Dublin Coach Experience Discussion Thread

Matthew Gleeson · 23-07-2017 8:39am #1

I use them 5 days a week to get to work and very much appreciate the service but have to ask if others out there are having some of the same issues with them that I am. Buses seem to break down, routes are cancelled and or severely delayed on a near daily occurrence.

One look on trip advisor shows people have experienced similar. The drivers are sound but one or two seem to run on a different clock to the rest of them so it's not uncommon to be either left waiting an hour or running for a bus thats pulling away 15 minutes early!

Would love to know your Dublin Coach stories, cause I have plenty.

Quackster · 23-07-2017 2:32pm

Matthew Gleeson wrote: »

I use them 5 days a week to get to work and very much appreciate the service but have to ask if others out there are having some of the same issues with them that I am. Buses seem to break down, routes are cancelled and or severely delayed on a near daily occurrence.

One look on trip advisor shows people have experienced similar. The drivers are sound but one or two seem to run on a different clock to the rest of them so it's not uncommon to be either left waiting an hour or running for a bus thats pulling away 15 minutes early!

Would love to know your Dublin Coach stories, cause I have plenty.

My infrequent use of the Dublin/Tralee service would bear that out. The timetable is completely fantastical and the last time I traveled with them, the old clapped-out coach overheated and the mortified driver had to stop at a house and ask for a fill of water to get it going again.

They are nothing but a very last option for me.

thomond2006 · 23-07-2017 6:17pm

I've used them on Limerick-Dublin many times, most of the time there's no issue. It's a lot better getting on/off since they terminate at Bachelor's Walk and restart from Burgh Quay. I did give up on taking buses on Friday evenings due to full buses though.

JeffK88 · 23-07-2017 8:06pm

Fairly regular user for work in the Airport. Pretty much the same experience as yourself. Most of the time it runs fine but the breakdowns do get annoying especially the middle of the night ones for night shifts.The overcrowding is becoming a problem too especially between newbridge and naas. I usual take the coach 2 hours before work start on the daytime buses just to be safe. As for stories where do I begin. Its mainly the other passengers that use the service who provide the most entertainment for me. For example a lady today with luggage got on the bus and the driver said to her that she could leave her luggage at the front of the bus because she was getting off at the next stop so she decides to sit on her suit case at the door of the bus creating her own seat

. I could tell you hundreds of stories

Matthew Gleeson · 23-07-2017 8:49pm

Quackster wrote: »

My infrequent use of the Dublin/Tralee service would bear that out. The timetable is completely fantastical and the last time I traveled with them, the old clapped-out coach overheated and the mortified driver had to stop at a house and ask for a fill of water to get it going again.

They are nothing but a very last option for me.

That's a Dublin coach experience

Matthew Gleeson · 23-07-2017 8:52pm

JeffK88 wrote: »

Fairly regular user for work in the Airport. Pretty much the same experience as yourself. Most of the time it runs fine but the breakdowns do get annoying especially the middle of the night ones for night shifts.The overcrowding is becoming a problem too especially between newbridge and naas. I usual take the coach 2 hours before work start on the daytime buses just to be safe. As for stories where do I begin. Its mainly the other passengers that use the service who provide the most entertainment for me. For example a lady today with luggage got on the bus and the driver said to her that she could leave her luggage at the front of the bus because she was getting off at the next stop so she decides to sit on her suit case at the door of the bus creating her own seat . I could tell you hundreds of stories

Brilliant! Have seen similar. Recently a guy had a full shouting match at the driver cause he said he fell getting off the bus. He was just looking for a claim, and he ran away when the gards came and got on a bus back in the opposite direction

I felt so bad for the driver. We were also 30 minutes late before this

road_high · 23-07-2017 8:53pm

Pretty poor shabby buses, given a lick of paint to cover the cracks.
Follow them on Facebook and almost every single post relates to late buses, constantly.

boardsuser1 · 23-07-2017 8:59pm

Most of the old buses are bought from Aircoach, the Setra's anyway.

Ironically Aircoach was set up by the Dublin Coach owner John O'Sullivan.

The personnel manager isn't great either.

I went for an interview with them and fcuked up.

Turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Matthew Gleeson · 23-07-2017 9:10pm

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

Most of the old buses are bought from Aircoach, the Setra's anyway.

Ironically Aircoach was set up by the Dublin Coach owner John O'Sullivan.

The personnel manager isn't great either.

I went for an interview with them and fcuked up.

Turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Interesting one! I thought some of them looked like old air coaches. The last few I've been on used to be for airport car parks and don't seem to be great for 45 minute journey.

Panjandrums · 23-07-2017 9:36pm

This post has been deleted.

howiya · 24-07-2017 12:55am

I've reason to go Belfast next weekend. i should take aircoach or the train based on these reports?

Losty Dublin · 24-07-2017 1:25am

howiya wrote: »

I've reason to go Belfast next weekend. i should take aircoach or the train based on these reports?

Bus is more frequent and cheaper. The train is dearer but you'll probably have a better and more comfortable experience. And the on board breakfast is pretty good.

NoFace · 24-07-2017 2:58am

I use Dublin Coach frequently to get to Dungarvan, Waterford, however it always takes an hour longer than timetabled to get there. They're still quicker than any other service to get down there though, so I'll be sticking with them until a better option comes along.
The driver kicked some people off the bus last time I used it cos the bus was full and there were people waiting who had booked tickets online (who get priority) - it left people stranded, waiting for the next one in 2 hours time, in a place they didn't board the bus, it was ridiculous! I reckon I'll be booking all my future trips online to avoid this ever happening now

boardsuser1 · 24-07-2017 6:35am

NoFace wrote: »

I use Dublin Coach frequently to get to Dungarvan, Waterford, however it always takes an hour longer than timetabled to get there. They're still quicker than any other service to get down there though, so I'll be sticking with them until a better option comes along.
The driver kicked some people off the bus last time I used it cos the bus was full and there were people waiting who had booked tickets online (who get priority) - it left people stranded, waiting for the next one in 2 hours time, in a place they didn't board the bus, it was ridiculous! I reckon I'll be booking all my future trips online to avoid this ever happening now

Is that even legal?

schemingbohemia · 24-07-2017 10:13am

JeffK88 wrote: »

Fairly regular user for work in the Airport. Pretty much the same experience as yourself. Most of the time it runs fine but the breakdowns do get annoying especially the middle of the night ones for night shifts.The overcrowding is becoming a problem too especially between newbridge and naas. I usual take the coach 2 hours before work start on the daytime buses just to be safe. As for stories where do I begin. Its mainly the other passengers that use the service who provide the most entertainment for me. For example a lady today with luggage got on the bus and the driver said to her that she could leave her luggage at the front of the bus because she was getting off at the next stop so she decides to sit on her suit case at the door of the bus creating her own seat . I could tell you hundreds of stories

Are people standing? That's illegal on those buses as far as i'm aware.

boardsuser1 · 24-07-2017 10:16am

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Are people standing? That's illegal on those buses as far as i'm aware.

When i was driving the Aircoach if someone had no seat they had to get back off the coach.

Anything bus or coach with standing passengers can do no more than 65 km/h, roughly 40mph.

I've never seen anyone standing on a coach journey, no doubt it has happened somewhere in the country though.

boardsuser1 · 24-07-2017 10:18am

Matthew Gleeson wrote: »

Interesting one! I thought some of them looked like old air coaches. The last few I've been on used to be for airport car parks and don't seem to be great for 45 minute journey.

Those old Setra's are shot to pieces.

Constantly breaking down.

When Aircoach sold them there was in excess of 2-3 million km's on each of them.

One's man's sh1te is another man's gold.

devnull · 24-07-2017 10:25am

They also recently without any notice cancelled one of their routes for a day.
https://www.facebook.com/DublinCoach/posts/1426226450792658

Most of their problems seem to stem from tight turn-around times at terminuses and also the fact they have a pretty old fleet, for example I believe they have over 22 Setras between 12-13 years old, most of which are ex Aircoach and over 10 Neoplan deckers from 2004 which were ex Oxford Tube which are the mainstays of their fleet and all would have had very hard lives with their previous operators.

The Belfast route does have new coaches on it but it's very much the exception than the rule. That said, they are said to be on the market for some additional second hand coaches that may be 3-4 years younger than the Setra/Neoplans so maybe they will replace them.

myshirt · 24-07-2017 10:25am

They have been buying them new at North of 300 a piece in the last 3 years, they don't get them from Air Coach. They bought 3 Chinese buses aswell, which was a disaster.

The demand has went through the roof, and their license limits them with putting on extra buses. I like this crowd, they fight a good fight for the consumer despite all the giving out that Bus Eireann and Irish Rail went on with. Don't we all remember 70 quid return to Dublin to finance the lump sums and big pensions to these people.

boardsuser1 · 24-07-2017 10:31am

devnull wrote: »

They also recently without any notice cancelled one of their routes for a day.
https://www.facebook.com/DublinCoach/posts/1426226450792658

Most of their problems seem to stem from tight turn-around times at terminuses and also the fact they have a pretty old fleet, for example I believe they have over 22 Setras between 12-13 years old, most of which are ex Aircoach and over 10 Neoplan deckers from 2004 which were ex Oxford Tube which are the mainstays of their fleet and all would have had very hard lives with their previous operators.

The Belfast route does have new coaches on it but it's very much the exception than the rule. That said, they are said to be on the market for some additional second hand coaches that may be 3-4 years younger than the Setra/Neoplans so maybe they will replace them.

I know the Neoplan overdeckers, the 2004 ones are ex Stagecoach.

Some heaps of rubbish they have though.

As for the drivers, you see how poor the service is.

When i was interviewed for the job the money was €115 per day before tax, regardless of the hours worked.

punisher5112 · 24-07-2017 10:31am

The vehicles they have are in shocking disrepair.

In the last week I've seen a plastic bag holding an outer side panel on, luggage doors sticking out, rear engine covers fully open and 2 with bunjy straps holding them closed.

They leave them running no matter how early they are at the terminus with extremely bad fumes spewing out and just the green looks like snot.

I understand they have got some new vehicles but they are looking a bit shabby also.

I see many with lights not working also.

devnull · 24-07-2017 10:36am

myshirt wrote: »

They have been buying them new at North of 300 a piece in the last 3 years, they don't get them from Air Coach.

Most of their fleet is made up of 2004 vehicles that are ex Aircoach and Oxford Tube, they have approx 30 vehicles fitting that description at the last check on RTOL.ie which lists all the vehicles an operator has licensed.

They have acquired approx 15 new vehicles for their scheduled services in the last 3-4 years that I grant you, but 5 of them are locked religiously on Belfast, which leaves 10 for the other routes out of a total of what is about something like 60 coaches, half of which date back from around 13 years ago or so.

The demand has went through the roof, and their license limits them with putting on extra buses. I like this crowd, they fight a good fight for the consumer despite all the giving out that Bus Eireann and Irish Rail went on with.

Nobody denies that competition is good, I think the issue is that punctuality, service reliability and on-board experience is also important, personally I feel they have expanded too much too soon, they're essentially using money saved from acquiring vehicles on the second hand market to fund further expansion.

devnull · 24-07-2017 10:40am

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

I know the Neoplan overdeckers, the 2004 ones are ex Stagecoach.

I know some were ex Oxford Tube, but some of the others may have been from other parts of Stagecoach as well, good vehicles in their time certainly, but can't imagine they had easy life, same with Aircoach Setras, an operator like Aircoach that runs 24 hours a day 364 days year with the same timetable every day is always going to work their vehicles hard.

When i was interviewed for the job the money was €115 per day before tax, regardless of the hours worked.

Out of curiosity, how does that compare with other operators? And surely there has to be a limit to hours worked, or it has to average to a certain amount?

Would this explain the tight turn-around times at a terminus? Basically if a driver is late it costs them no more in wages?

boardsuser1 · 24-07-2017 11:04am

devnull wrote: »

I know some were ex Oxford Tube, but some of the others may have been from other parts of Stagecoach as well, good vehicles in their time certainly, but can't imagine they had easy life, same with Aircoach Setras, an operator like Aircoach that runs 24 hours a day 364 days year with the same timetable every day is always going to work their vehicles hard.

Out of curiosity, how does that compare with other operators? And surely there has to be a limit to hours worked, or it has to average to a certain amount?

Would this explain the tight turn-around times at a terminus? Basically if a driver is late it costs them no more in wages?

Yes it costs them nothing extra in wages even if the driver is late.

When i drove the Aircoach i was on €140 per day, my day was never longer than 9 hours.

3 hours up,2 hour break, 3 hours back and 1 hour cleaning and refuelling the coach.

In relation to hours worked, there is a set limit of 90 per fortnight, however any truck or bus with a tachograph before May 2006 use Analogue (paper sheets) tachographs, which you could realistically tear up.

After May 2006 you need a digi card and the only way to stop that is an illegal method i won't publicly repeat.

Lets just say if you are caught doing that method you will be arrested.

bk · 24-07-2017 12:52pm

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

When i was driving the Aircoach if someone had no seat they had to get back off the coach.

Anything bus or coach with standing passengers can do no more than 65 km/h, roughly 40mph.

I've never seen anyone standing on a coach journey, no doubt it has happened somewhere in the country though.

I've stood on a coach (and probably 30 other people on the same coach), St Kevins service to Glendalough, though I expect they kept speed under 65.

Never seen it intercity.

As others have said Dublin Coaches fleet age is very unbalanced. They do have some new, modern, coaches, but they are mostly on the new Belfast route.

The majority of the fleet is quite old now, mostly second hand coaches from Aircoach and other parts of Stagecoach in the UK. Would have massive amounts of mileage on them already and likely nearing their end of life, at least on such high frequency services, which is probably why people are seeing so many break downs.

There is a reason why Aircoach and other coach companies sell on these coaches and try to keep a relatively young fleet. As they get older, they suffer more breakdowns and take a lot more effort and cost to maintain and keep running.

Dublin Coach seems to have a habit of buying second hand coaches that are already almost done and then running them into the ground for 3 or 4 years and then rinse and repeat. Obviously much cheaper then buying new. But bad for the customers due to more breakdowns and less reliability.

But then they have little competition on their core Limerick corridor. So they get away with it. Notice how they have the new coaches on the Belfast route where they face lots of competition from Aircoach, BE/Ulsterbus, etc.

punisher5112 · 24-07-2017 6:33pm

John O'Sullivan was an employee at bus eireann and then started Aircoach and of course now Dublin coach....

He had leased all the setras years ago but has gone down the road of probably picking them up for buttons.

Seams to do the start up get routes and sell off for big money.

Something in me says he will most likely do the same.

boardsuser1 · 24-07-2017 6:43pm

punisher5112 wrote: »

John O'Sullivan was an employee at bus eireann and then started Aircoach and of course now Dublin coach....

He had leased all the setras years ago but has gone down the road of probably picking them up for buttons.

Seams to do the start up get routes and sell off for big money.

Something in me says he will most likely do the same.

http://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/dublin-bus-service-to-create-20-jobs-31495678.html

They are crying out for drivers on a regular basis, John hasn't repeated the magic of Aircoach.

https://www.jobs.ie/ApplyForJob.aspx?Id=1634808

JeffK88 · 25-07-2017 10:46am

schemingbohemia wrote: »

Are people standing? That's illegal on those buses as far as i'm aware.

For the most part, no people are not standing if they are its between stops in either Naas or Newbridge. Normally some drivers will only take Red Cow & Airport passengers on the Airport Coach and ask others for Naas to take the shuttle which is a few mins behind the Airport bus.They have introduced a shuttle between Kildare and Naas which has helped with this but it only operates between 0830 and 2030 so buses before the 830 especially tend to get crowded looking at you 0520 bus.

devnull · 25-07-2017 10:59am

JeffK88 wrote: »

hey have introduced a shuttle between Kildare and Naas which has helped with this but it only operates between 0830 and 2030 so buses before the 830 especially tend to get crowded looking at you 0520 bus.

This service has been cancelled for the whole day twice without any sufficient notice to passengers in the last month or so, which in my opinion is not acceptable, it's good that they provided this extra capacity, but at the same time passengers need to be able to rely on it.

JeffK88 · 25-07-2017 11:57am

devnull wrote: »

This service has been cancelled for the whole day twice without any sufficient notice to passengers in the last month or so, which in my opinion is not acceptable, it's good that they provided this extra capacity, but at the same time passengers need to be able to rely on it.

Ive noticed this too. Reliability is needed which at present is not there. When working nights last week two 0130 Portlaoise to Airport services failed to show up. Now I know at these times not many be using the service but I was a huge inconvenience. Thankfully ( which ive noticed more so lately ) they had a replacement bus on the road a good few min later than the scheduled service run the route and manage to.get to the airport with a 20min delay overall. But by right there should be a reliable service. Overall ive only had a handful of problems in the 7 months of using various services daily and have cut my overall costs of commuting to work vastly. I welcome more 24 hour services and ryanair model coach services because seeing how crowded the early morning services get shows there is demand for these 24 hour services on some transport corridors. Dublin Coach will hopefully encourage other companies and follow suit.

spurious · 25-07-2017 12:01pm

I steer well clear of them on the motorways. Have lost count the number of near misses I have seen their drivers in. They always seem to be in a terrible hurry.

boardsuser1 · 25-07-2017 12:03pm

spurious wrote: »

I steer well clear of them on the motorways. Have lost count the number of near misses I have seen their drivers in. They always seem to be in a terrible hurry.

Yeah, the quicker they get around the quicker they finish, it makes no difference to the company how long it takes except extra diesel.

thelad95 · 25-07-2017 12:20pm

I honestly don't know how they get away with running a service from Dublin to Tralee (realistically 5-5:30 hour journey) without a toilet on board.

The breakdowns and w*nker drivers also are a major downside. I understand that online bookings and return ticket holders take priority but I saw a driver literally manhandling some passengers off of a bus which he had given them a ticket for only minutes previously, all because an online booking had shown up.

This company are a Joe Duffy show waiting to happen.

3_BOoYA_X · 25-07-2017 12:23pm

I spent a few months getting the Dublin Coach daily between the airport and Naas around 2 years ago. The buses used to frequently breakdown mid n7, not because of any technical problem but because they ran out of fuel every time! Madness how the company runs, 11pm at night standing on the side of the motorway with one or two random oddballs.

Worst experience I ever had with them was during the redcow upgrades. I was the only passenger on the bus, sitting downstairs, late one night, the driver was phoned by a colleague who said to take an earlier exit because redcow was closed off at J1. After a few km circling around kingswood and the belgard road due to the road diversions the driver lost the plot and began screaming and banging the bus window in frustration. It was terrifying, battery dead on my mobile, only female on bus, shortly after I sorted myself with a car.
At the time I stupidly never reported cause this guy seemed genuinely nice the rest of the time and used to chat to me quite a bit, often wonder does he still work for them..

Sabre0001 · 25-07-2017 12:24pm

Thankfully haven't had any issues with breakdowns. Good service (Dublin-Limerick), a much better price than competitors, and doesn't stop everywhere which is great. Queuing "system" is a disaster, so def recommend pre-booking tickets - one day the 5:45 was full, so they gave out raffle tickets to those who didn't get on...which then meant absolutely nothing when the next bus rolled in.

Did have a bag taken from the underside once and no one was of much help.

sleepyholland · 25-07-2017 12:25pm

I get it occasionally from Dungarvan to Dublin.
It's the best public transport for this route.

The 6.10 one gets to Dublin City Centre around 9.40 every time. 30 mins later than scheduled. That's fine as I know this and expect it.

The 18.10 from Dublin is often 10 or 20 mins late leaving and usually gets to Dungarvan about 30 mins late too.

Many of the drivers seem inexperienced, wreckless or dangerous. I've had them hit roundabouts and kerbs in Waterford City that I've never experienced on hundreds of other bus journeys on the same route. Some of them are constantly driving erratically and braking hard behind slower moving cars on the motorway.

Worst thing though is that out of my 30 or so journeys 4 of them have had breakdowns. 3 were resolved by the driver calling someone and getting instructions on how to restart the bus.

By far the worst of these was a driver breaking down on a bend in the overtaking lane on the M9 one morning. I thought by law a coach shouldn't even be there?
It felt pretty dangerous sitting there for 15 minutes while articulated trucks undertook us at 100km/ph.

I contacted Dublin Coach on Twitter, Facebook and email about this and they didn't respond.

boardsuser1 · 25-07-2017 12:27pm

sleepyholland wrote: »

I get it occasionally from Dungarvan to Dublin.
It's the best public transport for this route.

The 6.10 one gets to Dublin City Centre around 9.40 every time. 30 mins later than scheduled. That's fine as I know this and expect it.

The 18.10 from Dublin is often 10 or 20 mins late leaving and usually gets to Dungarvan about 30 mins late too.

Many of the drivers seem inexperienced, wreckless or dangerous. I've had them hit roundabouts and kerbs in Waterford City that I've never experienced on hundreds of other bus journeys on the same route. Some of them are constantly driving erratically and braking hard behind slower moving cars on the motorway.

Worst thing though is that out of my 30 or so journeys 4 of them have had breakdowns. 3 were resolved by the driver calling someone and getting instructions on how to restart the bus.

By far the worst of these was a driver breaking down on a bend in the overtaking lane on the M9 one morning. I thought by law a coach shouldn't even be there?
It felt pretty dangerous sitting there for 15 minutes while articulated trucks undertook us at 100km/ph.

I contacted Dublin Coach on Twitter, Facebook and email about this and they didn't respond.

Was that during the roadworks in Killeagh or before/after?

sleepyholland · 25-07-2017 12:31pm

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

Was that during the roadworks in Killeagh or before/after?

Sorry - not sure what Killeagh has to do with it?

The only one I've gotten from Dungarvan is the 06:10 one.
It's always been on time coming from Cork if that's why you are asking?
But no traffic at that time of morning would help.

Been getting that one since June of last year.

irishgirl19 · 25-07-2017 12:42pm

Shambles of a service. Used to use m7 'express' from Kildare to town for work a few years ago.
It was always late.
One time the driver was too busy chatting to some girl and drove past our exit on the motorway

sleepyholland · 25-07-2017 12:45pm

irishgirl19 wrote: »

Shambles of a service. Used to use m7 'express' from Kildare to town for work a few years ago.
It was always late.
One time the driver was too busy chatting to some girl and drove past our exit on the motorway

There's one particular 'chatty' driver alright.

boardsuser1 · 25-07-2017 12:54pm

sleepyholland wrote: »

Sorry - not sure what Killeagh has to do with it?

The only one I've gotten from Dungarvan is the 06:10 one.
It's always been on time coming from Cork if that's why you are asking?
But no traffic at that time of morning would help.

Been getting that one since June of last year.

Th Dungarvan to Dublin coach comes from Cork, therefore would have to go through Killeagh.

sleepyholland · 25-07-2017 12:58pm

Like I said, I've only gotten one coming from Cork in Dungarvan at 6 in the morning so can't comment on the affect of roadworks.

My complaints about lateness are all to do with buses from Dublin to Dungarvan, unaffected by roadworks.

boardsuser1 · 25-07-2017 1:07pm

sleepyholland wrote: »

Like I said, I've only gotten one coming from Cork in Dungarvan at 6 in the morning so can't comment on the affect of roadworks.

My complaints about lateness are all to do with buses from Dublin to Dungarvan, unaffected by roadworks.

Can't really go wrong at that hour of the morning.

Are those cooaches clapped out internally?

Smelly, rattling etc?

I was behind one coming down the quays here in Cork over the weekend, a 2004 Setra, half the rear lights weren't working and thick black smoke coming from it,in the dark.

Why they won't properly invest in the Cork to Dublin Via Waterford/Kilkenny route is beyond me :rolleyes:

devnull · 25-07-2017 1:08pm

My only frequent use of them,was for a few months when I regularly had need to travel from Dundrum - Dublin Airport for a mixture of business and leisure, and whilst the service normally ran on time, some of the vehicles had seats with tray tables that were stuck down on your lap and couldn't be fixed up, seat grabs missing the handle part, and one seat totally missing the covering for its construction on the outside of it.

But the worst experience was one early morning run from Dundrum would have been that buses first duty of the day and the second on the timetable, I waited for just over 10 minutes past the due time at the terminus where the bus started from and there was no sign before I set Halo up to call for a cab which arrived within 5 minutes, no sign of the bus, got in the cab.

As we were going out onto the motorway a plain green minibus went past us at a rapid speed, much faster than the taxi, which turned out was the bus on the Dundrum route, complained to the company via social media and they said they cannot deal with it and to contact them by other way, called them, sorry put it in writing, put it in writing, got nothing back.

Didn't use the service to the airport after that.

devnull · 25-07-2017 1:21pm

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

Can't really go wrong at that hour of the morning.

Are those cooaches clapped out internally?

Smelly, rattling etc?

I was behind one coming down the quays here in Cork over the weekend, a 2004 Setra, half the rear lights weren't working and thick black smoke coming from it,in the dark.

Why they won't properly invest in the Cork to Dublin Via Waterford/Kilkenny route is beyond me :rolleyes:

I think the fleet as of a couple of months ago according to an enthusiast forum is 31x2004, 3x2005, 3x2008, 1x2010, 4x2012, 11x2014, 5x2016, 5x2017.

However the picture is clouded by the fact that those 2016 vehicles rarely operate scheduled services, there's one liveried for Belfast but three of the other four are used on tour work only, and the 2017 Tourismos are on Belfast only also.

However it is rumoured that they are looking to acquire some ex Shearings 2009 Setra single deck and ex Stagecoach 2009 Vanhool Double Decks which might improve the situation, but noticeable how the Belfast route gets brand new and the others will probably get second hand again.

boardsuser1 · 25-07-2017 1:32pm

devnull wrote: »

I think the fleet as of a couple of months ago according to an enthusiast forum is 31x2004, 3x2005, 3x2008, 1x2010, 4x2012, 11x2014, 5x2016, 5x2017.

However the picture is clouded by the fact that those 2016 vehicles rarely operate scheduled services, there's one liveried for Belfast but three of the other four are used on tour work only, and the 2017 Tourismos are on Belfast only also.

However it is rumoured that they are looking to acquire some ex Shearings 2009 Setra single deck and ex Stagecoach 2009 Vanhool Double Decks which might improve the situation, but noticeable how the Belfast route gets brand new and the others will probably get second hand again.

I drove a 2012 Tri-axle Setra when i went for the interview last year.

A fine coach it was as well, held the road very well,not a rattle out of it and plenty of power.

If anything the 2004/2005 coaches should go, even the neoplan overdeckers.

The 2009's would be a medium term solution provided they aren't as bad as the other Ex Stagecoach imports.

They currently have 1 Ex Aircoach going around with the blue colour scheme.

Leading to a bit of confusion at the stop here in Cork when they are all there.

It is odd that the cross border route is getting brand new coaches, are they hoping for more tenders in N.I?

boardsuser1 · 25-07-2017 1:33pm

This is the one i drove.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/90331239@N02/32040127976/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/90331239@N02/32040126686/in/dateposted-public/

Photos are my own.

boardsuser1 · 25-07-2017 1:43pm

This is still in service with Aircoach and is actually in very good condition for a 2005.

Wouldn't be surprised if it ends up with DC when withdrawn from service.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/90331239@N02/17669928716/in/album-72157645097712755/

boardsuser1 · 25-07-2017 1:46pm

A 2005 Dublin Coach Setra i spotted at junction 14 in 2015.

In good condition unusually.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/90331239@N02/18811646499/in/album-72157645097712755/

devnull · 25-07-2017 1:52pm

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

I drove a 2012 Tri-axle Setra when i went for the interview last year.

A fine coach it was as well, held the road very well,not a rattle out of it and plenty of power.

Being a Setra it's going to hold up well for a number of years, I wouldn't expect anything less really, they are fantastic coaches and not even hit mid-life yet.

If anything the 2004/2005 coaches should go, even the neoplan overdeckers.

The 2004 vehicles I think is made up of something like 19x ex Aircoach and over 10x ex Stagecoach/Oxford Tube, Can't imagine any of those vehicles had easy lives, I think the 2005 ones were with Dublin Coach from new.

The 2009's would be a medium term solution provided they aren't as bad as the other Ex Stagecoach imports.

From what I understand they will be ex Megabus and ex Oxford Tube.

It is odd that the cross border route is getting brand new coaches, are they hoping for more tenders in N.I?

They also are offering ultra cheap fares there £8/€10 return Dublin to Belfast, plus they are running pretty much head to head with Aircoach from same stop at Belfast within 5 minutes of each other.

Belfast the competition is pretty intense because as it's a cross border route so it's not subject to licensing. For example they wouldn't be allowed to run such a route fully within ROI on an a head to head basis.

devnull · 25-07-2017 2:14pm

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

A 2005 Dublin Coach Setra i spotted at junction 14 in 2015.

In good condition unusually.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/90331239@N02/18811646499/in/album-72157645097712755/

I believe that much of the current problems in Dublin Coach have been due to over expansion over the past couple of years, they've rapidly expanded their existing routes to quite a few new areas and started completely new routes in this time as well as expanding their timetables.

You also have to consider whilst the routes and service has expanded, a lot of that has been done on the back of adding second hand vehicles to the fleet to run then, for example 12x 2004 Setras left Aircoach between 2015-2016, 11 of them are now with Dublin Coach.

I'd be fairly certain that if they acquired vehicles that were half the age of the ex Aircoach vehicles or brand new, there's no way they'd be able to expand the way they have done, there is an argument that they should have expanded slower and invested more in their fleet - however none of us know the financial details of the company and it's trading performance so we can't judge fully.

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

This is still in service with Aircoach and is actually in very good condition for a 2005. Wouldn't be surprised if it ends up with DC when withdrawn from service.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/90331239@N02/17669928716/in/album-72157645097712755/

I believe that coach is owned by Aircoach whilst the 2004 Setras were leased.

Also you have to bear in mind that there is one thing very different between that Setras and the others. All of the others spent most of their lives operating 24x7 on the city routes as well as intercity, that Coach has never been off the intercity routes and spent most days just doing a single lap of Dublin-Cork and no more, so I would wager it would have far less mileage on the clock.

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