Coronavirus and the effect on Public transport

Surely if it was running as a regular bus route you would avoid the school transport rules. Maybe the wording of such a route can avoid any obstacles.

It's quite simple, don't travel unless needed and especially on public transport if you have no genuine reason then to be honest pee right off.

You are putting others and myself at more risk, the less I carry or see the better to be honest.
I don't like it at all, my job is to get people around, it's very weird constantly having to watch numbers and try and stay safe.

Cleaning cab as soon as take the bus over, the dirt still on the wipes is crazy especially when these are meant to be deep cleaned.....

Keep the seat for someone that needs it.

bk wrote: »

The argument from the public health folks would be that if 25% is not efficient, then the Level 5 restrictions are not being properly enforced or even more strict restrictions are necessary.

Keep in mind, that during last March's restrictions, levels dropped to just 10%, so 25% is quiet a bit over that and 50% is WAY over that. Large numbers using public transport and traffic numbers on the roads being high will likely be an indicator to the government that Level 5 isn't working and more needs to be done.

Of course in reality we aren't really at Level 5, it is more like Level 4.5 and even Level 5 is no where near as strict as last March's restrictions, what with schools open, etc. So really there is an even more strict Level 6 too.

Hopefully this less strict Level 4/5 works and people actually do what needs to be done, so that it doesn't end up needing even longer then 6 weeks and perhaps some sort of Level 6. That would be devastating for our economy. We really all need to pull together and make this work.

If I was the NTA, I certainly wouldn't rush into anything, likely the first day or two were going to be mayhem, as people got use to the new restrictions. I'd say it will ease off and people will travel less or make other arrangements. I certainly don't see them breaking government health guidelines and increasing to 50%, instead I'd see extra buses being laid on at specific pinch points.

Perhaps the reduction in public transport capacity to 25% should be linked to the closure of the schools, it just doesn’t make sense to allow just 17 people on a double decker when the schools are open. It’s not possible or safe for all kids to walk or cycle to school and the government has to take this into account when deciding to restrict capacity on public transport. If they want numbers on public transport to go back to 10% of normal levels then they need to impose the restrictions to match, ie all retail other than grocery stores and pharmacies closed, schools closed and construction sites closed, although we are unlikely to go back to that level of lockdown again due to the unsustainability of such restrictions.

Remember that at 25% capacity even public transport usage at 15-20% of normal levels will put severe strain on the service as a large portion of that 15-20% will be concentrated at peak times due to the profile of those travelling during lockdown. Non-work or school related travel, the bulk of which would be done off-peak, is currently almost non-existent at level 5.

Other countries in Europe have not seen fit to reduce PT capacity to 25% which begs the question as to why we need to. Also bear in mind that NPHET wanted to shut down public transport completely back in August. That will tell you all you need to know about their attitude to public transport users. Somehow I don’t think that Holohan, Philip Nolan et al needed to be concerned about their bus into town for their daily briefings being full this morning!

dfx- wrote: »

That doesn't work if the person already sitting in the seat also needs it. Which is more likely to happen at 25% capacity.

The reduction is inexplicable.

I don't think you understand, it's meant keep a place for someone that needs it, not going out for the craic like many are, it's for essential reasons, kids going off to meet their mates and then getting on at 11 or 12 at night and either not paying or throwing in a euro isn't essential travel and so on

GT89 wrote: »

Almost any bus I've seen or been on after 8 at night over the last couple of months have been carrying mostly fresh air with maybe 2 or 3 on them no where near 17 or whatever the limit is. Kids travelling late at night for un essential reasons are not taking up seats for those who need them.

Most people who travel at peak times are travelling for essiential reasons most un essential travel is off peak.

How do you know, seriously talking through your hoop, I'm out in the thick of it, there are still busy times and people are been left, obviously peak times of course but there are other times too....

I'll admit today was very quite compared to the rest of the week.

I'd be happier if people adhere to the guidelines and we get out of this before it ruins us completely. Its great you feel you're invincible etc but I'm not and neither are many other driver's, I don't want to catch this and the more that travel there is much higher a risk....

I have seen sweet fcuk all Gardai out also, the odd car or van and that's it.

One checkpoint on O'Connell bridge earlier, well guessing as seen lights but didn't go through.

Notice a lot more stores open this time round too.

40s and 13s have massive compliance to be honest, I'm on the 13 5 times in the last week

punisher5112 wrote: »

I don't think you understand, it's meant keep a place for someone that needs it, not going out for the craic like many are, it's for essential reasons, kids going off to meet their mates and then getting on at 11 or 12 at night and either not paying or throwing in a euro isn't essential travel and so on

Not many people are out for the craic at 7.30am on a weekday morning but buses are full, as mine was yesterday morning. People are going to school, or work that is deemed essential.


If government can't provide sufficient & safe PT capacity to support those then they can either increase capacity allowed on board, add more vehicles or change school opening to off peak times. Basically do anything at all, not just blindly reducing capacity & hoping for the best as seems to be the case currently.

You mentioned buses were busy cos people were going out for the craic.

Normally not a fan of these forums for many reasons, but I had to correct some of the nonsense.

I don't know if he was a troll or not, but to the guy who thought there is no enforcement on PT there was and there is, you just have not seen it yet.
I work with the health minister so i'm aware of all the strategies they are using and some of them are pretty clever. They are stopping people getting off busses at major points, sometimes even boarding the bus before the stop and having driver close the door behind them.

The guards get lied to about 20 times a day, it's part of the job you have to learn to live with pretty quickly, the one plus side of it is because they get lied to so often they are good at spotting it when you are doing it. If tey doubt you they might ask for some sort of proof of what you are saying.

Remember you can't just say ''shopping'' and that's it, look at the language of the actual Act of Oireachtas and the actual miniserial order it can't just be an excuse it has to be a ''reasonable'' excuse. So if you are far from home because you are going to get chemo in hospital ok. If you are shopping but you have gone 60 miles from home past loads of possible supermarkets, chemests etc, you have failed the 'reasonable' test.

They are also checking rail they may not ride the actual train, because we don't have a transport police they can't go outside their district (which is stupid) but the train will hold while they do their thing. They often pick major interchanges but I've also seen them at smaller stations.
Incidentally, if you don't have a ticket you are technically tresspassing and that's probable cause for a search...they are catching a lot of criminals by using the covid regs as a gateway!

I think DBs idea of different fares at different times was a great notion...what seems to be happening, over and over, is the 3-4 members of the cabinet that have some cop on and brains bring stuff to the full cabinet and then the rest rip the ideas apart and some half assed watered down version comes out later. That is what happened with the house party regs, they were ripped apart and no no no last time, then covid spiked like crazy and they had to go do what was suggested in the first place...a law to deal with house parties.

THe reason they are scared re:50 percent is masks are not the total protection people seem to think they are.

There are two issues I think the govt and the last one should have put more emphasis on:

1. Covid can wreck your body even if it does not kill you, search the terms 'long term covid' etc and see about the scarred lungs, the never ending low energy, the heart problems etc etc at the start of this they were eager to put out the message 'dont worry most people just get flu like symptoms v few die' that they put out the suggestion that if you don't die you are fine...that's not the case, there is a huge third category. 60% have nurological symptoms months after they have ''recovered'

2. Masks are not a cure all, they reduce they dont' eliminate. Even the masks they wear in hospitals don't stop everything escaping, so we can't pack the busses again even if everyone is masked. There is some debate to be had (there is a range of possible reasonable options in every covid decision) about what % but we can't just stuff people in like before.

GT you are flat out WRONG that it only affects vunerable people severely, that is not true. THey are the most affected group that is not the same as saying it ONLY affects them. There are 28 year old athletes with scarred lungs for life and 30 year olds with no energy no matter how much they sleep, people with brain infarks because of lack of oxigen. It's NOT a case of die or the flu.

This things way more contagious than the flu and way more lethal.

If we had not locked down earlier in the year there would have been exponential growth and 30-50 000 deaths.
In addition, these vunerabe people can't just be thrown to the wolves. They mix with everyone else all the time there is no way to seal them off, you are talking about around 30% of the country here, everyone thiks that group includes just old people but it's a wide category. There are 20 year olds who are expected to live a normal lifespan, and going back to toral normal before a vaccine or a proper testing system would write them off.

You can't bloddy seal the vunerable off, they have LIVES they have to go to work they have to go to the supermarket they will be breathing the same air as you no matter how well protected they are.


There is a boatload of new quick test kits order coming in december that will allow people to test themselves and at work etc which should allow things to open a bit, they are quick and easy they may be a game changer they are already on order.
Theres also several vaccine trials looking promising several of which would be manufactured here. Though the vaccine will come in phases certain groups will get it first.

This won't take forever. I had someone take my head off on the 145/155 the other day. The driver got out of his cab and asked a woman (to my shame wearing a jacket from the same uni as me) to stop eating and put her mask on. She did, I got a panic in my chest I'm working from home loads because liver issues mean I'm in the vunerable group despite being extremely fit otherwise. I opened two of the small slide windows to clear the air since I just realized (which i had not before) someone maskless was sitting right behind me. She rather hysterically got up and slammed them shut. I kinda lost it and said they stay open until I get off so the air can clear, or I'll f---- toss you off the bus myself. This may be something some people read about but I have to read all these horror reports at work and in news knowing full well it could be me gasping on a respirator any day because someone was too lazy to follow some easy rules.


Our grandparents and great grandparents endured plagues, carpet bombins, world wars, genocide, famines, and diseases like smallpox with 50 and 90percent death rates...if we can't handle a few restrictions here and there we ought to be embarrased to be their successors.

Lifelike wrote: »

My buses both to and from work were both more than 25% full again today. And that’s with the schools off. When are we going to stop pretending that we can get by with 25% capacity on PT?

Are DB running duplicates on the busier sections of routes ?