Train commuters,what you going to do? (Merged with Commuter Hell thread)

dcr22B

Hauk wrote: »

I thought I would pop in to say that I got the 5pm 33X bus home yesterday from the quays and was standing in my kitchen at 17:50.

Not too bad at all at all. And a seat at rush hour is great!

Yeah, the earlier buses seem to miss the snarl-ups at the intersection of the M1/M50.

KC61

An extra 33X inbound has been added from Skerries at 1945 Monday to Friday.

Unshelved

I thought I would pop in to say that I got the 5pm 33X bus home yesterday from the quays and was standing in my kitchen at 17:50.

Not too bad at all at all. And a seat at rush hour is great!

Commuting is just dire if you're living in Skerries. It takes at least 30 minutes extra per journey per day, and the buses are playing merry hell with my back. It's all very well if you're living in Rush or Lusk - you get a direct bus in and, if anything, your door-to-doro journey is shorter because you're left to your nearest bus stop, but stopping at every bus stop between Skerries and Blake's Cross is starting to drive me insane.

Of all the commuters, I think Skerries ones are getting the worst deal here.

SuzyS1972

The bus from Balbriggan is proving great for me - I am cycling down for 7.30ish - the busses are lined up so timing is not that important.
Lovely seat , relax and into the city in no time - was a snag yesterday morning on the M1 but over-all I am really happy with the service provided.
It's a longer walk up to my job than I am used to but so far it is all good.

Moonbeam

Getting in is great but getting home after 18:30 is a nightmare!!

dcr22B

Unshelved wrote: »

Of all the commuters, I think Skerries ones are getting the worst deal here.

Sorry but I'll vehemently disagree with you on that one. You're pretty much guaranteed a seat as you're one of the first ones on the bus as they start in Skerries

v.

my situation of watching 3/4 buses passing me every morning full to the gill (20 minutes in the rain this morning, not fun) and when I finally get on one, most of the time having to stand the whole way in to town (not good for my back either but what other choice do I have?)

I can see your point about the extra half hour each way but them's the breaks I'm afraid.

If you want a shorter commute, drive in to Lusk and get a bus from there and back so you'll shave a good bit of time off your commute if your back can take it!

Unshelved

when I finally get on one, most of the time having to stand the whole way in to town (not good for my back either but what other choice do I have?)

I agree that standing is no joke, but presumably it was the same situation on the train - it certainly was from Skerries where all trains during peak hours are standing-room only. The main difference is that the standing time is shorter if you're travelling from Lusk by bus - so Lusk passengers are better off. I would quite happily stand on a direct bus from Skerries if it meant not stopping every hundred yards between there and Blake's Cross every morning and the reverse every evening.

I don't have access to a car so your alternative isn't available to me. If you had access to a car you could get a seat by driving to a bus stop closer to Rush - maybe you could try that?

dcr22B

Unshelved wrote: »

I don't have access to a car so your alternative isn't available to me. If you had access to a car you could get a seat by driving to a bus stop closer to Rush - maybe you could try that?

No need to be a smart arse, I'm not whining about having to stand unlike you losing your extra half hour in bed. I have access to a car but most on-street parking in Rush is pay-parking so that wouldn't be an option.

I'm not going to get into a mud-slinging fest but you're guaranteed to get on a bus in Skerries whereas we take pot luck in Lusk.

You should be grateful for small mercies.

Tuttlinghorn

wahey and here we go a bit of Lusk Skerries aggro. I love the country life.

Has anyone on this thread yet suggested lobbying Dublin Bus to keep some of the additional 33x services.

And has anyone figured out where the hell they produced all the extra buses from ? Was John O'Donoghue using them as Limos??:P

dcr22B

By the way, from tomorrow, all citybound buses operating during rush hour (maybe all the time) will exit the Port Tunnel and go to the O2 and down along North Wall Quay so we can avoid Sheriff Street/Amiens Street bottleneck.

ParkRunner

Is the end of November a realistic target for re-opening the train line, that's all i want to know

Bluetonic

dcr22B wrote: »

most on-street parking in Rush is pay-parking

Thats totally wrong.

dcr22B

Bluetonic wrote: »

Thats totally wrong.

There is definitely pay parking on the main street as well as Sandy Road.

Anyway, it's a moot point. I wouldn't be ignorant enough to drive to Rush and park outside somebody's house just to get a seat on the bus.

I'm going to suggest to the DB inspectors to send the morning citybound buses down the R1332 to Airside as the traffic has just been pure mental the past two mornings.

Unshelved

That's good news about the inbound buses using the North Quays - hopefully we'll save a bit of time there. Plus, for those working in the South Inner City it leaves people near the new citybikes - which might be handy.

No need to be a smart arse, I'm not whining about having to stand unlike you losing your extra half hour in bed. I have access to a car but most on-street parking in Rush is pay-parking so that wouldn't be an option.

Rude and unnecessary. Also, factually incorrect about the parking in Rush. Maybe you should take a deep breath before posting.

dcr22B

Unshelved wrote: »

Maybe you should take a deep breath before posting.

Maybe you should change the tone of your posts, ever since the alternative bus routes have started you've complained about having to stop at every bus stop on the way from Skerries.

As I've said before, thems the breaks. The great ideas that you guys came up with at the Skerries meeting a few weeks back aren't going to be actionned by DB and you and I did agree that the best way forward were 3 separate direct services from Skerries, Loughshinny/Rush and Lusk.

If that low railway bridge in Skerries didn't exist, that probably would have been a runner but we're stuck with what we have and as the mornings get colder, the repair at the viaduct cannot be completed quickly enough so we can all get back to the train.

The Hill Billy

Unshelved wrote: »

Rude and unnecessary. Also, factually incorrect about the parking in Rush. Maybe you should take a deep breath before posting.

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HB

Nodster

Good News thread

speaking to an neighbour who works in the freight end of Irish Rail and he mentioned that with all the recent good weather that the rebuilding works at the viaduct is 'ahead of schedule' and the end of November looks a certain runner! [my words, not his!]



As for the busses and the M1....wasn't this mornings traffic terrible?

Khannie

Nodster wrote: »

the end of November looks a certain runner

Thanks be to jesus. I'm really missing the train.

Moonbeam

EF wrote: »

Is the end of November a realistic target for re-opening the train line, that's all i want to know

No.



I really miss the train:(

dcr22B

Nodster wrote: »

As for the busses and the M1....wasn't this mornings traffic terrible?

It was totally cat, I'm driving in tomorrow so it'll be an early start.

yknaa

dcr22B wrote: »

By the way, from tomorrow, all citybound buses operating during rush hour (maybe all the time) will exit the Port Tunnel and go to the O2 and down along North Wall Quay so we can avoid Sheriff Street/Amiens Street bottleneck.

Deadly. Flew up the quays this morning to Tara St. Seems to work much better that the Amiens St route.

Oobie

yknaa wrote: »

Deadly. Flew up the quays this morning to Tara St. Seems to work much better that the Amiens St route.

Is that only for buses from Skerries? The Balbriggan bus still went the awkward way to Connolly this morning and yesterday.

dcr22B

Oobie wrote: »

Is that only for buses from Skerries? The Balbriggan bus still went the awkward way to Connolly this morning and yesterday.

As far as I know, it's only for the 33X but you should ask your driver this evening.

The North Quays do get heavier closer to 9am but if you're in town on the bus before 8.30pm, it does tend to get down to Tara Street fairly swiftly alright.

Sizzler

Khannie wrote: »

Thanks be to jesus. I'm really missing the train.

Looks like you might be in the minority!

http://www.fingal-independent.ie/news/viaduct-collapse-benefits-workers-1905497.html

wrote:

FINGAL commuters are enjoying a speedier and more comfortable journey to the city centre since the collapse of the Broadmeadows viaduct.

That's according to Labour's Senator Brendan Ryan, who highlighted the fact that residents in many Fingal towns were now reaping the benefits of, an albeit temporary, regular bus service.

Speaking during a debate on the 2009 Public Transport Regulation Bill recently, Senator Ryan called for measures to ensure the best mix of rail and buses for the travelling public. 'The people from my own constituency in parts of Dublin North such as Lusk, Rush, Skerries and Balbriggan have in recent times, following the collapse of the Broadmeadow viaduct and its impact on the train service, seen what a good bus service can be like for the first time and many have taken a liking to it,' he said.

'People in Lusk and Rush, while the rail service is down, no longer have to walk or drive the couple of miles to the station, no longer have to find parking spaces, no longer have to pay for it, and no longer have to stand all the way into the city centre.

'With the alternative bus service now in place, many commuters have only a short distance to walk to the nearest bus stop to pick up a bus and have a seat on an express bus that goes through the Port Tunnel and gets them to work in a comfortable and speedy fashion.'

Senator Ryan called on the Minister for Transport and the various public transport providers to survey commuters and ascertain how their needs might be better met with a redesigned service.

'Public transport cannot just revert back to the services that were being offered beforehand and maximum use must now be made of the Port Tunnel for high-speed public bus transport.'

Moonbeam

Wouldn't it be nice to have both?

A dependable rail and bus link in to the city centre.

Khannie

Sizzler wrote: »

Looks like you might be in the minority!

Yeah, I'd heard that a good few people were loving the bus alright.

For my own part I live within walking distance of the train station. Also, I train (sports like, not choo choo) in town at night and the prospects of getting the normal 33 home late at night are enough to get me into the car on those days. Also, I find it much easier to read on the train and the constant start / stop / swerve of the bus is a bit of a pain (compared to the train anyway). Overall, the train is a total win and the bus is just "grand" like.

cruizer101

Agree with the training point made, outside of rush hours there are feck all 33x, I know I'd hate to be a student who hours can be outside the norm.

For example I go to Yoga after work which goes on til 7 I used to get 715 train and be home for just after 8 now i have to get 730 33 and not home til nearly 9.

The seats are nowhere near as comfortable, couple of days ago I was sitting beside a big lad and so I ended up being half way of seat, I actually had a pain in my side by the time I got home from having to hold and prop myself up.

Beasty

Khannie wrote: »

Yeah, I'd heard that a good few people were loving the bus alright.

For my own part I live within walking distance of the train station. Also, I train (sports like, not choo choo) in town at night and the prospects of getting the normal 33 home late at night are enough to get me into the car on those days. Also, I find it much easier to read on the train and the constant start / stop / swerve of the bus is a bit of a pain (compared to the train anyway). Overall, the train is a total win and the bus is just "grand" like.

You've got to keep up the cycling Khannie - this week's weather has been perfect (character-building:))

Khannie

Beasty wrote: »

You've got to keep up the cycling Khannie - this week's weather has been perfect (character-building:))

Haha.

I've actually gotten to work from home a lot more. The days that I'm training I wouldn't cycle in 'cos training doesn't finish until 10pm.

But...I do plan on cycling more. We have a baby due in January and I'll stop competitive fighting in December and wont be training again until February some time so I plan on keeping the weight in check with some cycling into work then. If I'm honest, I'll probably cherry pick the days I do it for when it's nice and sunny. One of the things I love about the cycling is that you can basically eat what you want when you've covered a long distance (64Km round trip) like that 100% guilt free for the day.

NorthDub

The thing i dont like about the trains is the lack of seating and feeling like you are stuck in a sardine tin, I am lucky to be in balbriggan and have the buses direct into the city via the tunnel so personally I would rather stick with the coaches