Dublin Bus : driver's awareness of bikes

NeedMoreGears · 17-10-2012 02:06PM

I generally encounter DBs on more rural roads and find them to be pretty good. Having said that I has one particular genius DB driver pass me on a small roundabut in Baldoyle by driving straight over the top of it - gave me quite a scare but I didn't get numbers to report it. In the main are normally patient and give me plenty of room.

Jawgap · 17-10-2012 02:44PM

I think you'll find just how "serious" they took it when you ask what action was taken - they won't tell you.

The interview with the driver will be no more than cursory because anything beyond that would require union involvement and Dublin Bus won't want to go there.

Boulevardier · 17-10-2012 02:50PM

I absolutely agree that DB needs to be more careful of cyclists, but cyclists also have responsibilities towards buses and their passengers.

The main one of these is not to slow down buses, particularly on bus lanes.

Buses in rush-hour, carrying upwards of 80 passengers, should not have to crawl along bus lanes because cyclists are in front of them.

Where a cyclist is slowing down a bus, he/she should make way for the bus, and stand in off the road if necessary in order for the bus to continue at a reasonable speed.

Jawgap · 17-10-2012 02:54PM

Boulevardier wrote: »

.......

Where a cyclist is slowing down a bus, he/she should make way for the bus, and stand in off the road if necessary in order for the bus to continue at a reasonable speed.

.....why?

Surveyor11 · 17-10-2012 02:54PM

Boulevardier wrote: »

Where a cyclist is slowing down a bus, he/she should make way for the bus, and stand in off the road if necessary in order for the bus to continue at a reasonable speed.

Why so? A bike has as much right as a bus to use the road, particularly in a shared lane - buses pass me with no issue when they want to. I often leap frog the bus on the way to work - it only hops a few hundred yards between stops.

monkeyslayer · 17-10-2012 03:14PM

clopd wrote: »

Was on my bike Yesterday stopped at the lights between leeson st. And earls fort terrace. Pulled right into the pavement with my wheel leaning against it.
Bus took the corner, Stephens green onto lee son street, and dragged my bike away and I luckily managed to jump away. Then got back on the bike and caught up with the bus further up leeson street.

. Knocked on the drivers side window. He ignored me. Move to the front of the bus to get his attention and as the lights changed he started to drive the bus right into me. Then stopped again eventually opening the window. He denied hitting me, and basically told me to feck off.

I'm not injured, bike is damaged but really pissed at the drivers behaviour.

Any advice?

Didn't see the icident further down the road but seen you stopping the driver and having it out with him. Fair play for putting yourself in front of him like that and confronting him. Dangerous thing to do. Was wondering what was going on. Did you get his driver id number?

buffalo · 17-10-2012 03:38PM

Boulevardier wrote: »

I absolutely agree that DB needs to be more careful of cyclists, but cyclists also have responsibilities towards buses and their passengers.

The main one of these is not to slow down buses, particularly on bus lanes.

Buses in rush-hour, carrying upwards of 80 passengers, should not have to crawl along bus lanes because cyclists are in front of them.

Where a cyclist is slowing down a bus, he/she should make way for the bus, and stand in off the road if necessary in order for the bus to continue at a reasonable speed.

And taxis. Sometimes there's three passengers in a taxi, so single cyclists should yield to taxis too. And cars with only one person in them should yield to tandem cyclists.

When I lived in Galway, I would sometimes hop off the road to let Bus Eireann coaches past on the Dublin Road if there was a lot of stopped car traffic in the main lane, because the bus lane is quite narrow, and the coach wasn't going to be stopping anywhere. But buses in rush hour? Cyclists don't make that much difference.

Boulevardier · 17-10-2012 03:43PM

Why? because the main purpose of bus lanes is to speed up bus journeys and thus incentivise the use of public transport.

If a cyclist is not slowing down a bus there is no issue, and everyone is happy enough, but where it is happening, the cyclist should let the bus through.

Grudaire · 17-10-2012 03:47PM

Boulevardier wrote: »

If a cyclist is not slowing down a bus there is no issue, and everyone is happy enough, but where it is happening, the cyclist should let the bus through.

I would generally let a bus by if it's safe for me to do it.

But it's heartbreaking to then be stuck behind the bus because it keeps having to stop!

Let me tell you that it is far more pleasent to sit behind a cyclist than it is a fume excreting beast of a bus!

(that horrible taste and feeling of warmth down your throat when you accidentily inhale)

monument · 17-10-2012 03:49PM

Boulevardier wrote: »

Why? because the main purpose of bus lanes is to speed up bus journeys and thus incentivise the use of public transport.

If a cyclist is not slowing down a bus there is no issue, and everyone is happy enough, but where it is happening, the cyclist should let the bus through.

If one bus holding 10 people is holding 15 cyclists up, should the bus move in?

Jawgap · 17-10-2012 03:52PM

Boulevardier wrote: »

Why? because the main purpose of bus lanes is to speed up bus journeys and thus incentivise the use of public transport.

If a cyclist is not slowing down a bus there is no issue, and everyone is happy enough, but where it is happening, the cyclist should let the bus through.

What about taxis, and private buses using the lanes, should a cyclist stop for them?

Also as Leo himself has said, the "primary purpose of providing bus lanes is to facilitate and promote bus based public transport," but it's not the sole purpose.....

"The regulations generally limit the use of bus lanes to buses and, in the case of with-flow bus lanes, to cyclists."

- they don't require cyclists to defer automatically to buses just for reasons of convenience.

Dermot Illogical · 17-10-2012 03:54PM

Boulevardier wrote: »

Why? because the main purpose of bus lanes is to speed up bus journeys and thus incentivise the use of public transport.

If a cyclist is not slowing down a bus there is no issue, and everyone is happy enough, but where it is happening, the cyclist should let the bus through.

It doesn't happen to any great degree. Buses are mostly delayed by other buses, bus stops, poor planning, traffic lights and gob****es sitting out on yellow box junctions. Cyclists are more likely to be delayed by buses than vice versa.

Surveyor11 · 17-10-2012 03:56PM

So a car with one person using a bus lane legally shoudl also stop in and allow the bus to pass? Like most things, common sense will have to prevail - by giving a bus room, and the driver having the cop on to pass me safely, this issue does not cause me or the bus too much difficulty.

galwaycyclist · 17-10-2012 03:58PM

Boulevardier wrote: »

Why? because the main purpose of bus lanes is to speed up bus journeys and thus incentivise the use of public transport.

If a cyclist is not slowing down a bus there is no issue, and everyone is happy enough, but where it is happening, the cyclist should let the bus through.

In Ireland, bus lanes (apart from contraflow bus lanes) are "bus and cycle" lanes. They are not exclusively for buses. In congested traffic the bus passengers are still getting an advantage if they are travelling at cyclist speed - eg their journey has "sped up".

It depends on the circumstances of the road. In some cases the main problem is the use of unsuitable lane widths.

monument · 17-10-2012 04:12PM

I agree with other posters that most bus drivers are great around cyclists but the "use the cycle lane" ones drive me nuts.

I must post a photos when I get a chance of this one... Last week onn driver was driving up my tail end I was going go stop at an orange light but he was too close so I sped up -- I had to -- and he stopped and then started beeping at me, so I went back to see what his problem was and he told me I should have been using the cycle lane.

My photo -- which I won't have a chance to post for a while -- shows his bus in this magical "cycle lane".

I was on a cargo bike and he somehow wanted me to fit between the kerb and the bus -- on a bend!

There was no passing me on the bend but by me keeping out from kerb I was able to go faster. In his mind it was somehow slowing him down.

Karma · 17-10-2012 04:23PM

Boulevardier wrote: »

I absolutely agree that DB needs to be more careful of cyclists, but cyclists also have responsibilities towards buses and their passengers.

The main one of these is not to slow down buses, particularly on bus lanes.

Buses in rush-hour, carrying upwards of 80 passengers, should not have to crawl along bus lanes because cyclists are in front of them.

Where a cyclist is slowing down a bus, he/she should make way for the bus, and stand in off the road if necessary in order for the bus to continue at a reasonable speed.

wow, just be a **** somewhere else...bus drivers have a lot of peoples lives in their hands, cop on... its about real responsibility and their disregard of other road users not "I will drive WITHIN 30cm of the bikes back wheel"
While there are good bus drivers like there are bad cyclists lets work with what is and not what may be. I know a few bus drivers who are great so its not across the board but specific instances of rage, THE guy's an asshole not because of the job but just being one in the job.
So please let me say, i hope you meet one of the bad ones to get the other side's perspective.

gimme my ban.
see u next week/month or year.

NeedMoreGears · 17-10-2012 04:43PM

Cliste wrote: »

(that horrible taste and feeling of warmth down your throat when you accidentily inhale)

Just checking. We're still talking about buses right?

Mucco · 17-10-2012 07:17PM

Here's a quote from a bus driver over in the commuting forum. He seems to be fully aware of cyclists.....

bobby23 wrote: »

Have nothing against cyclists, 80%+ are fine no problems.
Dont mind sharing the bus lane with cyclists at all, when they stay close to the kerb.
But the problems begin with the idiots who think they are pro cyclist and are going so fast, so they cycle in the middle of the bus lane holding up the bus, only going 30-40 kpm.
It happens every day , morning or evening rush hour.
Another thing that is a pain is not using the bike lane. Yet again the Lance Armstrong wanna bees believe they are so fast they are not causing a delay by cycling in the middle of the road.

helimachoptor · 17-10-2012 07:23PM

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I've had about 1 run in with a bus in the last year where the driver dangerously overtook just to pull into a bus stop directly I front of me. Otherwise id regard Dublin bus drivers as some of the best drivers out there from a cyclists perspective.

Agree with this, on my route 46a, they are excellent and will slow down to allow cyclists to go past a stop rather than over taking, pulling in and then having to force the cyclist to go out into traffic.

Will be on the bike from next week on that route, i expect them to keep up the current level of cyclist love!

Dermot Illogical · 17-10-2012 07:25PM

Mucco wrote: »

He seems to be fully aware of cyclists.....

But unable to understand why they may not want to stay close to the kerb. He won't be winning any advanced driving awards any time soon.

Plastik · 17-10-2012 07:54PM

bobby23 wrote:

Have nothing against cyclists, 80%+ are fine no problems.
Dont mind sharing the bus lane with cyclists at all, when they stay close to the kerb.
But the problems begin with the idiots who think they are pro cyclist and are going so fast, so they cycle in the middle of the bus lane holding up the bus, only going 30-40 kpm.
It happens every day , morning or evening rush hour.
Another thing that is a pain is not using the bike lane. Yet again the Lance Armstrong wanna bees believe they are so fast they are not causing a delay by cycling in the middle of the road.

I always felt like I was projecting an air of Philippe Gilbert or Tom Boonan. Disappointed I was mistaken for Armstrong TBH.

AdMMM · 17-10-2012 07:59PM

I cycle along the route of the 11 every day and think the drivers are great.

doozerie · 17-10-2012 11:44PM

bobby32 wrote:

Yet again the Lance Armstrong wanna bees believe they are so fast they are not causing a delay by cycling in the middle of the road.

Those Armstrong wanna bees are fast though, sure they fly. Spot the wanna bee:

Grudaire · 18-10-2012 08:39AM

NeedMoreGears wrote: »

Just checking. We're still talking about buses right?

Careful now

rp · 18-10-2012 10:02AM

bobby23 wrote:

But the problems begin with the idiots who think they are pro cyclist and are going so fast, so they cycle in the middle of the bus lane holding up the bus, only going 30-40 kpm.

Just curious - anyone know what kind of average speed buses do? I beat the 66X into Dublin from Maynooth on a daily basis with an average speed of only 33/36kph, and that's with long stretches of open highway and few bus stops.

Jawgap · 18-10-2012 10:20AM

In 2009 average bus speeds were 16.61km/hr

Two points - first, 50% of the time buses were going faster than that

Second, they'd be a lot faster if it wasn't for cylcists clogging up the bus lanes.;)

And obviously the reason you beat the 66 into the city is because he's stuck behind you:)

ROK ON · 18-10-2012 12:57PM

Within the city centre I would be faster than almost any bus. That is a function of speed limits and traffic mostly.
However as someone that occasionally travels on buses I am amazed that the bus from Catleknock to town sometimes reaches speeds in the 70/80kmph - I have measured this using my Strava app.

With passengers standing on a bus I really think that a very low upper speed limit should apply - circa 50km max. Maybe enforced by an engine limiter.

I have lost count of the amount of times that half the passengers have lunged forward as the driver applies the brakes.

Obviously on provincial routes with no standing passengers this would not be applicable.

doozerie · 18-10-2012 01:49PM

ROK ON wrote:

With passengers standing on a bus I really think that a very low upper speed limit should apply - circa 50km max. Maybe enforced by an engine limiter.

It's not enough to slow buses from the outside, you've infiltrated the bus inner sanctum and now you're looking to hinder it from within as well. Feckin' cyclists, etc.! :pac:

Alan_P · 18-10-2012 03:08PM

ROK ON wrote: »

Within the city centre I would be faster than almost any bus. That is a function of speed limits and traffic mostly.
However as someone that occasionally travels on buses I am amazed that the bus from Catleknock to town sometimes reaches speeds in the 70/80kmph - I have measured this using my Strava app..

Then your Strava app is buggy. All current Dublin Bus buses are limited to the relevant national speed limit for buses, 65 kmph.

droidus · 18-10-2012 03:15PM

Alan_P wrote: »

Then your Strava app is buggy. All current Dublin Bus buses are limited to the relevant national speed limit for buses, 65 kmph.

Apparently so, but Ive seen em doing 80 on the m50.

Dublin Bus : driver's awareness of bikes

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