with flat like the left hand validator on DB then nobody will ever have to deal or complain about an unhelpful bus driver ever again in this country.

Look at other countries for example if you take a bus in most European cities you will not have to communicate with the driver meaning as buses are cashless and validation is done by the passenger meaning you can get on and off the bus without having to communicate with the driver.

If you don't have communicate you don't have any reason to complain about a driver unless he/she is driving in an unsafe manner which is fair enough.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Stephen15 wrote: »

If you don't like people being rude to you stay at home because it's a fact of everyday life that some people will be rude to you.

When paying for a service you shouldn't have to accept it. Bus drivers in the main are fine, poor service (or rude service) is not acceptable.
People will be rude to you, that is a fact. Being on the receiving end when you are correct and a paying customer is something you shouldn't have to deal with.

jimmycrackcorm

Cork Truck Driver wrote:

Would you rather some or all of the Cork routes were put out to tender in a similar fashion to that in Dublin and Waterford?

Tendering in itself can also have negative impacts however, poor buses/low drivers pay etc.

Actually it porridges something better, a quality service for consumers.

magentis wrote:

That same driver could be nearing the end of a day spread over 13 hours(excluding his commute time),he may also have done the same the 2 or 3 days before.15 hours from the time he left his own house and family to the time he got back.Not very conducive to road safety now is it?Where the RSA recently stated fatigue is a major issue on our roads.

Trying to suggest that drivers are actually driving all thirteen hours? And what's with the point about spending two hours getting to and from work?

end of the road

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Actually it porridges something better, a quality service for consumers.

i'm afraid that is not always true, it is not a given and there is no guarantee of that happening.

Frostybrew

The issue is with senior management and the board of Bus Eireann and CIE. There is no interest in running a good service. This attitude filters down to all levels of the company.

For the Cork area I would create a new Cork Transport Authority with new management, that have the requisite skills to run a public transit authority; as opposed to having it staffed with political appointees, who's only qualification is to back some political party.

Stephen15

munstermagic11 wrote: »

When paying for a service you shouldn't have to accept it. Bus drivers in the main are fine, poor service (or rude service) is not acceptable.
People will be rude to you, that is a fact. Being on the receiving end when you are correct and a paying customer is something you shouldn't have to deal with.

Did I say it was acceptable?

There are plenty of things that are not acceptable but you have to accept. The world isin't fair. You are right you shouldn't have to deal with it but you do anyway. The only ones providing a poor service are The NTA and BE not it's drivers or other staff.

Frostybrew

For the record I find the majority of the drivers to be friendly and helpful, with the exception of a small minority of bad tempered older drivers.

I use the bus regularly, and you definitely get the impression that the powers that be see the regional city services as a social service for various disadvantaged sections of our society; rather than a transit solution for commuters and the general public.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Stephen15 wrote: »

Did I say it was acceptable?

There are plenty of things that are not acceptable but you have to accept. The world isin't fair. You are right you shouldn't have to deal with it but you do anyway. The only ones providing a poor service are The NTA and BE not it's drivers or other staff.

You hinted that if you encountered it, you should stay at home.

And you don't have to accept it, you should confront such unacceptable rudeness.
Are you seriously saying drivers/staff are not being rude at times? They are the front line staff who deal directly with the customer.

I agree that it starts at the top. But it's not just the those at senior management, the entire company suffers from having the monopoly it does; reflected in the many poor encounters the customers have with it's staff.

end of the road

munstermagic11 wrote: »

You hinted that if you encountered it, you should stay at home.

And you don't have to accept it, you should confront such unacceptable rudeness.
Are you seriously saying drivers/staff are not being rude at times? They are the front line staff who deal directly with the customer.

I agree that it starts at the top. But it's not just the those at senior management, the entire company suffers from having the monopoly it does; reflected in the many poor encounters the customers have with it's staff.

the company doesn't suffer from having a supposed monopoly (something they have actually never had on a lot of routes) . badly behaved and rude staff are nothing to do with monopolies, we know this because badly behaved and rude staff exist in many different companies in many different industries.

Stephen15

munstermagic11 wrote: »

You hinted that if you encountered it, you should stay at home.

And you don't have to accept it, you should confront such unacceptable rudeness.
Are you seriously saying drivers/staff are not being rude at times? They are the front line staff who deal directly with the customer.

I agree that it starts at the top. But it's not just the those at senior management, the entire company suffers from having the monopoly it does; reflected in the many poor encounters the customers have with it's staff.

Yes what I'm pointing is that there are many that are unacceptable which you have to accept for example I don't find littering acceptable but I have to accept it otherwise I would never be able to leave my house again. I believe the same could apply here not making it right.

But other than that the reason the service provided by BE is so bad is because most people are willing to accept the shoddy service which is mostly managements fault. If the offices of county council's, BE, DB, IE, CIE, DoT and The NTA were bombarded with complaints on a daily basis then they would eventually have to do something to improve the service as they have respond to each and every complaint meaning eventually they will get so sick of reading and responding to complaints they may rectify the issues.

But unfortunately people in Ireland are not willing to complain and will put up with poor service as the people who have to use the services are willing to put up with the poor service on offer and the ones aren't willing use the service are not using the service provided and instead go by car further congesting our streets and polluting our air because of the poor service provided.

Evil-1

Why oh why do people complain to Bus Eireann about problems on PSO routes, that is pointless as Bus Eireann is only the contractor on route 223, you need to complain to the people who are actually responsible for that route , https://www.nationaltransport.ie/bus-licensing/make-a-complaint/

punisher5112

Evil-1 wrote: »

Why oh why do people complain to Bus Eireann about problems on PSO routes, that is pointless as Bus Eireann is only the contractor on route 223, you need to complain to the people who are actually responsible for that route , https://www.nationaltransport.ie/bus-licensing/make-a-complaint/

This has been explained already many times previously... On this exact thread.

end of the road

punisher5112 wrote: »

This has been explained already many times previously... On this exact thread.

agreed. but to be fair, the average member of the public is unlikely to know of the NTA, who they are or what they do. they will know of the operator however. now personally i blame the NTA for that for not informing the public about them, or if they are, it's certainly not a visible information campaign as i have never saw any public promotion myself.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Stephen15 wrote: »

Yes what I'm pointing is that there are many that are unacceptable which you have to accept for example I don't find littering acceptable but I have to accept it otherwise I would never be able to leave my house again. I believe the same could apply here not making it right.

So you are saying it's acceptable?
We are not talking about littering. This is a thread on the OPs experience with the bus service; that's what we are dealing with here.
And you don't have to accept littering. You can now photograph someone, report them.....or even just pick it up yourself and put it int the bin; it doesn't already have to end in the doomsday-like scenario in your mind that one must lock themselves into their house.

Stephen15 wrote: »

But unfortunately people in Ireland are not willing to complain

The OP did complain, so this isn't a correct statement. People in Ireland do complain; complaints are logged all the time.

j8wk2feszrnpao

end of the road wrote: »

the company doesn't suffer from having a supposed monopoly (something they have actually never had on a lot of routes) . badly behaved and rude staff are nothing to do with monopolies, we know this because badly behaved and rude staff exist in many different companies in many different industries.

I didn't say rude/bad staff are exclusive to monopolies; just that it's a factor that doesn't help with their work practices.
I've worked in plenty of private companies and it's there as well; it's just that with the private company, you typically can go somewhere else if you encounter bad service.

sondagefaux

Seems like the Passage service has been rubbish for some time now:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/video/news/passage-needs-services-protest-over-223-bus-service-466094.html

sondagefaux

Seems like the Passage service has been rubbish for some time now:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/video/news/passage-needs-services-protest-over-223-bus-service-466094.html

end of the road

munstermagic11 wrote: »

I didn't say rude/bad staff are exclusive to monopolies; just that it's a factor that doesn't help with their work practices.

well, that's not what my reading of your post suggests, but fair enough. even with your clarification, i can say that monopolies have no part to play in this.

munstermagic11 wrote: »

I've worked in plenty of private companies and it's there as well; it's just that with the private company, you typically can go somewhere else if you encounter bad service.

well actually, with any company public or private you can go somewhere else if others are providing a competing offering. being able to go elsewhere isn't to do with the fact a company is private, but the fact that the industry can support multiple service providers.