Dublin Bus

A similar thing used to happen with the inter city Bus Eireann buses from Galway, back when the competition started offering hourly buses. It became known that nobody would check your ticket on Bus Eireann buses, so effectively travel was free on Bus Eireann. This went on for several weeks, if not months. Everybody, including the competition, knew about it. And what was done?
 
My brother got a bus from town one evening and when he got on, the bus driver winked at him and charged him a euro fare. He then produced an old ticket and handed it to him. Obviously this was a profit for the driver
 
I noticed that Bus Eireann were running extra buses on the Cork to Limerick route as well at weekends.

Citylink - far superior from Cork to Galway.
 
I havent been on Dublin Bus in a few years until recently. But it was great to see some things havent changed. Bus drivers still dont want to give you back you change receipt. Was grunted at when I asked for my 10 cent back. Used to hate that.

anyhow sorry its off topic.
 
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I know it is quite fashionable to slag off Dublin Bus, but would privatising the service may it better ???


Dublin Bus definitely needs to be improved, and we should constantly demand it.

As for original point, if they have broken rules, they should be fined ...
 
crumdub12 said:
As for original point, if they have broken rules, they should be fined ...
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Who should be fined? The drivers of the routes? Their managers? Or the taxpayer who funds Bus Eireann?
They are laughing at us.
 
shnaek said:
Who should be fined? The drivers of the routes? Their managers? Or the taxpayer who funds Bus Eireann?
They are laughing at us.
Click to expand...


Thats what I wondered at the time of the Bus Eireann schoolbus crash case. Whats the point of fining a semi-state company like Bus Eireann? Surely they just get it back in the form of a bigger subsidy from the government to cover the shortfall and so the only person that ends up paying is the taxpayer
 
I find it sickening to think that a semi-state body should feel it is acceptable to illegally force a rival out of business, be directly responsible for the ensuing job losses, leave the public purse open to the compensation claims and possible EU fines. The organisation exists to provide a transportation service - not stifle private enterprise.
 

- Most People slagging off Dublin Bus probably dont even use their service !
 
crumdub12 said:
I know it is quite fashionable to slag off Dublin Bus, but would privatising the service may it better ???


Dublin Bus definitely needs to be improved, and we should constantly demand it.
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Apart from this specific incident, am I the only regular Dublin Bus user here who finds the service generally satisfactory?
As for original point, if they have broken rules, they should be fined ...
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Is this possible? The gist that I picked up this evening on the radio was that the scope for penalising them was limited. But I could have picked things up wrong.
 
BroadbandKen said:
- Most People slagging off Dublin Bus probably dont even use their service !
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just to clarify - are you suggesting the people who don't use Dublin Bus services aren't entitled to express an opinion on this news story, or is this a more general observation.
 
Yes a more general observation. Dublin Bus service is probably one of the best City Bus services in the world. Yes ok the 18 route is terrible and maybe one or two other's I dont know off but I'm pretty happy with them and would not welcome a fragmenting of the Bus Market and then you could guess the next story Minister awards Bus contract to one of his best friends.
 
BroadbandKen said:
Dublin Bus service is probably one of the best City Bus services in the world.
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Is this based on independent 3rd party research or on your own experiences? Firstly, I regularly take Dublin Bus services and I find them ok, there are areas where they could improve vastly, such as using ICT to improve information to passengers. You can currently track Aircoach buses on the web, why not Dublin Bus?

Also, when you get to bus stop, why oh why, do they not have a sticker which says what garage the bus operates from and a contact number? I regularly ring my own garage and get information and, in the main, the people I get are helpful and pleasant, but why can't this be available citywide? Its when they cant do the simple stuff that i really get annoyed.

I think what people must understand is that the companiy is hampered by political interference, the amount of buses and when they get them is decided by the Minister of Transport who holds the purse strings. With the Greens in Govt. now this might improve. Also, since FF came into power in 1997 they have yet to draw up any actual proposals for opening up the bus market in Dublin. Also, the bus regulatory framework in Ireland is the 1932 Road Transport Act which certainly is outdated at this point.
 
A better solution than fines would be to either take the routes where they have acted illegally off them, or prevent them from responding to tenders (or whatever the procurement process is) for new routes for a year or another appropriate time period.
 

That's a very good idea.
 
Citylink bewteen Galway and Cork and Galway and Dublin are far superior to Bus Eireann.

If I see Bus Eireann Buses on this route at times outside schedule - I am going to contact the Dept. Of Transport.

Bus Eireann, Dublin Bus and Irish Rail are loss making despite massive government subsidy.

It is about time consumers demanded better from these organisations.
 

I'm sorry but I would like on what observation you base your opinion that Dublin Bus is one of the best City Bus services in the world.

If I think of public transport the best cities in the world that come to mind are zurich, basel (more like the whole of switzerland), stockholm, helsinki, munich, berlin and a whole more towns.

If I stand at a bus stop there it says the bus comes at 1601 the bus comes at 1601, it does not say the bus leaves the starting point at 1601 and it might come today or tommorrow or maybe not at all. 1601 is 1601.

And not only that in several of the mentioned towns I get a display that tells me the next bus is xx minutes out.

When I get on board I can use my smart card to pay (the same one I use for other transports) and most likely I get a seat and don't have to stand.

Don't get me wrong, there are routes where Dublin Bus is providing a good service and there are routes where the DOT actualy stopped them from providing a good service (like the 41X) but overall public transportation is a joke here.

One of the best in the world?
 
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