Dublin Coach Experience Discussion Thread

devnull · 13-04-2018 4:24pm

Stephen15 wrote: »

Here in Europe Ryanair and other discount airlines have pretty much put a death to long distance intercity coaches which are only used by a minority compared to air or rail travel. It used to fairly common for people from Ireland to go England and on to Europe by bus before discount airlines.

PolskiBus and Flixbus are still doing pretty well!

Stephen15 · 13-04-2018 4:47pm

devnull wrote: »

PolskiBus and Flixbus are still doing pretty well!

Mostly domestically within Germany and Poland not over the wider EU market.

bk · 13-04-2018 4:59pm

Stephen15 wrote: »

Mostly domestically within Germany and Poland not over the wider EU market.

Yes, just like Aircoach, etc. here.

Though I will say even the coaches on short journeys (2 to 4 hours) in Brazil were on average better then here.

Stephen15 · 13-04-2018 5:13pm

bk wrote: »

Yes, just like Aircoach, etc. here.

Though I will say even the coaches on short journeys (2 to 4 hours) in Brazil were on average better then here.

I'm not sure about Poland but they have taken off more so as a budget option for students and the likes to high speed rail travel which is more so for business travellers and richer passengers who want a quicker way of getting there and work on the way.

The_Wanderer · 15-04-2018 1:54pm

devnull wrote: »

PolskiBus and Flixbus are still doing pretty well!

Myself and a friend were forced to use both operators last October when we got stranded overnight in Leipzig after hurricane force winds seriously disrupted DB rail services in northern Germany.

Flixbus to Berlin from Leipzig at 0530 in the morning and found our train to Poznan was also cancelled so we used Polskibus from Berlin to Poznan.

Both buses pretty much full, but late due to tight schedules and traffic congestion.

aaakev · 15-04-2018 3:40pm

https://coachandbusjobs.com/jobs/electrical-mechanical-technician/

belfast stephen · 16-04-2018 5:47pm

i have used the serivce between Belfast and Dublin a number of time and not had any problem the coaches are clean and plenty of leg room if you get 1 of the 181 reg coaches on the Route you will get USB points as well
but Aircoach also have new coaches on there Belfast Dublin route as well

belfast stephen · 16-04-2018 5:48pm

looks like there open topper are on the road again this year
[font=helvetica neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]http://cityscapetours.ie/[/font]

devnull · 16-04-2018 6:15pm

belfast stephen wrote: »

i have used the serivce between Belfast and Dublin a number of time and not had any problem the coaches are clean and plenty of leg room if you get 1 of the 181 reg coaches on the Route you will get USB points as well

That's because Dublin Coach are having a bus war against an incumbent and they are happy to throw huge resources at that route whilst starving their other routes of the same kind of investment that they so desperately need as their long suffering customers continue to have to put up with 14 year old, well worn vehicles.

I'm no fan of the Aircoach Panther's since I think they are a downgrade on what they replaced, but at the same time, the maintenance of the Aircoach fleet, it's general appearance and a focus on providing a good service on reliable, modern vehicles network wide, makes me rate them as higher quality operator.

I don't know what routes/duties the Road Safety Authority charges against Dublin Coach were based on, but the report said there was serious and systematic non-compliance with safety regulations and this alone would make me think twice about taking their services.

devnull · 16-04-2018 6:16pm

belfast stephen wrote: »

looks like there open topper are on the road again this year
[font=helvetica neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]http://cityscapetours.ie/[/font]

€5 tickets? Are they really paying their staff that little to be able to afford such pricing?

What do we reckon their costs are? Can't be cheap to keep a bunch of 15 year old tridents running.

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 16-04-2018 6:38pm

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dashcamdanny · 16-04-2018 6:59pm

Go ahead are going to fill up with Dublin coach and Dublin Bus spare drivers.

devnull · 16-04-2018 7:03pm

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

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Indeed but the ticket is for a hop on and hop off tour and they're charging the same for a 24 hour hop on hop off ticket as they are for a single journey from Red Cow to the Airport?

Doubt Dublin Bus or Dualway will be happy with this, seems a similar kind of strategy to what they did on the Belfast Route against Aircoach with ultra cheap pricing.

Quackster · 16-04-2018 11:43pm

Been traveling on AirCoach between Cork and Dublin a bit recently and must say I'm very impressed with their service. Punctuality was spot-on; something that's sorely lacking with Dublin Coach. One annoyance though is that you can only book online up to 5pm the day before departure.

In contrast, I travelled Donegal to Dublin with Bus Éireann a few weeks ago on a new bus and the seats were so close together, my face was practically up against the back of the seat in front of me. Felt very claustrophobic.

One thing I liked with the BÉ bus were the very accommodating seat-side power options - Domestic & Europlug sockets and standard USB & USB-C.

AlekSmart · 17-04-2018 1:09am

devnull wrote: »

Indeed but the ticket is for a hop on and hop off tour and they're charging the same for a 24 hour hop on hop off ticket as they are for a single journey from Red Cow to the Airport?

Doubt Dublin Bus or Dualway will be happy with this, seems a similar kind of strategy to what they did on the Belfast Route against Aircoach with ultra cheap pricing.

I doubt that either BAC or DW will be too surprised at the relaunch discount.

2017 saw similar action,with the CS Fares rising as the season got going.

The savings with CS appear to be based upon seasonal contracts for Drivers at low fixed rates,with the Drivers therefore responsible for their own Social Contributions (A very prevalent practice in the Coaching world,where one can still find people wondering why there are so few new entrants...:rolleyes: )

With buoyant inward visitor numbers,the Dublin tour market can just about support two full time operators,but whether CS can make a fulltime business model out of their operation remains to be seen ?

devnull · 17-04-2018 8:24am

Quackster wrote: »

Been traveling on AirCoach between Cork and Dublin a bit recently and must say I'm very impressed with their service. Punctuality was spot-on; something that's sorely lacking with Dublin Coach. One annoyance though is that you can only book online up to 5pm the day before departure.

The Cork, Belfast and Dublin depots got new ticket machines last month and last week they updated their website booking system to be easier to use on mobile devices and they seem to be processing payments on their site directly rather than via Worldpay and there is talk that contactless payment options will be coming. So perhaps this restriction will be removed soon - it already has been for the 700 service.

devnull · 17-04-2018 8:29am

AlekSmart wrote: »

I doubt that either BAC or DW will be too surprised at the relaunch discount.

Indeed, but there's low pricing and then there is ridiculously low pricing. I'm the first one to be supportive of good value public transport, but considering the opinions of patrons of Dublin Coach on this thread and also the well known issues they have suffered with, some would suggest they are focusing too much on being the cheapest and price wars and not enough on other areas.

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 17-04-2018 9:37am

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bk · 17-04-2018 2:23pm

devnull wrote: »

The Cork, Belfast and Dublin depots got new ticket machines last month and last week they updated their website booking system to be easier to use on mobile devices and they seem to be processing payments on their site directly rather than via Worldpay and there is talk that contactless payment options will be coming. So perhaps this restriction will be removed soon - it already has been for the 700 service.

Hope so, it is one of the two reasons why I've mostly been taking GoBE to Cork over the last two years.

Stephen15 · 17-04-2018 4:29pm

devnull wrote: »

Indeed, but there's low pricing and then there is ridiculously low pricing. I'm the first one to be supportive of good value public transport, but considering the opinions of patrons of Dublin Coach on this thread and also the well known issues they have suffered with, some would suggest they are focusing too much on being the cheapest and price wars and not enough on other areas.

Indeed but look around at other operators who's main selling point is low cost. For example Megabus over in the UK aren't running delapdated old buses but yet their main selling point is low cost.

In fact most low cost operators have the newest vehicles in order to save money as newer vehicles can be cheaper if bought in bulk, they require less maintenance also saving on cost and are generally more fuel efficient.

DC seem have an unusual business strategy that seems to based on saving money the short term rather than the long term.

18-04-2018 9:37am

The_Wanderer wrote: »

Myself and a friend were forced to use both operators last October when we got stranded overnight in Leipzig after hurricane force winds seriously disrupted DB rail services in northern Germany.

Flixbus to Berlin from Leipzig at 0530 in the morning and found our train to Poznan was also cancelled so we used Polskibus from Berlin to Poznan.

Both buses pretty much full, but late due to tight schedules and traffic congestion.

Have to say I was impressed with FlixBus. Had a 5 hour cross-border journey and while there was a delay which was frustrating there were a couple of automated texts to let me know so I could have pints at the bus station and relax. :P Buses were clean, comfortable, charging points and all that jazz and all for €9 booked the day before.

bk · 18-04-2018 10:08am

Stephen15 wrote: »

In fact most low cost operators have the newest vehicles in order to save money as newer vehicles can be cheaper if bought in bulk, they require less maintenance also saving on cost and are generally more fuel efficient.

Very much the same as the Ryanair model. Ryanair have the youngest airline fleet in the world. Buy in large bulk, so get a discount from the manufacture, young age so has low maintenance costs, plus most major maintenance falls under the manufactures warranty anyway due to the young age and of course the latest fuel efficiency technology.

It is counter intuitive how the cheapest airlines can have the newest fleets.

However doing the above requires deep pockets for the initial capital. I suspect DC simply doesn't have access to that kind of money. Also it feels like they are just trying to grab as much market in the short term, at the expense of long term profitability. That would perhaps make sense if the business plan is to sell DC in the short term. The more market share you have, the higher you can sell it for.

Though I'd hope any buyer would take into account the investment they would need to fix the deficiencies in the fleet and bring it up to a stable standard. But then some companies specialise in the sort of thing.

AlekSmart · 18-04-2018 12:06pm

bk wrote: »

..............

............................It is counter intuitive how the cheapest airlines can have the newest fleets.

However doing the above requires deep pockets for the initial capital. I suspect DC simply doesn't have access to that kind of money. Also it feels like they are just trying to grab as much market in the short term, at the expense of long term profitability. That would perhaps make sense if the business plan is to sell DC in the short term. The more market share you have, the higher you can sell it for.

Though I'd hope any buyer would take into account the investment they would need to fix the deficiencies in the fleet and bring it up to a stable standard. But then some companies specialise in the sort of thing.

The arrival of the Go-Ahead group onto the Republic's playing field might provide an interested party,specifically for the Cityscape operation.

Go-Ahead already have a substantial level of experience,either directly or via link-ups,in operating short-duration City Tours....

https://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/open-top-tours/

http://www.buses.co.uk/page.shtml?pageid=1344

https://www.chambersbus.co.uk/coaches/

https://www.goaheadlondon.com/bus_hire

If,as it appears the Go-Ahead group is gearing up for further expansion into the Republic,then ALL of the Dublin City Tour operators would be a valuable asset for any interested,and well resourced newcomer.

However,given the past experience of DC's senior management with developing & selling-on as a concept,it would hardly be surprising should such a situation occur ?

bk · 18-04-2018 1:28pm

AlekSmart wrote: »

The arrival of the Go-Ahead group onto the Republic's playing field might provide an interested party,specifically for the Cityscape operation.

Yes, I was thinking exactly that. GA have clearly shown that they are interested in more then just City bus services with them also winning some BE Kildare routes.

Actually the more I think of it, the more it seems like almost a perfect fit. DC operates a lot of services around Red Cow, which is very close to GA's new depot. GA's ex-BE Kildare routes will overlap a lot with DC's M7 services. The tours, Belfast route and M9 services would be an added bonus.

GA's depot there could end up having City buses, tour buses and medium and long distance coaches for all those routes. It would give them real scale from which to grow.

Let me say, that I've zero knowledge of this, just pure speculation, but it does make a massive amount of sense.

AlekSmart wrote: »

However,given the past experience of DC's senior management with developing & selling-on as a concept,it would hardly be surprising should such a situation occur ?

Yes, I wouldn't be surprised at all. It would easily explain why they seem to be trying to expand so quickly, while not really having the resources (fleet or money to buy new coaches) to really do so. It is poor from a customers perspective, but can be a business gamble that can pay off big (or go terribly wrong).

Chivito550 · 03-05-2018 10:08pm

I’ll probably need to get a bus to Waterford with Dublin Coach on Saturday. Where on earth is the bus stop exactly on Burgh Quay? Can’t find any info on their website.

Can you pay on the bus?

punisher5112 · 03-05-2018 10:10pm

Chivito550 wrote: »

I’ll probably need to get a bus to Waterford with Dublin Coach on Saturday. Where on earth is the bus stop exactly on Burgh Quay? Can’t find any info on their website.

Can you pay on the bus?

Directly beside the new Luas line/bridge.
Book online I believe works out cheaper and you can pay on board but have small amounts as in €50 or definitely less.

patrickc · 03-05-2018 10:20pm

I was behind a 161 tourismo today on another bus, the paint on the tourismo looks to be peeling or fading I'm not sure which but the back, top of it and along the sides are all going brown.

just a bad paint job or what would cause this after only 2 years?

colm_mcm · 03-05-2018 10:23pm

Could they have been wrapped?

patrickc · 03-05-2018 10:27pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

Could they have been wrapped?

I'be no idea how would you tell that?

colm_mcm · 03-05-2018 10:35pm

You’d normally only know once they’ve been scuffed or it starts peeling. Don’t know how commonplace wrapping is on coaches but I’d imagine if the bus is leased (dunno if they are) or if a rebrand is imminent (again, don’t know) it would be more palatable than painting them bright green?

punisher5112 · 05-05-2018 9:15am

They're painted unfortunately it's a terrible colour.

colm_mcm · 05-05-2018 9:03pm

It is very distinctive to be fair.

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 05-05-2018 9:06pm

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punisher5112 · 05-05-2018 9:27pm

colm_mcm wrote: »

It is very distinctive to be fair.

A shiny green would be much nicer.

It's puke or snot green..... Yuk

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 05-05-2018 9:39pm

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punisher5112 · 05-05-2018 9:39pm

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Metallic Bottle green/British racing green?

Any green but that one;-)

tabbey · 05-05-2018 10:48pm

punisher5112 wrote: »

It's puke or snot green..... Yuk

It is apple green, personally I like it, but each to his/her own.

Snot green is the colour of the sea, at least according to James Joyce, who referred to the snot green sea.

s14driftking · 12-05-2018 10:21am

Broke down on chaplizorod bypass yesterday entering onto the m50 caused huge tail backs into the city

devnull · 15-05-2018 8:38am

Got delayed coming into airport yesterday and had to be near the Red Cow in a hurry so took Dublin Coach.

Was one of the Vanhools. Smell of petrol and whilst not really tired not in great nick. Flew down the m50 passing a lot of cars. Certainly going fast. Seemed to change lanes a lot and got horned few times by other drivers. Refused to help with luggage. Told passengers to put it in back luggage pen themselves.

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 15-05-2018 10:03am

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devnull · 15-05-2018 10:38am

I have no idea but I only smelt the petrol when we were moving. I got the impression the driver didn't want to get out of his cab since he didn't even check the locker was closed.

Remember on the double deck coaches the pen is not under the coach but a door on the coach. Isn't a driver supposed to operate such compartment not leave passengers to do it themselves?

I always am pleasant to staff if they are nice to me. Always thank the driver etc. Appreciate good manners and customer service.

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 15-05-2018 10:59am

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devnull · 15-05-2018 11:11am

Sorry I meant diesel. I tend to use the word petrol to cover fuel in general.

Yeah I saw passenger be asked to put luggage into the compartment and heard her shut the door at the back. From the moment the bus pulled up and left driver didn't leave the cab. Was running late so perhaps played a part.

I generally am nice to staff unless they are rude or not nice to me in which case I am indifferent. I generally am not one to argue unless it's really ridiculous, and that is more often the case on Irish Rail rather than buses.

punisher5112 · 15-05-2018 11:22am

If there is a diesel smell there could be a leak or a panel not sealed right.

You will get this on other buses also especially after a service or when some work was carried out to the fuel tank area.

Stephen15 · 15-05-2018 4:50pm

devnull wrote: »

Sorry I meant diesel. I tend to use the word petrol to cover fuel in general.

Yeah I saw passenger be asked to put luggage into the compartment and heard her shut the door at the back. From the moment the bus pulled up and left driver didn't leave the cab. Was running late so perhaps played a part.

I generally am nice to staff unless they are rude or not nice to me in which case I am indifferent. I generally am not one to argue unless it's really ridiculous, and that is more often the case on Irish Rail rather than buses.

I find older coaches to quite often smell like diesel.

road_high · 20-05-2018 3:36pm

Stephen15 wrote: »

I find older coaches to quite often smell like diesel.

Or worse!

devnull · 04-06-2018 9:26pm

Just a heads up to say that there is a fairly decent fare hike on the way for the M7 service if you're buying on bus:
http://www.dublincoach.ie/news.php#141

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 04-06-2018 9:34pm

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soundman45 · 04-06-2018 10:22pm

Was chatting to a guy that worked for them and it seems they pay the drivers a price per trip completed so no extra for traffic delays and breakdowns. I'd say lads are queuing at the gates hoping to get a job with them.

ayux4rj6zql2ph · 04-06-2018 10:29pm

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Dublin Coach Experience Discussion Thread

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