What is Dublin missing??

Crania

electrogrimey wrote: »

I think some integrated method of payment that incorporates Dublin Bus, the Dart, the Luas and the Commuter trains is a must, and there's no reason they can't have one right now. The only way you can save money with those rambler passes if you ONLY get the bus, OR the luas etc, whereas I could save a bundle with a pass that covers all 4.

+1
Integrated Ticketing is badly needed, makes interchanging even harder in Dublin. We really need a system similar to the Oyster Card in London and the Octopus Card in Hong Kong where you top up your card and you can use the card on most forms of public transport, that would be really great in Dublin, none of this stupid looking for change all the time and delayed buses waiting for grannies to count their change.

humberklog

panda100 wrote: »

A modern,nice public swimming pool in the city centre with sauna, steamroom and jacuzzi. All the inner city swimmming pools are just disgusting. I say they havent been renovated since the 70's.

Y'know I thought that too until I visited the Markevich on Tara St. and was really surprised. Clean, simple and inexpensive. You can stay as long as you like for about 7snoots. The place is well run, hygenic and has a pay as you go gym too. I was expecting the worst and was really surprised. Clientele and staff are all bang on. It's free in on Monday for the unemployed too.

Chucky the tree

phasers wrote: »

I think the number one thing that needs to be fixed is Dublin's public transport system. Dublin Bus is a joke and the luas only serves half the city. No buses after 11.30 pm? What kind of large city has no buses after 11.30 pm?

What city with a 4million population does? Anytime during the week I used to get a nitelink it was empty, having a 24hr public transport system would just be pissing money down the toilet in a time when we can't afford to do that.

hem

Bus drivers that can read time would be great for starters. And timetables that tell you when a bus is going to arrive at a stop- not depart from some unknown terminus point. And a Bus Regulator that you can take complaints to and have them followed up.

It fact, just get rid of Dublin Bus and put all the routes up for auction to private companies.

Chucky the tree

Mr.S wrote: »

Mabye not 24hours, but a reduced serve throughout the night would be nice, like every 30mins or so.

It still wouldn't make any money though. Even the last 11:30 buses are usually fairly empty.

bobzee

Like one previous poster said Dublin really needs a central focal point. O'Connell street looks really nice now, but its never really going to be Dublins focal point again.

I think if College Green was pedestrianised we would have a fantastic city square...obviously get rid of the traffic islands there. The buildings around there look great, and it is really the heart of the city. (Bill Clinton used this location for his Dublin address when he visited)

A previous poster mentioned fresh food markets, the Temple Bar market is really good, but we could also use the new College Green Square for markets too. I know it would cause serious traffic problems, but I hope they could be dealt with somehow.

other items:
real time bus info...and integrating ticketing. As far as am I aware these things have been in the pipeline for years but it seems really difficult to get new practices implemented in Dublin Bus..have no idea why

More parks...the new grand canal plaza and spencer dock areas of the docklands have received a lot of plaudits ..however they really lack green areas for people to meet in

Chucky the tree

hem wrote: »

Bus drivers that can read time would be great for starters. And timetables that tell you when a bus is going to arrive at a stop- not depart from some unknown terminus point. And a Bus Regulator that you can take complaints to and have them followed up.

It fact, just get rid of Dublin Bus and put all the routes up for auction to private companies.

so we can have no bus service on the majority of routes?

hem

Chucky the tree wrote: »

so we can have no bus service on the majority of routes?

So no difference from now then.

adamski8

Chucky the tree wrote: »

It still wouldn't make any money though. Even the last 11:30 buses are usually fairly empty.

why does it have to make money? it is very annoying buses finish so late, something like going to see a film in the city in the evening and you then have to rush to your stop and count yourself lucky if you manage to catch the last bus is ridiculus

Chucky the tree

hem wrote: »

So no difference from now then.

what route has no bus service? stop making bull**** up.

adamski8 wrote: »

why does it have to make money? it is very annoying buses finish so late, something like going to see a film in the city in the evening and you then have to rush to your stop and count yourself lucky if you manage to catch the last bus is ridiculus

Lol, what private company is going to set up a bus service that won't make money? Go to the cinema earlier. What ridiculous is the government funding a non essential unprofitable bus service in the middle of a recession.

electrogrimey

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Lol, what private company is going to set up a bus service that won't make money? Go to the cinema earlier. What ridiculous is the government funding a non essential unprofitable bus service in the middle of a recession.

Since when is public transport non-essential? In most people's opinions it's one of the most essential services provided by the state.

sock puppet

hem wrote: »

Bus drivers that can read time would be great for starters. And timetables that tell you when a bus is going to arrive at a stop- not depart from some unknown terminus point. And a Bus Regulator that you can take complaints to and have them followed up.

It fact, just get rid of Dublin Bus and put all the routes up for auction to private companies.

That wouldn't work at all. What if there's heavy traffic? Traffic in July for example is usually lighter than in December. Do Dublin Bus publish a new timetable (that still wouldn't be remotely accurate) every few weeks?

Also I live by a terminus so I feel I'm qualified to comment on timekeeping. Buses on my route leave bang on time. The only time where a bus would leave late is if it arrives at the terminus late. Of course there are also buses that just never show up too. The company must surely know which buses have broken down etc. I'd like to see some sort of text service you can subscribe to, where they'll inform you which buses aren't going to run.

Cadiz

Chucky the tree wrote: »

What city with a 4million population does? Anytime during the week I used to get a nitelink it was empty, having a 24hr public transport system would just be pissing money down the toilet in a time when we can't afford to do that.

It's 1 mil or so in Dublin I think. Geneva, Amsterdam, Munich, Glasgow, and more..

sock puppet

Cadiz wrote: »

It's 1 mil or so in Dublin I think. Geneva, Amsterdam, Munich, Glasgow, and more..

Does anyone have comparisons for the population densities and how much the state pays in these cities. I've no idea. I'm just wondering how our service stacks up against other European cities.

Cadiz

^ yeah good question. Any small city I've ever been to in Western Europe seems to have a better transport system than ours but perhaps its not entirely fair comparison re population densities etc. I don't know.

rednik

A good theme park so I can stop going to the usual suspects like the zoo, cinema and poxy funderland at Christmas.

Chucky the tree

electrogrimey wrote: »

Since when is public transport non-essential? In most people's opinions it's one of the most essential services provided by the state.

Public transport at 1am in the morning is non-essential.

Cadiz wrote: »

It's 1 mil or so in Dublin I think. Geneva, Amsterdam, Munich, Glasgow, and more..

All places in mainland europe that have major train stations so it's not that surprising they have night buses. I'm surprised Glasgow have it though, and wonder how many other British cities do, only information I can find on Glasgow says it runs weekends.

Cadiz

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Public transport at 1am in the morning is non-essential.

All places in mainland europe that have major train stations so it's not that surprising they have night buses. I'm surprised Glasgow have it though, and wonder how many other British cities do, only information I can find on Glasgow says it runs weekends.

We have two major train stations in Dublin.

I didn't specifically mean just buses by the way, I meant decent regular late night transport of any sort.

slowly horse

Even an extra hour on the end of the bus service would be great, 11:30 is very early for a large city. In Toronto the bus/subway/trams run until 1:45 with some 24 hour routes, and even though it's a large city those later services tend to be pretty empty, but I guess the profit during the day balances that out. The difference between Dublin and other cities is that the convenience of the public tends to be put first.

All public transport stops in Toronto are timetabled to show when the bus (or whatever) will arrive - it works there even with a much larger network and similar levels of traffic congestion.

sock puppet

slowly horse wrote: »

Even an extra hour on the end of the bus service would be great, 11:30 is very early for a large city. In Toronto the bus/subway/trams run until 1:45 with some 24 hour routes, and even though it's a large city those later services tend to be pretty empty, but I guess the profit during the day balances that out. The difference between Dublin and other cities is that the convenience of the public tends to be put first.

All public transport stops in Toronto are timetabled to show when the bus (or whatever) will arrive - it works there even with a much larger network and similar levels of traffic congestion.

That's interesting. Is it a printed timetable or electronic? Dublin bus do provide rough guidelines for how long a journey will take.

slowly horse

sock puppet wrote: »

That's interesting. Is it a printed timetable or electronic? Dublin bus do provide rough guidelines for how long a journey will take.

Printed, and in a year there I never experienced a late bus. Only delays ever were on the subway lines when there were "jumpers" and a few times when the tram tracks iced over, aside from that the printed timetables are accurate. (Subway timetables are both printed and electronic, apart from peak times when they come every 2 mins)

panda100

humberklog wrote: »

Y'know I thought that too until I visited the Markevich on Tara St. and was really surprised. Clean, simple and inexpensive. You can stay as long as you like for about 7snoots. The place is well run, hygenic and has a pay as you go gym too. I was expecting the worst and was really surprised. Clientele and staff are all bang on. It's free in on Monday for the unemployed too.

I think Markevich is pretty yucky,but its definatly the best of a bad bunch.I grew up in London in the 1980's and their was loads of clean,nice modern swimming pools. The changing rooms in Marcivich are really old and the swimming pool is all cracked and yellow,but compared to the Sean McDermott pool its heavenly.

I usually hop on the bus out to Ballymun If I fancy a dip,the swimming pool out there is lovely.

southsiderosie

It would be great if the LUAS ran along the same route as the #16 is on now - from the airport, through the city, all the way down past Terenure. I used to try to take the bus at night when I lived in Dublin, but gave up because I got sick of standing on the corner in the rain for 40 minutes waiting for a bus that never arrived...or that arrived as soon as the taxi I just hopped into pulled away from the curb. People will use public transport if it is easy to use...AND DUBLIN BUS IS NOT.

As for a comparison with other cities, Boston has a subway system AND a bus system which runs on a timetable that is posted at every bus stop. The population of Boston is about 600K; the City of Dublin 500K.

sock puppet

slowly horse wrote: »

Printed, and in a year there I never experienced a late bus. Only delays ever were on the subway lines when there were "jumpers" and a few times when the tram tracks iced over, aside from that the printed timetables are accurate. (Subway timetables are both printed and electronic, apart from peak times when they come every 2 mins)

That sounds very good. I wonder how they manage it. My journey to college varies by about 10-15 minutes each day.

slowly horse

sock puppet wrote: »

That sounds very good. I wonder how they manage it. My journey to college varies by about 10-15 minutes each day.

Yeah, the Toronto Transit Commission is huge, their only downfall is that their website isn't great, but you can get texts to your phone if there is a delay on your route. Finding it hard to adjust to the level of service here, although Torontonians complain just as much as Dubliners re:transport, (I guess trains at 2 minute intervals aren't regular enough..lol)

lightening

sock puppet wrote: »

That sounds very good. I wonder how they manage it

Easy, a modern new city with good planning and good infrastructure. Not a city built up since medieval times with medieval size roads with loads of ad ons that has gone through a few colonisations before the invention of the internal combustion engine, let alone the invention of public transport.

Saying that, Dublin bus has some chancers on board.

sock puppet

slowly horse wrote: »

Yeah, the Toronto Transit Commission is huge, their only downfall is that their website isn't great, but you can get texts to your phone if there is a delay on your route. Finding it hard to adjust to the level of service here, although Torontonians complain just as much as Dubliners re:transport, (I guess trains at 2 minute intervals aren't regular enough..lol)

Yeah I was in Berlin a few years ago. Subway trains every 5 minutes pretty much all day long. And the pass for the week wasn't much more expensive than here where we have no less than 2 train lines.

Crania

southsiderosie wrote: »

It would be great if the LUAS ran along the same route as the #16 is on now - from the airport, through the city, all the way down past Terenure. I used to try to take the bus at night when I lived in Dublin, but gave up because I got sick of standing on the corner in the rain for 40 minutes waiting for a bus that never arrived...or that arrived as soon as the taxi I just hopped into pulled away from the curb. People will use public transport if it is easy to use...AND DUBLIN BUS IS NOT.

As for a comparison with other cities, Boston has a subway system AND a bus system which runs on a timetable that is posted at every bus stop. The population of Boston is about 600K; the City of Dublin 500K.

Good idea, very popular bus and it serves many keys areas and large suburbs on both sides of the city.

I think they had an initial assessment of the possibility of running another LUAS line to Rathfarnham but found that it woluld be too difficult with the size of the roads. Also, I think they said there wouldn't be a huge time benefit from it in getting into town in comparison to the bus and therefore the cost in building the system woulnd't be an effiecient use of money.

How Strange

hem wrote: »

It fact, just get rid of Dublin Bus and put all the routes up for auction to private companies.

Yeah that would really solve our transport infastructure problems. People living anywhere near Ballyfermot, Neilstown, Finglas, Tallaght (to name only a few) or any less than desirable areas wouldn't get a decent service and the nicer areas will have great links.

Also, you'll be paying a hell of a lot more for your journey if buses are privatised and they most definitely will be run to make a profit.

bobzee

I think a lot of people are down on the bus system because bus journeys take so long and the times are not consistent. To some extend there is little Dublin bus can do about that. The big problem is traffic congestion. Having real time bus information available at each bus stop would at least let people know what to expect.

The luas green line is fantastic...but only because it runs on a dedicated line. I always thought they could have provided a similar service there for much much cheaper if they simply concreted over the old harcourt street line and used it as a dedicated express bus way..i.e. same idea as the luas, busses every 5 minutes..no stops except to take on passengers....you would have a far more flexible and cheaper service all be it not as sexy as the luas

If the proposed luas line to rathfarnham was to share the road with other road traffic..then how is that much better than having a bus service?..not much point really.

The Tallaght luas line suffers from this. A friend of mine used to cycle from tallaght to the city centre because it was quicker than taking the luas.

Newer busses on all routes would be nice..some of the old ones stink..but then again thats because some of the bus users like to throw bits of food around them. As far as I can see busses will always be the primary form of public transport in Dublin, and I think efforts should be focused on making them efficient reliable and more user friendly. The luas and dart are great..but what percentage of the population have access to them ? 10% ?

There will never be a widespread rollout of any local rail system be it metro luas etc.. as we could not afford it so I think rather than complicating things further by investing masses of money in yet another isolated transit system (e.g. the metro) we should really focus on making the one transport system that is widely available work well.