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

dcr22B

The times I added are only for this week. From Monday, they will be every 10 minutes from 5pm tp 7pm departing Custom House Quay.

liverbird

The balbriggan coaches are now using the correct one way system on Railway st and are no longer driving into the train station carpark. This frees up spaces but hampers the 104 town terminus as this has no where to park.

Its a dream to commute this week, 30 mins and in the city centre. I work in D8, my previous commute took 1 hour 30. its down to one hour now and I'm home 30 mins earlier.

Long may it last

Unshelved

Three buses went through Skerries at about 6.45 this morning. The one we got was - I think - the usual 33X that goes from Mourne View at 6.35. It was full by Lusk, but the driver was a lot better than yesterday's. Instead of going all around the houses after the Port Tunnel - Anneseley Bridge, Amiens St, Buckingham St, Sean McDermott St, O'Connell St etc - he went through the Docklands and out on to Amiens St at Sherriff St, then across Matt Talbot Bridge to Tara Street. Result was journey took about 25 minutes less than yesterday's. Well done that man!

I see that from Monday, peak (after 17.00) time buses will leave from Custom House Quay and not Abbey St. A much better idea.

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/News-Centre/Travel-News/Service-Arrangements/

I agree that there should be a 33X service every hour outside peak time.

KC61

hoser expat wrote: »

Good stuff. In my experience the 33X peak services are working quite well, but what we need now are changing a few of those off-peak (especially evening) 33's to 33X. Nobody wants to sit on a 2 hour bus to Skerries after a few pints in town. I mentioned this to the Dublin Bus guy at Abbey St. yesterday, and he said they couldn't because of the 48 hour work per week rule for bus drivers. But that doesn't make sense as there are obviously drivers still doing the 33 until late.

The 6:45 in from Skerries this morning was almost full but not quite.

While I see your point, what about regular 33 customers that may get on between the city and Swords? They are entitled to their service too!! There are limits on the resources that Dublin Bus has in terms of drivers - any additional services need to be staffed by staff not working the normal services or who can work them without going over the 48 hour week.

The 33X service is being improved from Monday with a bus every 10 minutes inbound from 0630 to 0900 and outbound from 1700 to 1900 which should help the situation.

The 33 in the evenings after say 8pm takes about 1 hour 15 mins or even less to get to Skerries, so I think that your suggestion of 2 hours is a tad exaggerated.

Posher

Very good experience this morning. I normally commute from Gormanston to Pearse but on the back of some posts I read here I thought I'd try Balbriggan station directly. It eliminates the need to catch a connecting train which is a disaster by all accounts.

06.57 Left my house in Stamullen
07.10 Parked in the town centre carpark opposite church the in Balbriggan (only 6 cars in it at that time)
07.16 Arrived at Balbriggan train station where I boarded a waiting coach
07.20 Coach full so departed via old N1 down onto the motorway at Walshestown (junction 5) then via Port Tunnel
07.55 Arrive Connolly Station

Success all around.

regula1

Left Rush/Lusk station this morning at 7.45 am - 33x was not very full and got into Georges Quay by about 8.20 - 8.25am this morning. Then got the 15 from college green upto harcourt street - was in work by 8.45am - same time as the train used to get me in.

So it was all good this morning (after the disaster of Tuesday where no 33xs stopped because they we're all full) - but wonder what it'll be like next week with all the school kids back. Will have to wait and see.

nicolooney

Does anyone else think that there should be reduced fares for these replacement bus services?

I will be getting the direct bus from Balbriggan station to Connolly and while I agree it's a good service (fast, and you're guaranteed a seat!) it does only operate at rush hour... my €103 a month rail ticket previously allowed me to get any train including evenings and weekends, whereas now I have to pay the same amount but will only be able to get the replacement buses at rush hour. If I end up late in work, or in town at the weekend I'll have to pay extra to get a Bus Eireann bus home

My monthly ticket runs out at the end of August and the thought of paying €103 for a new ticket *just* for these bus services is really annoying!!

KC61

There's a strong case for providing a dedicated school service out of Skerries, Rush and Lusk next week to protect commuters from the additional loads.

Firedance

nicolooney wrote: »

Does anyone else think that there should be reduced fares for these replacement bus services?

I will be getting the direct bus from Balbriggan station to Connolly and while I agree it's a good service (fast, and you're guaranteed a seat!) it does only operate at rush hour... my €103 a month rail ticket previously allowed me to get any train including evenings and weekends, whereas now I have to pay the same amount but will only be able to get the replacement buses at rush hour. If I end up late in work, or in town at the weekend I'll have to pay extra to get a Bus Eireann bus home

My monthly ticket runs out at the end of August and the thought of paying €103 for a new ticket *just* for these bus services is really annoying!!

I emailed Irish Rail about this very point this morning, I asked if they would be introducing a combined rail & bus eireann ticket for the duration of the disruption, got no reply yet but you are dead right, they are not providing full cover to get home later in the evenings and we've already paid for our tickets, buying a combined rail & bus ticket only covers Dublin bus which is no good for balbriggan residents. Can everyone affected by this particular problem please write in to Irish Rail (if you have a taxsaver ticket email that dept directly) and put this suggestion to them, hopefully if there are enough of us they will have to consider it

urbeau

Firedance wrote: »

I emailed Irish Rail about this very point this morning, I asked if they would be introducing a combined rail & bus eireann ticket for the duration of the disruption, got no reply yet but you are dead right, they are not providing full cover to get home later in the evenings and we've already paid for our tickets, buying a combined rail & bus ticket only covers Dublin bus which is no good for balbriggan residents. Can everyone affected by this particular problem please write in to Irish Rail (if you have a taxsaver ticket email that dept directly) and put this suggestion to them, hopefully if there are enough of us they will have to consider it

Speaking on the subject of money, I am wondering if Irish Rail will do their usual trick of hiking prices by 8-10% for next year. Given what they are going to have to spend on viaduct repair and buses I am even more worried. With a lot of us suffering pay cuts the hike would be especially painful if they do one. I think we need to start writing to the powers that be on this point too. We must absolutely make sure that prices are frozen for 2010.

Peckham

Does this new timetable starting on Monday mean there are no longer any services that start at Rush & Lusk station? All services will start at Skerries?

This means us Luskites will be left watching full buses go past a lot of the time. The promised one at 6:45 from the station this morning didn't materialise (I was at Murrays at 6:40 and didn't get on a bus until 7:10, when two showed up, one of which presumably was the "normal" 33X). Will reserve judgment until I see how next week pans out.

Good news re later evening services though, and hopefully going from Custom House Quay will speed things up further (bit of a traffic bottle neck at that stop on Abbey Street).

Peckham

urbeau wrote: »

Speaking on the subject of money, I am wondering if Irish Rail will do their usual trick of hiking prices by 8-10% for next year.

Irish Rail told me yesterday that they are considering promotions on the Northern Commuter Line when services resume (I presume they don't mean job promotions for the line maintenance staff!). At the very least we should be able to expect no fare increase!

Tuttlinghorn

urbeau wrote: »

Posted today at 12.20 on www.irishrail.ie

Iarnród Éireann will update this site shortly with an enhanced train service between Dundalk - Skerries with extended services to Donabate from Thursday onwards.

My first read of this was 'Dublin bus are thinking they could replace all these pricey buses with trains to Donabate and a shuttle to deDart'.

Pile the entire train out into waiting buses, off to Malahide & on to the waiting deDart.

Or am I just overly paranoid here ?

Tuttlinghorn

Unshelved wrote: »

.... the driver was a lot better than yesterday's. Instead of going all around the houses after the Port Tunnel - Anneseley Bridge, Amiens St, Buckingham St, Sean McDermott St, O'Connell St etc - he went through the Docklands and out on to Amiens St at Sherriff St, then across Matt Talbot Bridge to Tara Street. Result was journey took about 25 minutes less than yesterday's. Well done that man!

I see that from Monday, peak (after 17.00) time buses will leave from Custom House Quay and not Abbey St. A much better idea.


Route seems to depend on the driver. This mornings driver went via the O2 to Tara st, showed me a printed route so perhaps this is already being implemented.

Isn't this a replacement service ? So going via east wall or Sherrif st and left on Amiens to Connolly (and then straight on to Tara) would seem more logical - for a replacement rail service. Not going this route totally screws me in the mornings. Plus getting to Customs house is a pain.

Any bike lockups near there ???

Rashers72

Just wondering what they are like in the morning peak, and evening peak?
In particular, what would be the estimates for pre 8am and 6pm ish.
Thanks in advance

P_1

How many busses leave Balbriggan train station in the mornings? Is it just one every half an hour or is there a load that just leave once they fill up?

Have yet to attempt the trip in the morining rush hour but will be doing so tomorrow for the first time since the brigde collapsed.

P_1

Rashers72 wrote: »

Just wondering what they are like in the morning peak, and evening peak?
In particular, what would be the estimates for pre 8am and 6pm ish.
Thanks in advance

According to this:
http://www.irishrail.ie/upload/Donabate-Dundalk%20Timetable.pdf
they seem to be allowing for a journey of between 40 and 50 minutes between Donabate and Malahide :eek:

dotts1977

Was on the bus yesterday evening to Balbriggan. One girl tried to get off at Balrothery and naturally the driver wouldn't allow this since it was a direct service to Balbriggan. She got on the phone to someone trying to get a lift back in but all the while giving out about the service being provided.....did she not realise that were she on a train she'd not have been able to get off at Balrothery???

Unshelved

Was on the bus yesterday evening to Balbriggan. One girl tried to get off at Balrothery and naturally the driver wouldn't allow this since it was a direct service to Balbriggan. She got on the phone to someone trying to get a lift back in but all the while giving out about the service being provided.....did she not realise that were she on a train she'd not have been able to get off at Balrothery???

I really wish the 33X was the same. It's so annoying on the way home with the bus stopping every 500 metres. There should be 2-3 designated stops in Skerries, Rush and Lusk and one in Loughshinny. After all, it's replacing a train, not another bus. Also, leaving Dublin, the 33X should be set down only - it shouldn't be picking up people as well - travellers in between towns have the 33 to cater for them.

Posher

dotts1977 wrote: »

Was on the bus yesterday evening to Balbriggan. One girl tried to get off at Balrothery and naturally the driver wouldn't allow this since it was a direct service to Balbriggan. She got on the phone to someone trying to get a lift back in but all the while giving out about the service being provided.....did she not realise that were she on a train she'd not have been able to get off at Balrothery???

Totally agree with the bus driver not stopping. Having said that my bus driver stopped at the car park opposite the church which Irish Rail have been encouraging people to use. I was a happy camper because my car was in there. I didn't and wasn't going to ask the driver to stop - I was fully prepared to walk back from the station. I'm not sure if they are all stopping here or if someone asked the driver when gettting on.

liamh22

Originally Posted by Rashers72
Just wondering what they are like in the morning peak, and evening peak?
In particular, what would be the estimates for pre 8am and 6pm ish.
Thanks in advance

According to this:
http://www.irishrail.ie/upload/Donab...0Timetable.pdf
they seem to be allowing for a journey of between 40 and 50 minutes between Donabate and Malahide

New timetable on Dublin bus website with extended service times between Donabate & Malahide

There is a new 33D bus starting monday from Donabate to Tara st

Just a heads-up too, there was a jobsworth stopping people from getting on the bus from Donabate this morning if they hadn't got their tickets, made them go back & get one despite being told that they had travelled all week without tickets & that they then bought them in Malahide, also that the ticket office in Donabate wasn't open 2 of the previous 4 days, did this twit think people got up at 6.15am to get a free spin to Malahide & then stand around for 60-90 minutes waiting for the shops to open or something

Gillo

liamh22 wrote: »

Just a heads-up too, there was a jobsworth stopping people from getting on the bus from Donabate this morning if they hadn't got their tickets, made them go back & get one despite being told that they had travelled all week without tickets & that they then bought them in Malahide, also that the ticket office in Donabate wasn't open 2 of the previous 4 days, did this twit think people got up at 6.15am to get a free spin to Malahide & then stand around for 60-90 minutes waiting for the shops to open or something

The bus is a replacement for the train, you need a valid ticket to get the train so by that logic (which isn't hard to follow) you need a valid ticket to get the bus also. So the "jobsworth" was actually doing a worthwhile job is stopping fair evaders.

liamh22

How did he expect people to get tickets when the ticket office was closed ( including the ticket machines) 50% of the week, many people buy weekly or three day tickets & not just on a Monday
I fully agree that tickets are necessary but why decide after 80% of the week has gone to implement this rule that you cannot get on the bus without train tickets, this is an early morning shuttle bus for Malahide, not stopping between stations, the ticket price is the same if you buy in Donabate or Malahide

Posher

liamh22 wrote: »

I fully agree that tickets are necessary but why decide after 80% of the week has gone to implement this rule that you cannot get on the bus without train tickets, this is an early morning shuttle bus for Malahide, not stopping between stations, the ticket price is the same if you buy in Donabate or Malahide

In fairness to them I think they had all staff on deck to help with the organisation of the buses, etc and now that they are up and running they now have the resources to check tickets. I was on the bus at Balbriggan and there were a few commuters trying to board with no ticket. Chancers!

They are checking all the tickets now. And rightly so.

liamh22

Absolutely no sympathy for them & agree that Dublin Bus\Irish Rail & their staff have done a good job, but if you want people to buy tickets to travel then you should ensure that the facility to buy these tickets are open
Commuters in Donabate were heading straight for the carpark in order to get the bus as the station was closed
I have in the past travelled into Dublin in the evenings from Donabate without a ticket as the office was closed, I just paid at Connolly\Tara or Pearse & never had a problem when asking for a return ticket

KC61

WEEKEND 33X SERVICES

Saturday:
From Mourne View
07:00, 08:00, 09:00, 10:00
11:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00
18:00, 20:00.

From Custom House Quay
05:40, 06:40, 07:40, 08:40
09:40, 10:40, 12:40, 14:40,
16:40, 18:40.

Sunday:
From Mourne View
09:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30
14:30, 16:30, 18:30, 20:30.

From Custom House Quay
08:10, 09:10, 10:10, 11:10,
13:10, 15:10, 17:10, 20:10.

KC61

Weekend Rail Timetables now online:

http://www.irishrail.ie/upload/A4%20Timetable%20Leaflet%20Weekend.pdf

BroomBurner

Not sure if anyone else is using this service, but theres a private operated bus going from Balbriggan to the IFSC every morning. Leaves at 7.20am, gets ya in to town for 8am.

Not great if you have a train ticket, but for those that don't, it's another option. The return journey leaves (I think) at 5.40pm, though don't quote me on that time.

P_1

Posher wrote: »

Totally agree with the bus driver not stopping. Having said that my bus driver stopped at the car park opposite the church which Irish Rail have been encouraging people to use. I was a happy camper because my car was in there. I didn't and wasn't going to ask the driver to stop - I was fully prepared to walk back from the station. I'm not sure if they are all stopping here or if someone asked the driver when gettting on.

A bit of common sense should be used here tbh. There's no point in driving people beyond where they live o where their cars are parked. I mean it will probably add a mere minute or two to your journey ffs whereas for people living in Balrothery it could add an extra half hour or an unneeded car journey.

I was talking to the Irish Rail lads who check your tickets before you get onto the busses and according to them the busses should let people off at the bus stops at Balrothery and the Church.

di2772

pithater1 wrote: »

A bit of common sense should be used here tbh. There's no point in driving people beyond where they live o where their cars are parked. I mean it will probably add a mere minute or two to your journey ffs whereas for people living in Balrothery it could add an extra half hour or an unneeded car journey.

I was talking to the Irish Rail lads who check your tickets before you get onto the busses and according to them the busses should let people off at the bus stops at Balrothery and the Church.

Yes,
Some people here seem to think a bus is a train these days.
Its no big deal letting people off. Kinder to the environment too.