Dublin Airport Bus Service Changes & Discussion

coylemj wrote: »

Will that apply only to their Cork services or will Aircoach continue to set down at T2 for their other routes? I understand from earlier posts that boarding will be at zone 11 effective March 4th.

The only information I have confirmed from Aircoach is that from 4th March 2020 their services will only operate from Zone 11 effective that date and they will continue to be able to set passengers down at terminal 2 as well as their new stop. I am sure that they will make things clearer nearer the time.

Vic_08 wrote: »

I guess we should be thankful this sort of crap is not happening in Dublin, at least any operator who cannot get stop space has the PAYG coach park to fall back on.

The link mentions coaches so I expect to see a fleet of second hand Levantes being used, lots of NX contractors have too many of these yokes hanging over and they are not well liked on the second hand market outside of the NX sphere.

Would imagine the coach park is going to get busier though, since you've now got Aircoach moved to the coach and bus area that was already pretty full so either more zones are going to have to be shared between operators or some are going to have to drop back to the coach park.

We haven't heard what Citylink (currently Zone 13 and 14) and JJ Kavanagh are going to do (Currenly zone 12 and 14) and with the bulk of Bus Eireann Services moving from Zone 10 and 11 to Zone 13 and 14 they have to be moving somewhere you would have thought.

Not a fan of the Levante myself, poorly built and not that comfortable with claustraphobic seat belts and don't like the sloping seating layout. However the third, redesigned version that came out either last year or the year before is a certain improvement even though it's not perfect.

coylemj wrote: »

There will be fun outside T2 on March 3rd if Aircoach are still using that stop to pick up passengers and Dublin Express start running a service from there.

Aircoach say they will be moving to zone 11 on March 4th, the Dublin Express website says they are commencing their service on March 3rd. Looks like a one day overlap to me.

I would suspect there is some confusion on Aircoach's end.

Currently they are managed from the UK rather than Ireland and I believe that the person who is the interim managing director is doing the job in Ireland in addition to his role in the UK.

belfast stephen wrote: »

I like the Dublin coach service as it go stright to the city centre I have also heard that Dublin coach might have a new owner

Haven't heard anything myself - if that's based on the fact that there's another company in the group called Moorhill Capital that have had some of the assets to transfered, then you ought to know that this company has been around for over three years and happens to have the same directors as the other companies.

My biggest problem with Dublin Coach is how they operate a two tier service, the well used state of their fleet over the past few years and the fines that the Road Safety Authority has handed to them in the past.

belfast stephen wrote: »

It was a member of D.C staff who told me and it all the talk of the company at the moment

Must be something I haven't heard about then, nothing has changed yet according to cro.ie

coylemj wrote: »

There will be fun outside T2 on March 3rd if Aircoach are still using that stop to pick up passengers and Dublin Express start running a service from there.

Aircoach say they will be moving to zone 11 on March 4th, the Dublin Express website says they are commencing their service on March 3rd. Looks like a one day overlap to me.

Aircoach have now confirmed that their changes will be happening from 3rd March.

First three National Express routes expected to be
1) Dublin Airport T1 -> Dubin Airport T2 -> Custom House Quay -> Smithfield
2) Dublin Airport T1 -> Dublin Airport T2 -> Custom House Quay
3) Dublin Airport T1 -> Dublin Airport T2 -> Custom House Quay -> Merrion Square

A flat fare structure is highly likely and they will be undercutting both Aircoach and Airlink, no doubt.

If what I have heard is correct you will be strongly advised not to carry any heavy items in your pocket as you will only need something lighter when it comes to being allowed to board the coach after running through passport control

coylemj wrote: »

'Confirmed' - where? Their FAQ still says that they're moving on March 4th.

https://www.aircoach.ie/faqs

I appreciate they may have responded to a direct query from you and that's fine but they're inabilty to communicate changes to their sevices is nothing short of epic.

They modified the Greystones (702) timetable in January 2017 but they never updated the 702 timetable in their mobile app. Despite multiple pokes from me to their Twitter account.

It was on their Facebook page earlier, but it seems to have been removed now.

bk wrote: »

So brand new Merc Tourismo's on these routes! Those would be quite a step up in quality for the Plaxton Panthers used by Aircoach these days, this could be very painful for them!

The word is there are at least some brand new Mercs, yes.

The short sighted nature of First's investment in the Panthers and obsession over cutting costs could well be coming back to haunt then. When they invested in them I felt they betrayed the brand values a little bit which was always a bit of luxury, ahead of the rest, extra leg-room, high class seats etc in the Joncks and the Setras.

When Aircoach first came to the market they postioned themselves as being more than just a regular airport coach operator and that is how they built the company by offering a bit of luxury, noticing a gap in the market that they can take advantage of to drum up a customer base.

Today there are some interesting quotes in the press
https://extra.ie/2020/02/03/business/irish/national-express-dublin-airport

Customers will be able to track their coach with real time information and buy tickets at the airport with contactless card payments. Coaches will be fitted with reclining leather seats, extra legroom, free Wi-Fi and charging sockets.

Does that remind you of anyone from a few years ago?

coylemj wrote: »

Maybe they took it down for a 'review' after someone pointed out to them that (per the official map of the bus zones) zone 11 is not the first zone you meet after you walk through the car park. Bit of artistic licence taken in that graphic. Zone 9 is beside Zone 11 and is closer to T1.

It's not showing it as the first zone you meet, it's showing the second.

The first bunch of zones, for the car park shuttles are right along the edge of the pavement (Zone 9 to the right and Zone 8 to the left) directly outside the car park building. The drawing is showing the stops which are over the first road after this -

Zone 10 is to the left after going over the first road and zone 11 to the right - note some zones have more than one bus stop and shelter in them.

coylemj wrote: »

It's the first marked zone on the right. The space where zone 9 exists is extremely narrow on that diagram and not marked as anything, it looks like a narrow alley where you'd dump your baggage trolley. Anyone looking at that diagram would figure that the Aircoach stop is first on the right when you come out of the car park.

Zone 9 should be flagged to show that there is another bus stop between Aircoach and the car park building. I think it's misleading, that's all.

It's an Aircoach map, why would they mark other zones? None of the other operators in their maps are marking other peoples zones either. Besides, the light blue path and the navy road is the same thickness pretty much for each in the diagram, this really is a non issue in my book.

donvito99 wrote: »

Any idea of frequencies?

Nothing has been confirmed from National Express yet in regard to frequencies other than they will be running 24 hours a day and will be of good frequency.

IMHO I don't like the proposed fragmentation of routes (Smithfield, Custom House Quay, Merrion Sq). If the NTA is behind this, consideration should be given to what Dublin's public transport 'system' already offers, and these routes should fall into that.

The reason you have those three routes a little strange like that, if it doesn't change (since the route maps have been taken off the TFI Journey Planner now) is probably down to the presence of other commercial operators serving some of those areas from Dublin Airport on their existing commercial routes and the requirements of the licensing regulations in relation to time separation and avoiding head to head running - the kind of thing we've seen on the Belfast route where there were 4 buses in 15 minutes and then none for 45 minutes.

I would suggest there will be changes ahead in the Dublin Airport bus market in general in the next few months because the entry of a well resourced and run operator like National Express will give Aircoach in particular something serious to chew over and I would be very surprised if by the end of the year a lot hasn't changed in the airport bus market. I wouldn't rule out some consolidation in the general Irish Bus and Coach market either.

CityLink have now confirmed the changes to where their services are stopping at Dublin Airport with effect from Tuesday.

CityLink / EirEagle services to Galway
These services will now depart from Zone 13



CityLink / EirEagle services to Limerick
These services will now depart from Zone 12

National Express have now officially announced Dublin Express
https://www.nationalexpressgroup.com/newsmedia/news-across-the-group/2020/national-express-coach-expands-abroad-for-the-first-time/

National Express Coach has expanded its network of scheduled airport coach services outside of the UK with a contract award in Ireland.

The UK’s largest coach operator has secured the deal to run a high-frequency, cross-city network with Ireland-based Bernard Kavanagh Coaches operating the service on their behalf.

At launch in March, ‘Dublin Express’ will run three routes up to 24 hours a day between Dublin Airport and Dublin City Centre. A phased expansion of the network will see additional services being added to connect more locations across the city and increase the frequency of airport connections.

John Boughton, managing director of National Express Ireland, commented: “Dublin Express will transform what it means to ride an airport service in the Irish capital.

“We currently run 1,100 airport services every day on a 24-hour basis direct to the terminal for all major UK airports including Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Heathrow and Manchester. And as Ireland’s largest private coach operator, we have previously worked with Bernard Kavanagh Coaches to operate Irish services.

“Bringing together this collective experience, local knowledge and expertise as Dublin Express will allow us to provide a much enhanced experience at a great price.”

Dublin Airport managing director Vincent Harrison said that he was delighted to see an expansion of coach and bus services to and from the airport: “We are very focussed on improving public transport options to Dublin Airport for both passengers and airport-based employees, and we specifically sought coach and bus providers who would expand the network, both in terms of the hours of operation and the route choice.”

Passengers will benefit from a fleet of modern and efficient coaches that meet the latest standards for engine emissions (Euro VI). An array of safety and technology features will provide customers with an unrivalled experience, including reclining leather seats, extra legroom, free wifi and charging sockets. The latest in technology will provide customers with real-time information to track their coach, and easy booking and payment with tap-and-go, contactless ticketing at the airport and an array of digital and mobile channels in multiple languages.

Managing director Bernard Kavanagh, commented: "We have a long-standing, strong relationship with National Express. We look forward to building on this in 2020 with the new Dublin Express service."

For more information, visit www.dublinexpress.ie

Deedsie wrote: »

So will National express be providing the 779 - Airport to CityWest route?

Be great to see if there were a few stops along the route. Commuters along the M7 would use that route if it stopped at the right locations.

It's not yet known.

All we know is Express Bus has a license for it.

Anything else is just speculation and guesswork at this point. It's very much a developing picture.

Heard a whisper that the price for the new Dublin Express routes might go as low as €5 single

This would undercute both Dublin Bus Airlink and Aircoach (€6 online or €7 on bus) which is sure to stir things up.

p_haugh wrote: »

Official announcement of introduction of Dublin Express by the Dublin Airport twitter account:

See here.

The way that is worded is pretty interesting.

It suggests that someone may be ceasing routes soon as well and National Express have agreed to acquire an operator, because this is the first we have heard of long distance services - they don't have licenses for such services at the moment.