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The Dublin Coach Experience

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Comments

  • #1112
    road_high
    Registered Users Posts: 19,385 ✭✭✭✭road_high


    Another mad Dub Coach experience during the week coming back from the Airport....all was fine until we passed the Red Cow N7 Junction by mistake, comes up the next junction and realises his mistake...slams on the brakes and skids the bus (large double decker) across into the hard shoulder (at speed)...comes to a dead stop in the gravel, proceeds to reverse the bus back to the Ballymount junction-all the while various other cars peeping and flashing lights at this lunatic! He got it up the junction and back over to the Red Cow Luas stop. This is insanity for a professional bus company- do they get any training at all?


  • #1113
    JeffK88
    Registered Users Posts: 627 ✭✭✭JeffK88


    road_high wrote: »
    Another mad Dub Coach experience during the week coming back from the Airport....all was fine until we passed the Red Cow N7 Junction by mistake, comes up the next junction and realises his mistake...slams on the brakes and skids the bus (large double decker) across into the hard shoulder (at speed)...comes to a dead stop in the gravel, proceeds to reverse the bus back to the Ballymount junction-all the while various other cars peeping and flashing lights at this lunatic! He got it up the junction and back over to the Red Cow Luas stop. This is insanity for a professional bus company- do they get any training at all?

    I'd be reporting him to the company straight away. Pretty sure he will be sent walking.


  • #1114
    punisher5112
    Registered Users Posts: 24,647 ✭✭✭✭punisher5112


    In Dundrum nothing has changed they will sit 30 to 40 minutes engine running spewing fumes out onto anybody waiting and into other buses waiting.....


    Shocking company and so disrespectful.


  • #1115
    devnull
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 11,584 Mod ✭✭✭✭devnull


    punisher5112 wrote: »
    In Dundrum nothing has changed they will sit 30 to 40 minutes engine running spewing fumes out onto anybody waiting and into other buses waiting.....

    Probably because some of the Setra's they used on those runs are 15 years old now and were very well used when Aircoach got rid of them a good few years ago and if they stopped them they might have problems starting them again.


  • #1116
    Stephen15
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,907 ✭✭✭Stephen15


    The cityscape website is still up if they sold the buses then how come the website is still up. Perhaps Extreme Ireland are planning to move the buses somewhere else to Cork, Galway, Limerick or even up north to Belfast or Derry. Cork doesn't have a City Sightseeing operation and is growing a tourist destination for example so it could be that.


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  • #1117
    Jamie2k9
    Registered Users Posts: 10,667 ✭✭✭✭Jamie2k9


    Stephen15 wrote: »
    The cityscape website is still up if they sold the buses then how come the website is still up. Perhaps Extreme Ireland are planning to move the buses somewhere else to Cork, Galway, Limerick or even up north to Belfast or Derry. Cork doesn't have a City Sightseeing operation and is growing a tourist destination for example so it could be that.

    Cork does.


  • #1118
    Stephen15
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,907 ✭✭✭Stephen15


    Jamie2k9 wrote: »
    Cork does.

    It has hop on/off tours but not under the City Sightseeing franchise as far as I'm aware.


  • #1119
    Stephen15
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,907 ✭✭✭Stephen15


    devnull wrote: »
    That's a big coup for Dublin Bus, they have their own brand and the brand that until recently was used as their biggest competitor all under one roof, it will be tough for Big Bus to compete with that and I can't see three open top tours being viable with a strengthened DB operation.

    With the oldest fleet, the least comprehensive service etc, I really can't see CityScape being anything other than a poor investment for Extreme Ireland truth be told unless they have a lot of cash to spend or something really innovative up their sleeves.

    After reading into it further it may only be a temporary arrangement in order to allow Citysightseeing to continue to sell tour tickets for Dublin on their website until the new franchise is off and running.


  • #1120
    belfast stephen
    Registered Users Posts: 168 ✭✭belfast stephen


    Not the market for an other open top tour in Belfast


  • #1121
    john boye
    Registered Users Posts: 1,491 ✭✭✭john boye


    Stephen15 wrote: »
    The cityscape website is still up if they sold the buses then how come the website is still up?

    Based on how they look after their fleet I can't imagine they're any better with updating their site.


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  • #1122
    Old diesel
    Registered Users Posts: 5,786 ✭✭✭Old diesel


    I know some will say "but they are getting new stuff in etc".

    But how is this outfit being allowed keep licence and NTA routes.

    The maintenance standards should be stopping the nonsense Dublin Coach think is acceptable.

    I've been on 15 to 20 year old coaches with small operators as a passenger and had a pleasant experience.

    Particularly worthy of mention was the 1985 MAN chassis coach in 2001 and the 1999 Volvo/Plaxton in 2014.

    But that's the difference between an operator with pride in what they do - standards, wanting to run a decent condition bus just because personal pride wont allow anything else.

    (Edit) And Dublin Coach who seem to think anything will do.

    They give public transport a bad name and I wish other operators could boot them out the door or deliver competition that forces Dublin coach to get rid of the heaps


  • #1123
    punisher5112
    Registered Users Posts: 24,647 ✭✭✭✭punisher5112


    Old diesel wrote: »
    I know some will say "but they are getting new stuff in etc".

    But how is this outfit being allowed keep licence and NTA routes.

    The maintenance standards should be stopping the nonsense Dublin Coach think is acceptable.

    I've been on 15 to 20 year old coaches with small operators as a passenger and had a pleasant experience.

    Particularly worthy of mention was the 1985 MAN chassis coach in 2001 and the 1999 Volvo/Plaxton in 2014.

    But that's the difference between an operator with pride in what they do - standards, wanting to run a decent condition bus just because personal pride wont allow anything else.

    (Edit) And Dublin Coach who seem to think anything will do.

    They give public transport a bad name and I wish other operators could boot them out the door or deliver competition that forces Dublin coach to get rid of the heaps


    His business model is get routes and eventually sell the lot off...


  • #1124
    devnull
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 11,584 Mod ✭✭✭✭devnull


    Old diesel wrote: »
    I know some will say "but they are getting new stuff in etc".

    But how is this outfit being allowed keep licence and NTA routes.

    The maintenance standards should be stopping the nonsense Dublin Coach think is acceptable.

    I've been on 15 to 20 year old coaches with small operators as a passenger and had a pleasant experience.

    Particularly worthy of mention was the 1985 MAN chassis coach in 2001 and the 1999 Volvo/Plaxton in 2014.

    But that's the difference between an operator with pride in what they do - standards, wanting to run a decent condition bus just because personal pride wont allow anything else.

    (Edit) And Dublin Coach who seem to think anything will do.

    They give public transport a bad name and I wish other operators could boot them out the door or deliver competition that forces Dublin coach to get rid of the heaps

    The problem with Dublin Coach is that they've expanded too quickly too soon in the last few years, they are always looking to add new services the inevitably gets the new vehicles, which means very little of the new vehicles result in the oldest ones getting replaced when really they should have been suring up their existing services before adding more services.

    Those 2004 Neoplans were very heavily worked on the Oxford Tube and other Stagecoach operations and those 2004 Setras from Aircoach were operating on the toughest work in Ireland in an operation that runs 24 hours a day and 364 days a year to the same timetable. Their former operators replaced said vehicles because they had a good few million kms on their clocks and obviously they wanted to ensure they provide a reliable service. Those coaches were nowhere near in the condition to stand up to the hard life they have had with DC though.

    The Belfast route is a very interesting case study on them as well, operating with brand new coaches at €10 return at first, giving free tickets away, at the same time as a rival from Dublin who built the market up and at the same time almost from the same stop in Belfast with vehicles being replaced after just 12 months and apparently shortly to be replaced again. Them winning that bus war would be a very bad thing for the industry because Aircoach, Bus Eireann and Translink have higher standards, like many of the other private operators.

    Dublin Coach always struck me as a bit of an operator that was trying to do things quite cheaply to have lower fares on the competition to attract people in, in the hope that they could make a killing by selling parts of the business up once they have the market and customer numbers, so the new owner could then go in and put a lot of investment in and already have the customers.


  • #1125
    devnull
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 11,584 Mod ✭✭✭✭devnull


    Dublin Coach were supposed to commence service on 8th May 2019 on route 727 Clongriffin - Clare Hall - Clonshaugh Business Park - Dublin Airport but their services have not yet commenced.

    Does anyone know what is happening there?


  • #1126
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,577 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Does the NTA feel that every Dublin suburb -> airport route has to have a Boeing model number (well, the former DB 748 was a Hawker Siddeley) or will they move on to Airbus in a while?


  • #1127
    Stephen15
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,907 ✭✭✭Stephen15


    devnull wrote: »
    Dublin Coach were supposed to commence service on 8th May 2019 on route 727 Clongriffin - Clare Hall - Clonshaugh Business Park - Dublin Airport but their services have not yet commenced.

    Does anyone know what is happening there?

    Peculiar alright sounded to me like they were trying to bring back the AerDart only difference was that it is going to Clongriffin instead of HJ and serving Clonshaugh. Which is a surprise to me for a private operator considering the private company running the AerDart failed with that venture.


  • #1128
    john boye
    Registered Users Posts: 1,491 ✭✭✭john boye


    L1011 wrote: »
    Does the NTA feel that every Dublin suburb -> airport route has to have a Boeing model number (well, the former DB 748 was a Hawker Siddeley) or will they move on to Airbus in a while?

    The 748 could pass for a Boeing too though! They'll run out of Boeings eventually. There has been a couple of Airbus numbers used in the past on short-lived non-airport routes, the 300 and the 321.


  • #1129
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,577 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Stephen15 wrote: »
    Peculiar alright sounded to me like they were trying to bring back the AerDart only difference was that it is going to Clongriffin instead of HJ and serving Clonshaugh. Which is a surprise to me for a private operator considering the private company running the AerDart failed with that venture.

    Port tunnel roadworks and limited non-rail originating traffic killed AerDart, this one at least has more obvious traffic generators on route


  • #1130
    Muller1991
    Registered Users Posts: 219 ✭✭Muller1991


    Does anyone know what type of bus they will be using on this service ? I Seriously hope it wont be one of the Neoplans, Would seem very peculiar using a large coach for such a short route.


  • #1131
    Odyssey 2005
    Registered Users Posts: 21,065 ✭✭✭✭Odyssey 2005


    It probably broke down on it's way out of the depot on day one


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  • #1132
    bk
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,455 Mod ✭✭✭✭bk


    john boye wrote: »
    The 748 could pass for a Boeing too though! They'll run out of Boeings eventually. There has been a couple of Airbus numbers used in the past on short-lived non-airport routes, the 300 and the 321.

    Yep, the 747-8 sometimes gets shortened to 748.

    Ironically 747's are rarely seen in Dublin Airport any more, other then the buses that is!


  • #1133
    WishUWereHere
    Registered Users Posts: 2,274 ✭✭✭WishUWereHere


    devnull wrote: »
    Dublin Coach were supposed to commence service on 8th May 2019 on route 727 Clongriffin - Clare Hall - Clonshaugh Business Park - Dublin Airport but their services have not yet commenced.

    Does anyone know what is happening there?

    That is one hell of a service, every 15 minutes from 04h00. There enough demand for that?


  • #1134
    Stephen15
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,907 ✭✭✭Stephen15


    WishUWereHere wrote: »
    That is one hell of a service, every 15 minutes from 04h00. There enough demand for that?

    I'd imagine the PVR would be fairly low as it's fairly short probably only 5 or 6 buses needed.


  • #1135
    Thrashssacre
    Registered Users Posts: 1,261 ✭✭✭Thrashssacre


    Are they really gonna use coaches for a 20 minute hop across Dublin?


  • #1136
    Stephen15
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,907 ✭✭✭Stephen15


    Thrashssacre wrote: »
    Are they really gonna use coaches for a 20 minute hop across Dublin?

    I'd say they'd probably use their Citaros that they use for Quickpark shuttles on it. They sometimes use them on their 750 Dundrum-Airport route and their 308 route in Limerick.


  • #1137
    WishUWereHere
    Registered Users Posts: 2,274 ✭✭✭WishUWereHere


    Thrashssacre wrote: »
    Are they really gonna use coaches for a 20 minute hop across Dublin?

    In essence this route really is only a trip up Oscar Traynor. Can see serious traffic jams when along comes the breakdowns:rolleyes:


  • #1138
    91wx763
    Registered Users Posts: 522 ✭✭✭91wx763


    Somewhat shocked to hear an ad on WLR pushing Waterford Cork 9 times a day......


  • #1139
    Stephen15
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,907 ✭✭✭Stephen15


    belfast stephen wrote: »
    Dublin Coach sold all the open tops to extreme Ireland. That’s were their going red as they have the franchise now for city sightseeing i understand new tours are starting 1st of May all re branded under city sightseeing Dublin doing the old cityscape route

    Yep now in Citysightseeing livery by the looks of things

    https://www.facebook.com/358944580870075/posts/2101524406612075/?sfnsn=mo


  • #1140
    devnull
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 11,584 Mod ✭✭✭✭devnull


    Dublin Coach will be rebranding all their airport services under the name "Airbus" starting in the next week or so and there is also talk of a rebrand of some of their other operations as well.

    The new name hasn't gone down well with either Aircoach or Dublin Bus from what I've heard.


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  • #1141
    Stephen15
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,907 ✭✭✭Stephen15


    devnull wrote: »
    Dublin Coach will be rebranding all their airport services under the name "Airbus" starting in the next week or so and there is also talk of a rebrand of some of their other operations as well.

    The new name hasn't gone down well with either Aircoach or Dublin Bus from what I've heard.

    Website here

    https://www.airbus.ie/#about


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