Bus links to Railway Stations

[Traincustomer]

As already referred to in The Passenger this is an area in need of development.
Many Irish Rail stations are served by buses (both CIÉ/private) but this info needs to be made accessible. Yet other towns need to develop bus links that link towns, suburbs and outlying areas with railway stations. I fully understand that not everyone will be able to use a bus to travel to the station (location/need to drop off children etc... etc...). However there is scope for a significant shift. Allow me to quote two examples. Drogheda (McBride) station has regular suburban and Enterprise trains but no bus link. West St. (centre of town) is ten to fifteen minutes walk. Dundalk (Clarke) station is passed by buses several times a day but there is no bus stop outside the station on the road. In some cases it's just about creating awareness of existing routes, perhaps amending them slightly. In others it's about developing new routes.
In Co. Cork, for example Cóbh Town Service (Barry's Coaches) stops at the station whereas at Kent Station Bus Éireann City Service 5 serves the station.
Debate in this forum has rightly and validly referred to car parking issues but if proper bus-rail links were the rule (rather than the exception) everyone would benefit; less congestion. stress and better for the environment.

[sean]

AFAIK this is Rail Users Ireland policy - continuously expanding station car parks is unviable, and there is a need to have integrated feeder buses. But I understand their main concern here is with commuter services.

[Mark Gleeson]

The AGM presented the policy position on this. Feeder bus services to stations or town bus services serving the station.

Car parking isn't sustainable, never enough spaces, clogs local roads etc. A decent alternative must be provided

We did try to get a condition attached to the permission on the Clonsilla - Pace line to require feeder bus services but Irish Rail have no responsibility in the matter. However bus stops and generally space for 3 buses are provided for at most new stations

For the record Balbriggan has a Bus Eireann run service which loops around the town which does stop at the station.

The problem here is four fold

1. The bus licensing situation is a farce
2. The Gardai decide where the bus stops go
3. No integrated ticketing
4. Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus are under orders to compete with Irish Rail

[Colm Moore]

We did try to get a condition attached to the permission on the Clonsilla - Pace line to require feeder bus services but Irish Rail have no responsibility in the matter. However bus stops and generally space for 3 buses are provided for at most new stationsWasn't CIÉ the applicant?

2. The Gardai decide where the bus stops goThis is only insofar as they won't allow stops to be sited dangerously or so as to cause congestion.

[Traincustomer]

I agree with you Sean that the focus seems to be on bus/rail integration for commuter services. Understandable to focus on where the main demand is but I wish this was developed on a nationwide basis. Nuemerous railway stations are within a stone's throw of a bus route but information isn't available and one has to figure it out themselves. Last Summer we were on a few days break in the (Sunny) South East and after an enjoyable visit to Johnstown Castle took Wexford Bus to Bridgetown to connect with the evening train back to Rosslare. (The bus stopped near the station approach lane and the driver helpfully directed us). If I didn't know all local rail and bus times and have my own map I doubt I would ever have realised this possibility.
Ideally too as Mark said integrated ticketing is required e.g. so a passenger can travel from say Connolly to Balbriggan and thence onwards on the Balbriggan Town Service to say Hamlet Lane by paying an add-on fare.
It is disappointing Drogheda has no bus link as for years many buses called at the station (e.g. Drogheda to Navan buses as the bus service was introduced as a rail replacement route when the passenger trains were withdrawn in April 1958).
Carlow Station used to be served by a town service (JJ Kavanagh) and the stop pole is still there but the route was discontinued a few years ago.

[Mark Hennessy]

To put the disjointed rail / bus integration shambles into perspective, an application was made to run a private service ferrying people to Maynooth from other nearby towns but was rejected because a private operator has the "license" for serving one of those outlying towns. This private operator does not run any services to Maynooth.

In any normal country, Bus Eireann services would be integrated with main line rail services, so a hinterland around say Limerick Junction could feed passengers from trains into non rail served routes. Similarly where Bus Eireann runs town services, these would serve the train station in that town frequently with integrated ticketing.

My understanding is that places like Drogheda and Waterford have no local public bus based transport to / from the station.

[comcor]

Although the Number 5 service changes in Cork are welcome, there's an awful lot more coule be done to integrate with bus services. A lot of the buses from South and West Cork that terminate at the bus station could drive for the extra 2 minutes to connect with rail at Kent Station (for those who don't know it, it's a 5-10 minute walk between the two). The Airport/Kinsale bus would also be a prime candidate. Finally, a number of city services that terminate in South Mall (6 & 16) may as well continue to the train station.

Hopefully, we might see some thought put into it. In the meantime could be have ticketing on the 5 combined into the train ticket, like the way the 90/92 can be added on in Dublin?

[Thomas Ralph]

In the meantime could be have ticketing on the 5 combined into the train ticket, like the way the 90/92 can be added on in Dublin?

Don't hold your breath.

[Traincustomer]

Exactly the kind of thinking we need, Comcor. Perhaps you may consider dropping both companies a line or e-mail with them. I haven't been in Cork for a few years (to my shame). As far as I recall there was just a Bus Éireann flagpole near the station and an irregular Route 15 bus service (think five times a day). Are facilities any better nowadays - does the 5 have a clearly marked out stop/shelter; is there a timetable on display; sign in station directing passengers to bus to City Centre?

I'm sure the 5 could be integrated with an add-on fare in the same way as the add-on fare from Heuston on the 90 & 92. But as Thomas indicated sensible things that would help people don't always happen.

Would be great to see numerous routes extending to Kent Station - like Kinsale route. The following Sunday evening services extend to Kent Station but this needs to happen daily as you suggest.
Service 231: SuO 1615 ex Macroom
Service 249: SuO 1645 ex Kinsale

[comcor]

They have the bones of the Number 5 service right. It has a dedicated area at the front of the station and leaves regularly (3-4 services an hour), although it gets a bit patchy after 8pm. Also, by going to the city centre and on to UCC and CIT, it probably serves the most common destinations for train passengers arriving in Cork. Honestly, I can't remember whether timetables are displayed, but more often than not, there's a bus there to get onto straight away, even if it;s not leaving for 10 minutes. I'm pretty certain that it's signposted, but wouldn't stake my life on that statement; familiarity breeds lack of observation. The service is announced on the CDE when you're coming into Cork.

But it would be good to get the ticketing along the lines of the 90/92 service sorted out, both in terms of usefulness to occasional users of the Cobh, Mallow and Midleton lines who don't have a pass and people using the InterCity service.

[sharon333]

I would agree with you on that. They need to get it sorted out.

[dowlingm]

A bit of mindboggling votebuying and contractor bunging here in Ontario this week.

C$500m for "public transit" - but C$170+m will go on building multistory car parks at GO Transit railway stations and expanding some surface ones. :mad: But that will please the voters in car-burbia and the fellas looking to pour concrete now that the housing market has tanked.

[Traincustomer]

Today a Plusbus facility was launched by Translink in Northern Ireland. It means you can buy a train ticket from say Newry to Bangor with bus travel in Bangor included. Please see http://www.translink.co.uk/home.asp for more details (both info leaflet and address from Chief Executive).

We need this across the island! (Already the UK has had a Plusbus facility for some time).

[Thomas Ralph]

It's already (kind of) available here; you can get a family day short hop bus only ticket on family day returns to Dublin, and of course there's the "include feeder service" option. It'd be very useful to be available for the number 5 bus (or buses in general) in Cork, but the stations in most of the other major destinations are central enough that you possibly wouldn't be needing buses.

[jscales1]

In the current economic climate you would think that CIE could bring in the integrated and instead of having Dublin Bus/Bus Eireann compete against Irish Rail. I would like to see some of the commuter bus in off peak periods be timetabled in with the train services. For example a bus to collect passengers from densely parts of major towns instead of having people trying to get to and from train station through heavily congested streets as I have noticed . In Athlone there is a regular bus service from the Institute of technology to the Golden Island this is a good service but for them to extend it to the railway station so you would be connected to all outbound bus and rail services does not seem to be within the reach of CIE. This would be a major boost for CIE patronage and for the social and environmental and economic aspects of urban life

[Traincustomer]

Mulling over the last two posts... I think we need a publicised and co-ordinated approach. I know what you mean regarding possibly not needing buses in other locations - assuming one's destination in the city is near the station. And also we simply don't have the convenience of local bus networks in other places or ones that don't really link with rail as the Athlone example shows.

I think the bus "add-on" product needs to be differentiated into a basic add-on i.e. just a single/return journey (like 90/92 from Heuston) and an unlimited all-day usage of local buses within a defined zone.

Certainly Cork, Limerick and Galway could have this. Waterford too but this is hindered by the fact that only inbound Tramore buses (and no city services per se) serve Plunkett Stn. so it involves a minimum 5 min walk.

Balbriggan too - the Bus Éireann town service.

Wexford is a good example of where buses and trains are physically close together. The Bus Éireann services just outside the building and Wexford Bus Town and local services just a minute's walk at two stops around Redmond Square. Ideally we could have integration between Irish Rail andsay Wexford Bus's Town Service (it was done with an independent - Aerdart; (Howth Jct - Airport) a few years ago)

Helpful info:
A meagre number of Athlone Town Services link Golden Island with the Bus/Railway station (the one place) but I agree with you jscales1 that this needs to be a regular thing.

In case it is of help the services are:
Route 459:
0835 Golden Island - Bus/Rail Stn 845am -Willow Park 855
0855 Willow Park - Golden Isd 905 - Bus/Rail Stn 910
0910 Bus/Rail Stn - Willow Park
1750 Willow Pk, 1800 Golden Isd - arr Bus/Rail Stn 1805
1835 Willow Pk, 1845 Golden Isd - arr Bus/Rail Stn 1850

Route 459A
Monksland d 1815, Golden Isd. d 1830; Bus/Rail Stn a 1835
(All operate Monday to Saturday inclusive)

[Traincustomer]

Is now available priced 6 euro from bus stations, certain tourist offfices, certain bookstores and newsagents. Over 400 pages with an useful network map. It also features the zonal map for rail and road Dublin commuter belt tickets e.g. Giant hop.

As some rail users also use Bus Éireann this will be of interest to some.

Many BÉ routes serve railway stations, albeit certain on an infrequent basis and these journey times are detailed in the respective tables e.g. Table 366 - Mallow.