Letter in todays advertiser on Bus Eireann

foxy_19-89 · 15-01-2009 12:33PM #1

I just wanted to post something to support the letter that was on page 16 of todays (January 15th) Galway ADvertiser about Bus Eireann in the city. Everything the person says is spot on and would not be seen in any other part of the world. The bus service here is the same for years and hasn't grown with the population or dynamics of the city, its embaressing!

galwaybabe · 15-01-2009 12:41PM

I agree. Brilliant letter.

death1234567 · 15-01-2009 12:43PM

Hold the phone, There's a bus service in Galway?

s_carnage · 15-01-2009 12:50PM

It could only be getting worse what with the government planning cutbacks on public transport.

kayos · 15-01-2009 12:51PM

death1234567 wrote: »

Hold the phone, There's a bus service in Galway?

Yes on a Friday to take the students home

KevR · 15-01-2009 01:08PM

Haven't seen the advertiser yet but look forward to seeing this letter later.

I haven't taken used a bus in Galway in 7 or 8 years - it's that bad a service!

biko · 15-01-2009 01:10PM

Dear Editor,

I am writing to commend the Galway Bus Service for their unflinching standards of public service. Through all the highs and lows which the economic world has gone through, the bus drivers who cover the Galway routes around the city have managed to maintain the same standard of customer service.

Today when I was getting the bus from Eyre Square to the suburbs, it was the first time I had used the bus service since the start of the new year, and so I was unaware of the price hike which had taken place as of January 1. The price rise makes sense when you think about it really. "The country is going through an economic slump, people are watching the pennies again, taxi fares have risen, so we may as well rise ours also, from €1.45 to €1.60. Let's try and make some more money before they look at our organisation and ask why are we not more efficient."

Anyway, I stepped onto the bus and greeted the driver, as I do all the drivers, with the customary hello. He happily replied to my hello by staring at me blankly and then looked away, while stretching out his open palm awaiting his pieces of silver. What a jolly man I thought. Surely Santa Claus is back in the North Pole by this stage? This is a man with a real pep in his step, this is a man going places. So, I handed my fare of €1.45 into his hand and awaited my ticket. However all I got in return was the words "You're fifteen cents short chief." Followed by a blank stare. Now, I know that sometimes I am known to wear tradition Native American apparel from time to time, but I couldn't figure out how this all-knowing driver had managed to figure that out. He was good. Real good. So I thought to myself "How much money did I give him? Did I miscount?" So I looked at the driver and asked what he meant. Jovially, but silently, he pointed to the sign that had been stuck to the glass panel beside his driver’s seat with Sellotape, detailing the price hike. So I apologised and took out the extra money required and gave it to the driver, at which point he happily grunted and gave me my ticket. "What a nice man", I thought to myself. "I wonder does he grunt at everyone like that, or is it just me he saves his grunts for?"

I think it is about time that Bus Eireann were forced to realise that the service they provide and the service provided by the drivers is not good enough. I have been across the globe and have used public transport in America, Australia, England, France, Canada, Germany, Scotland and New Zealand. And Ireland ranks as the lowest by far in every category possible: driver courtesy, service provided, timetable adherence, cleanliness of buses, the list goes on.

One thing that I can categorically say that I have NEVER seen in any other country is the practice of a driver driving fast to get to his destination ahead of schedule so as to allow him to have a sneaky cigarette! And that is not a once off, I can't count the amount of times I have seen that occur. What are timetables for? People cannot predict what time the bus is going to arrive if the drivers of the buses are rushing to get where they are going at the expense of missing customers along the way.

The general accepted practice in Ireland is to look at what time the bus is due, and then be there five minutes early at least, and be prepared to wait for another 10 minutes on top of that! Why do bus timetables have to be governed by the quarter of the hour for handiness? The bus is every 15 minutes here, makes it easier to plan, supposedly. Even though at 5 o'clock on a freezing winters evening, you can be waiting for up to 35 to 40 minutes. In Edinburgh the buses would be every five or six minutes, and you could set your clock by it. If it said 15:36, the bus would be there at 15:36.

And lastly, what about the timetables which are stuck onto bus shelters along the routes of buses? It doesn't say what time the bus will actually get to that specific bus shelter, it says what time it leaves the main bus stop at one end of the line and what time it gets to the final bus stop at the other end of the line! And the bus stops in between is anyone’s guess. And so for any foreigners who don't know the city or the routes, there may as well be a sign saying "Keep your fingers crossed. And be prepared to wait."

Yours,

A customer looking for more
http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/7157

Malice · 15-01-2009 01:44PM

The bus "service" in this county is a disgrace but then, that's nothing new. It's been like that for years. It really hammers it home when you visit other supposedly less well off countries that provide a far better service for the public.

foxy_19-89 · 15-01-2009 01:52PM

biko wrote: »

Dear Editor,

I am writing to commend the Galway Bus Service for their unflinching standards of public service. Through all the highs and lows which the economic world has gone through, the bus drivers who cover the Galway routes around the city have managed to maintain the same standard of customer service.

Today when I was getting the bus from Eyre Square to the suburbs, it was the first time I had used the bus service since the start of the new year, and so I was unaware of the price hike which had taken place as of January 1. The price rise makes sense when you think about it really. "The country is going through an economic slump, people are watching the pennies again, taxi fares have risen, so we may as well rise ours also, from €1.45 to €1.60. Let's try and make some more money before they look at our organisation and ask why are we not more efficient."

Anyway, I stepped onto the bus and greeted the driver, as I do all the drivers, with the customary hello. He happily replied to my hello by staring at me blankly and then looked away, while stretching out his open palm awaiting his pieces of silver. What a jolly man I thought. Surely Santa Claus is back in the North Pole by this stage? This is a man with a real pep in his step, this is a man going places. So, I handed my fare of €1.45 into his hand and awaited my ticket. However all I got in return was the words "You're fifteen cents short chief." Followed by a blank stare. Now, I know that sometimes I am known to wear tradition Native American apparel from time to time, but I couldn't figure out how this all-knowing driver had managed to figure that out. He was good. Real good. So I thought to myself "How much money did I give him? Did I miscount?" So I looked at the driver and asked what he meant. Jovially, but silently, he pointed to the sign that had been stuck to the glass panel beside his driver’s seat with Sellotape, detailing the price hike. So I apologised and took out the extra money required and gave it to the driver, at which point he happily grunted and gave me my ticket. "What a nice man", I thought to myself. "I wonder does he grunt at everyone like that, or is it just me he saves his grunts for?"

I think it is about time that Bus Eireann were forced to realise that the service they provide and the service provided by the drivers is not good enough. I have been across the globe and have used public transport in America, Australia, England, France, Canada, Germany, Scotland and New Zealand. And Ireland ranks as the lowest by far in every category possible: driver courtesy, service provided, timetable adherence, cleanliness of buses, the list goes on.

One thing that I can categorically say that I have NEVER seen in any other country is the practice of a driver driving fast to get to his destination ahead of schedule so as to allow him to have a sneaky cigarette! And that is not a once off, I can't count the amount of times I have seen that occur. What are timetables for? People cannot predict what time the bus is going to arrive if the drivers of the buses are rushing to get where they are going at the expense of missing customers along the way.

The general accepted practice in Ireland is to look at what time the bus is due, and then be there five minutes early at least, and be prepared to wait for another 10 minutes on top of that! Why do bus timetables have to be governed by the quarter of the hour for handiness? The bus is every 15 minutes here, makes it easier to plan, supposedly. Even though at 5 o'clock on a freezing winters evening, you can be waiting for up to 35 to 40 minutes. In Edinburgh the buses would be every five or six minutes, and you could set your clock by it. If it said 15:36, the bus would be there at 15:36.

And lastly, what about the timetables which are stuck onto bus shelters along the routes of buses? It doesn't say what time the bus will actually get to that specific bus shelter, it says what time it leaves the main bus stop at one end of the line and what time it gets to the final bus stop at the other end of the line! And the bus stops in between is anyone’s guess. And so for any foreigners who don't know the city or the routes, there may as well be a sign saying "Keep your fingers crossed. And be prepared to wait."

Yours,

A customer looking for more
http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/7157

cheers for that, wasn't able to copy and paste it when i tried!

Mimojo · 15-01-2009 02:00PM

Excellent article - it is so true. The bus service in this county is a complete and utter joke. I lived in Galway for three years and regularly used public transport both within the city and from the city to various locations. The city bus drivers were always the same, and you never had a clue when the bus would arrive. If you were lucky enough to find a bus stop that actually had a timetable, you had to be prepared to be at least 5 minutes early, and could be left waiting for much longer . This is an unacceptable level of service - and we shouldn't have to put up with it!

tonyhiggins · 15-01-2009 02:18PM

Any time I had to rely on the bus service, it let me down without fail. The amount of times I had to walk to job interviews, work, important meetings etc because a bus has been very late, been very early (!) which always boggled my mind or 2-3 buses in a row not showing up in my attempt to give loads of time for the possibility of a late bus meant I just gave up on em. If you have somewhere important to be, don't take the bus. This was at the time when I could not afford a car, and since the time that I could the city buses are dead to me

ethernet · 15-01-2009 02:23PM

I always have to giggle when I see "try walking" scrawled on the timetable across from the university. It's a mixed bag though, especially in Galway -- some really pleasant drivers and some not so.

Punctuality is out the window and it's not always due to traffic.

jw297 · 15-01-2009 02:31PM

Great letter. Will anyone in charge of the buses pay any heed to it though? A bit off-topic but the lack of service to areas surrounding the city is dismal too, I live a 10 minute drive from the city centre and have the option of four times to get into the city by bus, and even that varies with the day. So I learned to drive and now add to the congestion coming into the city - not something I'm happy doing.
I love the logic that because people don't use the bus service, it should be reduced. Has nobody made the leap to think why people aren't using the bus service?!
Ah welll, suppose I should really spend my time writing to the bus company instead of moaning about it here :rolleyes:

tman · 15-01-2009 02:35PM

Jebus, I thought the five cent increases these past few years were taking the piss, but adding another 15c on for that bloody service is just plain ridiculous!

Makes me appreciate London's public transport all the more...

Madame Razz · 15-01-2009 02:36PM

Great letter.

The way in which some of the drivers drive leaves a lot to be desired also. I'm driving my noisy bus ergo I can cream cyclists, and pay no heed to oncoming traffic, yield signs, pedestrians or traffic lights:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:.

kayos · 15-01-2009 02:56PM

I wonder if they are thinking of reducing the Dublin Bus fleet would they ever move some of the buses to other citys/area's that require a bigger fleet? DB sell them on to BE and BE can then maybe start providing a service...

Zzippy · 15-01-2009 03:35PM

Haven't used the bus since before Christmas but WTF - a 15c increase? That's over 10%, when the rate of inflation is about 2-3%, and they're saying we may even have deflation this year. Diesel prices have fallen hugely in the last few months, there have been no wage increases, there might even be a 10% pay cut this year, so how can they justify a 10% increase? :rolleyes:

As for the service, on my route, I'm sick of arriving with 5 minutes to spare only to find the bus is already gone - and I'm only a mile from the terminus. So the bus must have left at least 10 minutes early. And when you miss one, the next one is 20 mins late! :mad:

Wompa1 · 15-01-2009 03:41PM

I use to get the bus from Castlebar to Galway every week and the bus driver would stop in Ballinrobe and leave the bus running and run into the butcher for about 5 minutes...any other country and that bus would have been hijacked and driven into a pre-school by now

foxy_19-89 · 15-01-2009 03:43PM

ethernet wrote: »

I always have to giggle when I see "try walking" scrawled on the timetable across from the university. It's a mixed bag though, especially in Galway -- some really pleasant drivers and some not so.

Punctuality is out the window and it's not always due to traffic.

i will back you up on that and say that one or two of the drivers in the city are quite pleasent and have some sort of customer service about them

jw297 wrote: »

Great letter. Will anyone in charge of the buses pay any heed to it though? A bit off-topic but the lack of service to areas surrounding the city is dismal too, I live a 10 minute drive from the city centre and have the option of four times to get into the city by bus, and even that varies with the day. So I learned to drive and now add to the congestion coming into the city - not something I'm happy doing.
I love the logic that because people don't use the bus service, it should be reduced. Has nobody made the leap to think why people aren't using the bus service?!
Ah welll, suppose I should really spend my time writing to the bus company instead of moaning about it here :rolleyes:

like i said the services havn't expanded as the city has, ie: nothing goes past the westwood in newcastle/dangan, there is potentially massive business for them there, esp with the college and student accomidation.

tman wrote: »

Jebus, I thought the five cent increases these past few years were taking the piss, but adding another 15c on for that bloody service is just plain ridiculous!

Makes me appreciate London's public transport all the more...

cannot say enough about londons transport service, i know i know, you cannot compare the numbers of people but small things like you must either have an oyster card to swipe when you get on, a day pass or a single journey pass. thats it. and no buses have any money, all tickets are bough in post offices/shops/or at a machine at every bus stop. simple, effective, but will it come across the water with its smart ideas, of coruse not.

KevR · 15-01-2009 04:59PM

Great letter in the advertiser. Also agree with the points made in this thread.

By the way, there's also a good letter about the bypass in the advertiser.

Jamey · 15-01-2009 05:02PM

I've been saying the same thing about Bus Eireann for years. I'm not into complaining through the form of a letter so I wrote a song about it:

http://myspace.com/theralphsmusic

Demeyes · 15-01-2009 05:32PM

I don't have too much of a problem with the longer distance buses, they generally leave on time and I've found most of the drivers to be pretty pleasant and accomodating.
However, the city buses are an absolute joke. I just can never rely on them to get anywhere. Anytime I try and get a bus, I usually end up waiting 20min or more, and I go by the schedule that is posted up. And now there is another price hike? Feck that.

Altar_Ego_Boy · 16-01-2009 03:04AM

I have a question for anyone who reads this:

How much would you be willing to pay as busfare in return for assurance that the bus will arrive at your busstop at the specific time stated on the timetable?

I was in germany a while back and i paid something like €3 for a regular bus journey but the service was so satisfactory that it was only afterward i realised it was twice what id pay at home.

Id be happy to pay €3 for an on-time bus journey here... but then again how could i maintain my svelt physique if i didnt walk the 4 miles home every evening.

banshee_bones · 16-01-2009 03:27AM

When the 15 minute number 9 service began i thought! Wow great! no excuses now!

yet they manage to still leave you waiting for up to 30+ minutes....

and yes there are some very nice and courteous drivers...

some!

JIZZLORD · 16-01-2009 03:40AM

when living out in terryland the busses were a pain in the hole for me. the majority of times the service it was grand despite going to my stop a few min early just in case. on more than one occasion i've missed busses out of Galway thanks to lateness . but now i live in the town centre so i'm less reliant.
i heard bus fares went up because BE are currently running at a loss but can't cut crappy routes as it's their obligation to keep them

DRakE · 16-01-2009 04:46AM

whoever wrote that article is seriously up their own arse as regards their style of writing..

edit: not to say the main complaint is unfounded

DRakE · 16-01-2009 04:47AM

Altar_Ego_Boy wrote: »

I have a question for anyone who reads this:

How much would you be willing to pay as busfare in return for assurance that the bus will arrive at your busstop at the specific time stated on the timetable?

I was in germany a while back and i paid something like €3 for a regular bus journey but the service was so satisfactory that it was only afterward i realised it was twice what id pay at home.

Id be happy to pay €3 for an on-time bus journey here... but then again how could i maintain my svelt physique if i didnt walk the 4 miles home every evening.

is it hard to walk home in those diamond shoes while you lugg your incredibly heavy wallet?

Malice · 16-01-2009 09:10AM

Altar_Ego_Boy wrote: »

I have a question for anyone who reads this:

How much would you be willing to pay as busfare in return for assurance that the bus will arrive at your busstop at the specific time stated on the timetable?

That's an interesting question. I can't remember what I paid the last time I got the bus but if it meant I could close my eyes and ignore the evening traffic jams I would happily pay at least €5.

lostexpectation · 16-01-2009 09:23AM

what a boring letter.

leninbenjamin · 16-01-2009 10:03AM

reminds me of the day it took me 90 minutes to get from Eyre square to Knocknacarra by bus. that was not a good day. only i reason i didn'y get off earlier was the rain...

since then though i started walking instead. Almost every single day, bar maybe one or two exceptions, i'd be home well before the bus. that shouldn't be the case for a 50 minute walk...

forbairt · 16-01-2009 10:40AM

I used work up in Dangan for a few years and my god the bus service was crap. I think the knife in the buses back for me was when I waited about 70 minutes cus I just kept on saying ah it has to be here in a minute and there are other people waiting anyways ...

After all it was only a 20 minute walk.

Since I've moved up to Dublin I'm very pleasantly surprised by the standard of the service. Maybe its just because I'm on a well serviced route but it makes a hell of a big life style change of being able to semi reliably go .. ah the bus will be here in 5 and it is. Cuts down on taxis needed a hell of a lot as well (I don't drive)

I really don't feel that 15 cents is the way to go though in an increase. I mean its been a fairly steady 5cents each year ? ... which has worked out at what roughly 5% for the most part .. this is now well over 10% (of course that depends on what you're paying) They really should be trying to attract the volume rather than the few who are paying that bit extra. Their attitude of hey we're in a recession .. lets make people pay more they can afford it ... can't that . the recession doesn't apply to our customers does it ? just to the people with the cars ...

Ah well .. hungover mini friday morning rant over

Letter in todays advertiser on Bus Eireann

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