Dublin Bus Services

Gary · 08-11-2006, 12:22

Problem: Joe gets the 31/ 32 Howth/ Portmarnock Bus home to his stop near Baldoyle (8 miles from city) not served by the Expresso services. 31/32 bus fills up, no room left he has the wait for the next bus to come along. Significant number of people get off the bus in the first mile or two eg North Strand, Fairview meaning theres seats free for the rest of the journey for the remaining 10 miles to the terminus.

Just curious on people's thoughts on the use of limited stop buses on Dublin Bus. I have seen this in Australia whereby a bus might pick up only at few stops and travel 3 miles out of the city before dropping off any passangers. Something like a "31L" / "32L" might be a more efficient way of getting passengers on the long routes home; passangers going short distance out of town could use the regular service or else be encouraged to use a shorter route bus. Think the "Minimum Fare" idea was meant to get around this but not sure if this is still in existence.

markpb · 08-11-2006, 12:33

I think it's a great idea that, with extra buses, should be looked at. I live near the terminus of the 27b and most evenings, I manage to squeeze on (I get on at Fairview) but the bus is nearly empty by the time it reaches Artane. It would be great to have a limited number of pickups and no drop-offs for the first half of the route. I can only imagine what its like for people who live in Skerries or Maynooth.

PaulM · 08-11-2006, 13:37

Wasn't that kind of the point of the 'imps'? Having small buses running high frequency over short distances to keep down numbers on the bigger buses. It is a good idea but seems to have failed here. Not sure why.

Mark Gleeson · 08-11-2006, 13:37

It already exists under the guise of the minimum fare where the short stage fares are not issued which in theory should put off people travelling short distances with a full bus you should get a quick run out of town

eg http://www.dublinbus.ie/your_journey...r.asp?route=45

Gary · 08-11-2006, 14:53

Interesting didn't know the min fare was still in existence, not sure its widely used or if it has much effect especially if people on short hops are using monthly bus passes etc to travel.

Yea as you say would be very frustrating to go on the Skerries run to find the bus fills up with people only going as far as Whitehall when they could get a range of local bus there instead.

The fact it seems to work well in Oz would think it could work here. Do you guys ever make representations to Dublin Bus?

I think the city imp mini buses failed partly cause of the small volume of passengers they could carry.

Hazelhatchhorror · 08-11-2006, 16:49

This is a long term issue for buses servicing Celbridge/Maynooth.

At the city centre bus stops there are large crowds and the Bus is generally full after one or two pickups but inevitably half the bus gets off by Lucan. This would not be too bad if they were regular buses but we are talking 1 to 2 per hour max.

Surely not every 67 has to go through Lucan village where there is also traffic delay issues. The lucan residents have other routes serving their areas.

PaulM · 08-11-2006, 17:04

Hi Hazelhatchhorror, welcome to the board.

I experienced this many times too with the 66 / 67A. I think part of the problem is Lucan is so densely populated and not enough buses really serve it. I agree though, it was very irritating squeezing on to a bus (if lucky) and seeing it empty at Lucan. These days a 25 and 25a seem to generally come minutes before a 66. I assume to clear the bus stops down a bit.

Colm Donoghue · 08-11-2006, 17:10

Quote:

Yea as you say would be very frustrating to go on the Skerries run to find the bus

It would be very frustrating to go to Skerries by bus any time.

40 mins by train tops ( one connection via Drogheda even ), 95 mins on timetable with the 33

2Funki4Wheelz · 08-11-2006, 17:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

It already exists under the guise of the minimum fare where the short stage fares are not issued which in theory should put off people travelling short distances with a full bus you should get a quick run out of town
[/url]

Unfortunately, annual/monthly/rambler ticket holders can still get on and go one or two stops. And some people don't seem to care about the fee and will pay over the odds for a short journey. So you can still get caught. Same happened when the buses to Swords etc 41/33 used to go from Eden Quay then Gardiner St. They'd fly by Gardiner St full - 2nd stop only - and then everyone would get off in Dorset St.
The only way is the Xpress services and there's not many of them.

Gary · 09-11-2006, 09:42

Clearly a problem throughout the city. Human nature is the first bus you see going to your stop you'll hop on.

Hopefully with DBus now getting another couple of hundred buses they might put a bit of focus on the issue. Is it worth making a case to Dublin Bus about it? Not sure how responsive they are to user groups or individuals making cases. Would it be even worth having a seperate section on this form that deals just with bus issues?

Colm Donoghue · 09-11-2006, 09:47

I remember once in my first summer working in the big smoke, living on Collins Ave west, seeing a 41x on St Stephen's Green and being an engineer assumed x was some random dublin bus variable that meant either a or b or c. Driver wouldn't let me off in Whitehall at the viscount or at the stop across from the church, even though the bus was stopped in traffic at the bus stops. it then went out the M1 to the Coachmans where the driver said I could get off....
which was nice of him....

taking things a bit too far methinks.

08-11-2006, 12:22	#1
Gary Regular Poster Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 71	Dublin Bus Services Problem: Joe gets the 31/ 32 Howth/ Portmarnock Bus home to his stop near Baldoyle (8 miles from city) not served by the Expresso services. 31/32 bus fills up, no room left he has the wait for the next bus to come along. Significant number of people get off the bus in the first mile or two eg North Strand, Fairview meaning theres seats free for the rest of the journey for the remaining 10 miles to the terminus. Just curious on people's thoughts on the use of limited stop buses on Dublin Bus. I have seen this in Australia whereby a bus might pick up only at few stops and travel 3 miles out of the city before dropping off any passangers. Something like a "31L" / "32L" might be a more efficient way of getting passengers on the long routes home; passangers going short distance out of town could use the regular service or else be encouraged to use a shorter route bus. Think the "Minimum Fare" idea was meant to get around this but not sure if this is still in existence.

08-11-2006, 13:37	#4
Mark Gleeson Technical Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coach C, Seat 33 Posts: 12,669	It already exists under the guise of the minimum fare where the short stage fares are not issued which in theory should put off people travelling short distances with a full bus you should get a quick run out of town eg http://www.dublinbus.ie/your_journey...r.asp?route=45 Last edited by Mark Gleeson : 08-11-2006 at 13:39.

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08-11-2006, 12:33	#2
markpb Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 541	I think it's a great idea that, with extra buses, should be looked at. I live near the terminus of the 27b and most evenings, I manage to squeeze on (I get on at Fairview) but the bus is nearly empty by the time it reaches Artane. It would be great to have a limited number of pickups and no drop-offs for the first half of the route. I can only imagine what its like for people who live in Skerries or Maynooth.

08-11-2006, 13:37	#3
PaulM Really Regular Poster Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 826	Wasn't that kind of the point of the 'imps'? Having small buses running high frequency over short distances to keep down numbers on the bigger buses. It is a good idea but seems to have failed here. Not sure why.

08-11-2006, 14:53	#5
Gary Regular Poster Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 71	Interesting didn't know the min fare was still in existence, not sure its widely used or if it has much effect especially if people on short hops are using monthly bus passes etc to travel. Yea as you say would be very frustrating to go on the Skerries run to find the bus fills up with people only going as far as Whitehall when they could get a range of local bus there instead. The fact it seems to work well in Oz would think it could work here. Do you guys ever make representations to Dublin Bus? I think the city imp mini buses failed partly cause of the small volume of passengers they could carry.

08-11-2006, 16:49	#6
Hazelhatchhorror New to the board Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 4	This is a long term issue for buses servicing Celbridge/Maynooth. At the city centre bus stops there are large crowds and the Bus is generally full after one or two pickups but inevitably half the bus gets off by Lucan. This would not be too bad if they were regular buses but we are talking 1 to 2 per hour max. Surely not every 67 has to go through Lucan village where there is also traffic delay issues. The lucan residents have other routes serving their areas.

08-11-2006, 17:04	#7
PaulM Really Regular Poster Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 826	Hi Hazelhatchhorror, welcome to the board. I experienced this many times too with the 66 / 67A. I think part of the problem is Lucan is so densely populated and not enough buses really serve it. I agree though, it was very irritating squeezing on to a bus (if lucky) and seeing it empty at Lucan. These days a 25 and 25a seem to generally come minutes before a 66. I assume to clear the bus stops down a bit.

09-11-2006, 09:42	#10
Gary Regular Poster Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 71	Clearly a problem throughout the city. Human nature is the first bus you see going to your stop you'll hop on. Hopefully with DBus now getting another couple of hundred buses they might put a bit of focus on the issue. Is it worth making a case to Dublin Bus about it? Not sure how responsive they are to user groups or individuals making cases. Would it be even worth having a seperate section on this form that deals just with bus issues?

09-11-2006, 09:47	#11
Colm Donoghue Really Regular Poster Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 873	I remember once in my first summer working in the big smoke, living on Collins Ave west, seeing a 41x on St Stephen's Green and being an engineer assumed x was some random dublin bus variable that meant either a or b or c. Driver wouldn't let me off in Whitehall at the viscount or at the stop across from the church, even though the bus was stopped in traffic at the bus stops. it then went out the M1 to the Coachmans where the driver said I could get off.... which was nice of him.... taking things a bit too far methinks.