Flybus V Bus Éireann

minikin

Left the car in for a service, so had to get from balbriggan to ronanstown last night and back this morning... used the flybus (private) service for the first time. It was incredible... came exactly on time, arrived at the airport exactly on time (8.05am)... fantastic! So, I wait at the bus stop for the 8.10am bus eireann 101 service to balbriggan... no show.... then no show for the 8.30am service... no sign of the 8.50 service by 8.55 so I had to get a taxi out. I phoned bus eireann... 'any idea why no buses turned up?'... 'eh, well there's no 8.30 service'.... so I pointed out that their timetable on the web thinks otherwise... ' eh, it's wrong'

the sooner bus eireann is put out of business by private operators the better

Ham'nd'egger

101 via the Airport is a pick up only service; they may well have been full and unable to accommodate more passengers.

minikin wrote: »

Left the car in for a service, so had to get from balbriggan to ronanstown last night and back this morning... used the flybus (private) service for the first time. It was incredible... came exactly on time, arrived at the airport exactly on time (8.05am)... fantastic! So, I wait at the bus stop for the 8.10am bus eireann 101 service to balbriggan... no show.... then no show for the 8.30am service... no sign of the 8.50 service by 8.55 so I had to get a taxi out. I phoned bus eireann... 'any idea why no buses turned up?'... 'eh, well there's no 8.30 service'.... so I pointed out that their timetable on the web thinks otherwise... ' eh, it's wrong'

the sooner bus eireann is put out of business by private operators the better

minikin

the 101 from dublin to drogheda in the morning would not be anywhere near capacity... majority of the commuting is in the opposite direction.

I had to apologise to a tourist on behalf of bus eireann... it doesn't exactly give a great impression of the country. But then again the taxi driver who brought me out to balbriggan on the m1 at 100kms/hr, when i had already explained i was late for work, wouldn't exactly be a shining example of (new)irish efficiency either

god i miss my car!

KC61

minikin wrote: »

Left the car in for a service, so had to get from balbriggan to ronanstown last night and back this morning... used the flybus (private) service for the first time. It was incredible... came exactly on time, arrived at the airport exactly on time (8.05am)... fantastic! So, I wait at the bus stop for the 8.10am bus eireann 101 service to balbriggan... no show.... then no show for the 8.30am service... no sign of the 8.50 service by 8.55 so I had to get a taxi out. I phoned bus eireann... 'any idea why no buses turned up?'... 'eh, well there's no 8.30 service'.... so I pointed out that their timetable on the web thinks otherwise... ' eh, it's wrong'

the sooner bus eireann is put out of business by private operators the better

That is very odd.

The 101 should have certainly operated - unless there was some congestion/accident en route.

And there are buses ex-Dublin every 20 minutes as per the timetable all through the day.

Best place to call for an explanation is Busarus and ask for the duty inspector.

Sean9015

minikin wrote: »

the sooner bus eireann is put out of business by private operators the better

So on the basis of one journey, you want to change the whole basis of bus provision in the country?

The Irish system is not great (a split between operations and service specification/tendering would be a start), but coming from the UK, where the bus industry is both privatised and de-regulated (apart from London, where it is regulated), all I will say is be careful what you wish for. Ask any bus user in Bristol, Sheffield, Norfolk or Cornwell how good First really are, for example. There are good examples (Brighton & Hove, trent barton, even Stagecoach in some areas), but they are few and far between.

And before anyone shouts up about London, yes, the system is comprehensive, but hideuosly expensive to provide, and is not responsive to customer demand.

Victor

Were you at the correct bus stop?

Note that Flybus isn't listed here: http://www.dublinairport.com/at-airport/airport-maps/short_stay_park.html

It seems to come under "Hotel Bus" based on this: http://flybus.ie/bus-stop-information-page.html

minikin

yep, was at the right bus stop... can't have been an accident etc as two 100x's (dundalk express) pulled in whilst I was waiting.

So on the basis of one journey, you want to change the whole basis of bus provision in the country?

Yes please, our current public transport system seems to be run purely for the benefit of the unionised employee... to hell with both the customer and the tax payer. The flybus drivers (neither of whom were Irish) seemed to have a good attitude (allowed me to disembark where it suited me... in the middle of a downpour... I've had a lot of experiences with asshole dublin bus drivers...)

I would love to be able to use public transport between home and work, because it's costing €70 a week on petrol and tolls (never mind insurance, tax etc) but it's just not a viable proposition.

serfboard

More public-sector-rubbish private-sector-brilliant ranting. However, you then contradict yourself by saying ...

minikin wrote: »

the taxi driver who brought me out to balbriggan on the m1 at 100kms/hr, when i had already explained i was late for work, wouldn't exactly be a shining example of (new)irish efficiency either

... giving an example of private sector inefficiency. So which is it?

Sorry, but yours is another of those Irish Rail/Bus Eireann/Dublin Bus are rubbish, let's privatise them and solve all our problems people that post on this forum.

Yes, CIE could do better, and probably be better managed, but one would wonder how much interference from the Department and placing of unqualified, but well-connected people on the boards of these semi-states actually hinders the way CIE is run.

minikin

no serfboard, I didn't contradict myself because I was comparing two bus companies... not the whole concept of private or public ownership of a transport system. The taxi driver was an aside.

You can't argue with facts... the facts are that today: Flybus provided me with a service as advertised, bus eireann did not. I work in a service industry - if we let people down as badly as that we'd be out of business, but then we don't get subvention from the tax payer and don't engage in unfair practices to eliminate the competition. They, like other publicly funded 'state companies' want their cake whilst eating it too.

I've no problem with bus eireann per sé, I'm sure they do great work some of the time but lets be honest... they'd never stand for it in other modern european countries.

patc777

The bus industry in this country is a farse, competition must be allowed.
Bus routes must be put out to tender for everyone to quote including bus eireann.

I can ring up bus eireann tomorrow morning as get a price from them to for example take a soccer club from Dublin to Cork for the weekend. Private hire work in total competition with private operators.

Bus the difference is that the private operator must buy his own bus and pay for it, bus eireann get the bus free bought by the government for them HOW IS THIS FAIR.

And also the private operator is not allowed compete with bus eireann in inter city or express way routes unless the dept of transport issues you with a licence which may take 5 years to get or maybe never

Carawaystick

patc777 wrote: »

And also the private operator is not allowed compete with bus eireann in inter city or express way routes unless the dept of transport issues you with a licence which may take 5 years to get or maybe never

Dublin bus can't serve routes where private operators who had a license but refuse to operate a service on a route either.
search for celbridge busses or the 41x in port tunnel.

Sean9015

minikin wrote: »

yep, was at the right bus stop... can't have been an accident etc as two 100x's (dundalk express) pulled in whilst I was waiting.



Yes please, our current public transport system seems to be run purely for the benefit of the unionised employee... to hell with both the customer and the tax payer. The flybus drivers (neither of whom were Irish) seemed to have a good attitude (allowed me to disembark where it suited me... in the middle of a downpour... I've had a lot of experiences with asshole dublin bus drivers...)

I would love to be able to use public transport between home and work, because it's costing €70 a week on petrol and tolls (never mind insurance, tax etc) but it's just not a viable proposition.

As opposed to private companies who run for the benefit of the shareholder... to hell with the passenger and the taxpayer. Neither model is perfect, and both have faults. As the bus is (wrongly) seen as a last resort by many, with a significant customer base without a choice (elderly, disabled, children), both types of operator can get away with not providing great service.

Public specified, privately operated (as per London, as I mentioned) has in some respects the worst of all worlds - high costs as operators try to make a profit, combined with public sector lethargy when it comes to change and innovation.

As for allowing you to disembark away from a stop, that is fine - until there is an accident. Then you are not covered by the operators' insurance, the driver is in a position to lose his job as well as being personally liable for damages. As an aside, under current operating legislation stopping points are specified, and boarding or alighting at other points breaks the terms of the licence. Dublin Bus takes that seriously as I understand it, hence "asshole Dublin Bus drivers" generally will only use stops.

Don't work in the industry over here, in case that's what you're thinking, but have long experieince in the UK.

wayne2107

Most 101,s are bypassing Santry/Old Airport rd altoghether now and going via the M1. I think this has something to do with the road works on the old airport rd. Now I dont know if there bypassing the airport though, some drivers tend to take their own route. The 101 is normally a good service.