Bus Fares

lodgepole · 27-12-2005 11:39pm

projectmayhem wrote:

(it's 5c more. if you hate it so much queue in the traffic in a car or pay for a taxi)

I'm not in a position to use either of those alternatives. Again, it's not the amount of money involved. The inconvenience of requiring a coin that I don't generally like carrying with me is one thing, but the concept of yet another raise in the fare without any obvious improvement of the service (based on the routes I travel regularly) is another. Like I said, i'd happily accept a more significant price hike if it meant a service worthy of the city but until we get that i'm going to take issue with it.

Having seen how it can be done has made me all the more aware of how poor a job they are actually doing in Dublin.

ChillyS · 28-12-2005 6:17am

My route is the 39, and the bus stop is literally outside my house. However i go over to the bus stop and in the time that 5 or 6 were meant to come, there are none.

To get into town, to catch a bus home, go for a interview, meet up with people etc I have to give 45mins to a hour extra time, so that I'm on time. It's a massive pain in the hole. By the time i get a bus, freezing (I've had 4 colds already this winter) hacking my lungs up coughing the bus is packed and I stand for the half a hour journey to town, being jostled by people and squished into the aisle. If I'm lucky to get a seat I usualy end up giving it to an old or disabled person, thats if they can get on with they're zimmer frame.

Some drivers are lovely, but some have the worst attitudes i've seen in a long time. Once the driver left a mother and a buggy with her -1 year old baby standing in the rain, when on this rare occasion the bus was fairly empty, Two women questioned him and he shouted at them.

It's rediculous, the 42c swords is meant to run every 15 min's you're lucky if one comes every hour, then it's full.

I wouldn't mind paying the extra, for a halfway decent service.

qwertz · 28-12-2005 11:57am

Is there a limit on how many copper coins the bus drivers have to take or can one pay with only one and two cent coins?

ferdi · 28-12-2005 12:08pm

OptimusMime wrote:

I'd like to see a European(with relevant experience, obviously) brought in to head up CIE and fix it

bang on. i'd suggest a former head of the Hamburg publc bus service. In that town, when it says 10.52 on the timetable - the bus actually arrives at exactly 10.52 without fail.

Civilian_Target wrote:

You all bitch and moan about Dublin Bus - I think they deliver a pretty decent service at a very reasonable price. Try looking around at other places - you can easily do a whole lot worse.

i can only presume you are lucky enough to a person who uses some of the few good routes that dublin bus provides (eg: no. 7 or 46a) otherwise you could not possibly make that statement.

its nothing to do with bitching and moaning. the fact is many people on many dublin bus routes recieve an absolutly appauling service with rediculously long delays and buses failing to show up at all on a regular basis.

someone wrote into the Irish Times yesterday compalining about DB. He worked out that if only 15% of people do not go into DB HQ in town to collect their ticket change, thats still E1million per year that DB make without any effort and as we know the % of people who do not bother collecting their ticket change must be far higher.

the adding of 5c to the fare is a ploy to add to this. who carries 5c coins around with them all the time? people are far more likely to through an extra 10c,20c,50c coin down the slot - the change of which will more than likely go into DBs coffers. i dont care if they are making a 60million lose every year, this is just highway robbery. and half the time when you through more money than is necessary down the slot, the poxy drivers dont print you a change stub for it.

Sam Vimes · 28-12-2005 12:33pm

Civilian_Target wrote:

Nawt wrong with the 38/A - especially given that you're 15k from the city centre out there.

i once started waiting at 4pm for a 38. i had to be in work at 6. i was late. i never got it again.

Sam Vimes · 28-12-2005 12:36pm

ChillyS wrote:

My route is the 39, and the bus stop is literally outside my house. However i go over to the bus stop and in the time that 5 or 6 were meant to come, there are none.

that odd about the 39, i've found it to be quite good. i can get a 37, 38 or 39 home from town and i always end up taking the 39. drops me ten minutes walk away but a few times i've decided to wait for a 37 or 38 to save me the walk and i've eventually given up and taken the 5th 39 to go by.

the_menace · 28-12-2005 12:43pm

Dublin Bus is administered, like most Irish public service companies, by idiots. You'd think for such a supposedly well educated country we'd stop humiliating ourselves on the world stage. Hike up the cost for single fares and round off to the nearest euro, reductions for regular users/ticket holders. Simple as that. We're a nation of f**king eejits.

Litcagral · 28-12-2005 12:45pm

ferdi wrote:

someone wrote into the Irish Times yesterday compalining about DB. He worked out that if only 15% of people do not go into DB HQ in town to collect their ticket change, thats still E1million per year that DB make without any effort and as we know the % of people who do not bother collecting their ticket change must be far higher.

the adding of 5c to the fare is a ploy to add to this. who carries 5c coins around with them all the time? people are far more likely to through an extra 10c,20c,50c coin down the slot - the change of which will more than likely go into DBs coffers. i dont care if they are making a 60million lose every year, this is just highway robbery. and half the time when you through more money than is necessary down the slot, the poxy drivers dont print you a change stub for it.

AFAIK Dublin Bus are not permitted to keep change which has not been reclaimed.

projectmayhem · 28-12-2005 3:12pm

Lodgepole wrote:

The inconvenience of requiring a coin that I don't generally like carrying with me is one thing, but the concept of yet another raise in the fare without any obvious improvement of the service (based on the routes I travel regularly) is another. Like I said, i'd happily accept a more significant price hike if it meant a service worthy of the city but until we get that i'm going to take issue with it.

if the coin is your problem buy one of those monthly ticket things.

fair enough if your route sucks, but if it's ****, complain. they can't improve it if they don't know people aren't happy

John R · 28-12-2005 4:52pm

ferdi wrote:

bang on. i'd suggest a former head of the Hamburg publc bus service. In that town, when it says 10.52 on the timetable - the bus actually arrives at exactly 10.52 without fail.

He'd take one look at the conditions in Dublin and be on the first plane out of here.
Just the thought of taking responsibility for running a bus service in the dangerous, unplanned, lawless, corruption-ridden circus that is Dublin would give any self-respecting German official a coronary.

ferdi wrote:

someone wrote into the Irish Times yesterday compalining about DB. He worked out that if only 15% of people do not go into DB HQ in town to collect their ticket change, thats still E1million per year that DB make without any effort and as we know the % of people who do not bother collecting their ticket change must be far higher.

The capacity of Irish people to bitch and moan about the most petty things while completely ignoring the huge problems all around them never ceases to amaze me.

Not only is it stupid but it is incorrect, all the money issued as change tickets is held seperately and not used by the company. They do not gain anything from unclaimed change, in fact the extra accounting and staff hours costs them money.

It is just pure lazyness that deprives people of their change. If you can't be bothered to have the correct fare or going to one of the 300 odd ticket agents or collecting the tickets and cashing them in whenever then FFS stop the moaning.

If the slightest bit of effort was taken you could have a handful of pre-paid tickets in your wallet to use whenever, a few pieces of card weigh a lot less than a pocketful of coins and in many cases they are cheaper than paying cash.

ferdi wrote:

the adding of 5c to the fare is a ploy to add to this. who carries 5c coins around with them all the time? people are far more likely to through an extra 10c,20c,50c coin down the slot - the change of which will more than likely go into DBs coffers. i dont care if they are making a 60million lose every year, this is just highway robbery. and half the time when you through more money than is necessary down the slot, the poxy drivers dont print you a change stub for it.

They will if you make it clear you are paying over the fare and ask for change. People throw a dozen coins into the box and then stand mute expecting the driver to count all the coppers and give them the change ticket, then they jump down his throat when he just assumes it is the correct fare and issues the ticket.

If you want change then ask up front, it takes about 2 seconds and saves all the hassle of causing an arguement over 5c and just maybe the 80% of passengers who have given the correct fare or who have used pre-paid tickets won't be staring at you wishing you would just get the fukk off the bus and stop delaying their journey.

Stark · 28-12-2005 4:56pm

Litcagral wrote:

AFAIK Dublin Bus are not permitted to keep change which has not been reclaimed.

Actually they can and do keep the change which isn't reclaimed. They claim they "re-invest" it in the network.

fischerspooner · 28-12-2005 4:58pm

People who have been saying the de-reg of buses in britain was a disaster... I lived in edinburgh for a year and the buses were ALWAYS bang on time, every day. The thing that annoys me about Dublin bus is that they only give the times on the timetables of when they leave the terminus, so you have to work out for yourself how long it will take to get to the stop you're at. In Scotland they have it down to the minute for every stop. If the driver is early he will wait at a stop until he's on time etc. etc. I know people who work for Dublin Bus who tell me of drivers leaving early to miss the schools/offices etc. It's a disgraceful service. And it's far too expensive. In Germany for example petrol is about 1.25 a litre now (20c dearer than here) yet the bus services are about 30% cheaper than here and in true German fashion always on time. I don't know what we can do to get Dublin Bus off their arses but I wish I did know. Lazy unions and too much comfort are probably the main problem.

ciaran76 · 28-12-2005 4:59pm

Tha Gopher wrote:

As for the Urbus someone mentioned earlier have never used it, way too pricey.

Well you should but a 10 journey ticket with them which is €25. So thats €2.50 a trip from Blanch to Swrds which ain't bad at all

MarkK · 28-12-2005 5:20pm

I used to live in Dublin but live in Leeds now.

In Leeds there are no buses after 8pm on New Years Eve and no busses at all on New Years Day.

Over Christmas there were no buses after 8pm On Christmas Eve,
None all day on the 25th or the 26th.

Totaly crap for anyone dependant on buses to get around.

The fares are not cheap, they go up twice a year.
My 10 minute Journey to work is going up from £1.20 to £1.40 from Monday.

Give me Dublin Bus any Day!

Victor · 28-12-2005 5:41pm

fischerspooner wrote:

In Germany for example petrol is about 1.25 a litre now (20c dearer than here) yet the bus services are about 30% cheaper than here and in true German fashion always on time.

They use the petrol money to subsidise public transport.

John R · 28-12-2005 5:53pm

fischerspooner wrote:

People who have been saying the de-reg of buses in britain was a disaster... I lived in edinburgh for a year and the buses were ALWAYS bang on time, every day.

Like I said, it was a disaster, except for a few cases. Edinburgh is one of those.

Along with a handful of other UK cities the local government in Edinburgh re-acquired the main bus operator, in this instance Lothian Buses. Although a PLC they are owned by the local councils so they are still effectively a nationalised service. There is competition in Edinburgh, mainly from FirstBus who in recent years have been in front of various authorities, including the competition commission because of their underhanded activities in Edinburgh.

the_syco · 28-12-2005 6:41pm

Meh. I'll just continue to use the 5 day rambler pack.

[qoute]Is there a limit on how many copper coins the bus drivers have to take or can one pay with only one and two cent coins?[/quote]
Fúck em. I've done it before

If they say no, tell them its legal tender, and that they have to take it.

I'm a definite believer though that they should integrate the whole lot, and seperate the whole city into 4 or 5 zones, and just have zonal pricing for the whole lot, and a single card to do everything as well.

They have zones. Just no-one knows what they are.

Stark · 28-12-2005 6:48pm

qwertz wrote:

Is there a limit on how many copper coins the bus drivers have to take or can one pay with only one and two cent coins?

Nope you can pay with one and two cent coins. I've done it plenty

Victor · 28-12-2005 6:54pm

Stark wrote:

Nope you can pay with one and two cent coins. I've done it plenty

Just don't ask for any favours.

There are limits to the amount of coins / notes you can proffer.

ChillyS · 28-12-2005 7:52pm

Commander Vimes wrote:

that odd about the 39, i've found it to be quite good. i can get a 37, 38 or 39 home from town and i always end up taking the 39. drops me ten minutes walk away but a few times i've decided to wait for a 37 or 38 to save me the walk and i've eventually given up and taken the 5th 39 to go by.

Yeah, coming back from town the service is pretty ok, however going into town when they are suppossed to be on the way back from Ongar you can wait up to an hour, kinda annoying when you're stood there looking at the warm house but too scared to go in cos you dont want to miss the next one!!

Sam Vimes · 30-12-2005 11:55am

ChillyS wrote:

Yeah, coming back from town the service is pretty ok, however going into town when they are suppossed to be on the way back from Ongar you can wait up to an hour, kinda annoying when you're stood there looking at the warm house but too scared to go in cos you dont want to miss the next one!!

if they leave town every ten minutes but only come back every half hour to 45 mins i think ongar is some kind of bus bermuda triangle

GLaDOS · 30-12-2005 12:37pm

I dont mind paying an extra 5cent, its just having to have a 5 cent on me for bus fare(I dislike small change)

Stark · 30-12-2005 1:05pm

Commander Vimes wrote:

if they leave town every ten minutes but only come back every half hour to 45 mins i think ongar is some kind of bus bermuda triangle

Or more a case of the buses switching to "out of service" mode I reckon. My big problem with that is when you're waiting for a bus near the outside of town, about two buses go past with "Out of service" written on them. You hop on the next bus and get off at the terminus. You see the two buses still there. About five minutes later, you see them drive off and back into town, still with "Out of service" written on them. You ask people in work who got the bus all the way in from the city centre and they say they saw those buses drive past them as well while they were waiting for their bus. It happens quite a good bit. So it's like the bus drivers do a whole round trip of the route but don't bother to take passengers. I'd love to know what the deal with that is.

projectmayhem · 30-12-2005 1:34pm

Stark wrote:

Or more a case of the buses switching to "out of service" mode I reckon. My big problem with that is when you're waiting for a bus near the outside of town, about two buses go past with "Out of service" written on them. You hop on the next bus and get off at the terminus. You see the two buses still there. About five minutes later, you see them drive off and back into town, still with "Out of service" written on them. You ask people in work who got the bus all the way in from the city centre and they say they saw those buses drive past them as well while they were waiting for their bus. It happens quite a good bit. So it's like the bus drivers do a whole round trip of the route but don't bother to take passengers. I'd love to know what the deal with that is.

petrol possibly? lunch breaks? there's a fair few possibilities there in fairness

petronius · 29-10-2014 7:44am

Bus fares (and DART and Irish Rail) should not be increasing, they should be used to encourage people to use public transport not discourage them. CIE should be more efficient and more commercially minded in some cases to make best with what revenue and subsidy they get, and actually get more passengers by being more dependable and client friendly - which they seem to have no plan or inclination to do so since their solution is always ah sure we will put in for a price hike!

zl1whqvjs75cdy · 29-10-2014 8:11am

Zombie thread. Spooky.

LuckyLloyd · 29-10-2014 9:33am

They run a decent service imo, and the price is quite fair compared to alternative travel costs. €1230 gets you unlimited citywide travel for a year. Very cost effective compared to running a car. Most importantly, the service is constantly improving in every which way - it's a far superior service now in terms of reliability and accessibility than it was 12 years ago.

Ultimately, cash fares should be abolished. People should simply not be provided the option to pay via cash when boarding the bus. Pre paid tickets distributed via Leap should be the only option. And don't worry, we're heading that way.

SEPT 23 1989 · 29-10-2014 9:39am

Bus Eireann average wage: €50,623
Irish Rail average wage: €53,108
Dublin Bus average wage: €52,656

Aircoach : €37.713
Lothian Scotland: €42,765
First Manchester: €30,470

Dravokivich · 29-10-2014 9:51am

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Bus Eireann average wage: €50,623
Irish Rail average wage: €53,108
Dublin Bus average wage: €52,656

Aircoach : €37.713
Lothian Scotland: €42,765
First Manchester: €30,470

The average wage tells us nothing in reference to what most people are getting paid..

mariaalice · 29-10-2014 10:02am

Get a leep card there the greatest thing since slice bread.

Seriously what are people doing on Dublin bus using change in this day and age, Why would anyone spend more money by using cash!!.

Its a fiver deposit to get a leep card and if you decide you don't want the card you get the fiver back.

It is something like a 15% cheaper to use a leep card.

Bus Fares

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