Why no express bus to Cork from Dublin??

konstruktsiya

Not really a query, more a general moan - WHY oh WHY is there not a dedicated non-stop bus service between Dublin and Cork? The train is great but is too expensive and the online cheap tickets are rarely available at convenient travel times (eg Friday evenings), and when they are, sell out in about 3 seconds. Citylink and GoBus go non-stop to Galway on the motorway, you can drive to Cork in less than 3 hours, so whyyyyy wont Bus Eireann or Aircoach or somebody put on a dedicated express service? I know sometimes BE have express services when they have overspill from other services, but that is informal & you can't plan in advance around it. Old complaint I know, but why does it have to be so difficult to travel in this country?!!

konstruktsiya

I know there's flights too, but you'd need to book ages in advance to get a good deal. Spontaneous travel is not easy in Ireland!

Colm R

The route is not licensed yet. And I believe from reading this forum, licensing is an issue which is badly handled by the department of transport, the operators or all of the above.

You can get lucky though on the route. Sometimes at busy times, they can load all people going the full route on one bus, and all others on a different bus if demand requires. But thats down to pure luck.

devnull

I heard someone from Citylink talking about the fact they applied for such a route previously but were told there was a prior application, that was months ago though and we all know how long the applications take.

It's interesting that Bus Eireann do run two buses in the situations where they have enough to do so, if a private operator did that they would be in trouble for breach of license no?

Run_to_da_hills

I don't think Iarnrod Eireann would approve of it.

novarock

the blue aircoaches go direct from dublin to cork...

devnull

Aircoach don't stop in as many places as Bus Eireann and obviously serve the airport as well when Bus Eireann do not but they are not direct, there are no direct services at present.

Aircoach is timetabled for 3hr 50 mins from city centre to city centre whilst Bus Eireann is 4hr 25mins.

There are 13 services a day in each direction that do not involve a change of bus, 7 Aircoach and 6 Bus Eireann, although there used to be a 6am Aircoach which was discontinued.

From Dublin or Cork
7:00 Aircoach
8:00 Bus Eireann
9:00 Aircoach
10:00 Bus Eireann
11:00 Aircoach
12:00 Bus Eireann
13:00 Aircoach
14:00 Bus Eireann
15:00 Aircoach
16:00 Bus Eireann
17:00 Aircoach
18:00 Bus Eireann
19:00 Aircoach

konstruktsiya

I've got the Aircoach before, it is faster than Bus Eireann but still stops at so many places and the road is pretty bad for much of the trip which makes for uncomfortable travelling - I remember trying to sleep on one once and being continually jolted awake by the rattling.

devnull

Didn't find the roads that bad on the motorways and the main roads last time I was on the Dublin to Cork run but some of the roads around the places we stopped were indeed not great.

It is a shame there is also not wifi on the Dublin to Cork run also.

Stark

konstruktsiya wrote: »

I've got the Aircoach before, it is faster than Bus Eireann but still stops at so many places and the road is pretty bad for much of the trip which makes for uncomfortable travelling - I remember trying to sleep on one once and being continually jolted awake by the rattling.

Yeah I remember taking the Aircoach before as I figured I could get some work done on the bus. I couldn't use a laptop at all on some of the roads, we were being shaken around so much. During the brief times when we used the motorways, the ride was lovely and smooth. There also didn't seem to be wi-fi on the bus I got, whereas I had made my decision to go the Aircoach route based on being told they had wi-fi.

devnull

They have Wifi, but only on the new coaches that are on the Greystones and Ballsbridge and Sandyford routes.

Victor

Bus drivers are entitled to a break every 2 hours. A coach can't cover the distance in that time.

salutations

novarock wrote: »

the blue aircoaches go direct from dublin to cork...

Are you sure?? There's nothing about this on their website.

KC61

salutations wrote: »

Are you sure?? There's nothing about this on their website.

http://www.aircoach.ie/table.routes.cork.php

This is the service that novarock is referring to.

It is a stopping service and not non-stop.

KC61

Victor wrote: »

Bus drivers are entitled to a break every 2 hours. A coach can't cover the distance in that time.

I think that you are mistaken Victor (or otherwise Gobus and Citylink drivers must change on board while driving on the motorway?).

Drivers can travel 4.5 hours before they must have a break.

Mushy

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

I don't think Iarnrod Eireann would approve of it.

Must be awful for a company to have to charge competitive prices with a good service alright:pac:

I've always wondered why there is no express bus, it'd make perfect sense now with the motorways. Even if it just stopped in Urlingford then back onto motorway.

veryangryman

Mushy wrote: »

Must be awful for a company to have to charge competitive prices with a good service alright:pac:

I've always wondered why there is no express bus, it'd make perfect sense now with the motorways. Even if it just stopped in Urlingford then back onto motorway.

+1

National Express in UK do a service Sheffield-London which changes drivers at a services after ~100 miles. No real break or anything - the drivers just change, then back on the road. What do you lose in time? 5 minutes maybe.

I would say Portlaoise Midway or Horse And Jockey would be ideal spots for such a change.

Screw the red tape over it. If Citylink were brave enough to give 2 fingers to regulation on D-G direct, why not do the same with this. Its a no-brainer to do a non-stop route, which benefits all companies involved.

Even Irish Rail would still have the odd gombeen who "only takes the train". If your one of said gombeens and reading this, i have an off-topic question - WHY use a train in situations when the bus can get you to your destination quicker. DOnt say the legroom or the tea/coffee on board because those are gombeen answers!

DWCommuter

Its only a matter of time before its licensed for a non stop private operator with coaches that offer free wi-fi. This route is a lucrative one and the CIE group can only hold it back in the 20th century for so long, just like they have held public transport back since their inception.

devnull

KC61 wrote: »

I think that you are mistaken Victor (or otherwise Gobus and Citylink drivers must change on board while driving on the motorway?).

Drivers can travel 4.5 hours before they must have a break.

Yes, although normally during trips of over 3 hours or so there is a break somewhere but it is not required.

Aircoach and Bus Eireann take a 10-15 break in Urlingford half way to/from Cork.

Difference with what Citylink did to Dublin to Galway is they already had a license between the two cities, just not an express one, they have nothing for Dublin to Cork.

Cookie_Monster

veryangryman wrote: »

Even Irish Rail would still have the odd gombeen who "only takes the train". If your one of said gombeens and reading this, i have an off-topic question - WHY use a train in situations when the bus can get you to your destination quicker. DOnt say the legroom or the tea/coffee on board because those are gombeen answers!

maybe speed isn't essential. maybe comfort and a toilet and the ability to walk around is more important.

devnull

I normally go by coach - trouble with train is it's not hugely quicker, and unless you want to have not much choice on times, it's more expensive too.

Stark

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

maybe speed isn't essential. maybe comfort and a toilet and the ability to walk around is more important.

That only affects a few people with bladder problems and/or leg problems such as thrombophilia. Half of whom would probably be travelling on free passes anyway. Certainly not enough people to keep Irish rail in business.

Cookie_Monster

Stark wrote: »

That only affects a few people with bladder problems and/or leg problems such as thrombophilia. Half of whom would probably be travelling on free passes anyway. Certainly not enough people to keep Irish rail in business.

it also affects those who want to bring a crate of cans with them when they travel

but in general I agree. my point was more of a personal choice one, some people may simply want to have access to a toilet or have kids and find it easier to travel by train or any number of other reasons. Just because the bus is faster is not a reason for everyone to want to get it.

KC61

DWCommuter wrote: »

Its only a matter of time before its licensed for a non stop private operator with coaches that offer free wi-fi. This route is a lucrative one and the CIE group can only hold it back in the 20th century for so long, just like they have held public transport back since their inception.

When it comes to bus route approvals the Department of Transport has treated everyone pretty much the same way be it Dublin Bus, Bus Eireann or private operators - leaving them hanging for months if not years before resolving licence applications or notifications.

To suggest CIE are responsible for the lack of a non-stop coach service between Dublin and Cork (certainly in recent times) is being somewhat disingenuous I would suggest. Such a service would not have been viable prior to the motorways being finished.

Maybe someone has applied for such a service - we just don't know because it is not freely available information.

Victor

KC61 wrote: »

I think that you are mistaken Victor (or otherwise Gobus and Citylink drivers must change on board while driving on the motorway?).

Drivers can travel 4.5 hours before they must have a break.

I though that long distance and local services were treated differently. Surely sitting in one position for 4.5 hours at 100km/h isn't very practical.

KC61

Victor wrote: »

I though that long distance and local services were treated differently. Surely sitting in one position for 4.5 hours at 100km/h isn't very practical.

That's what the EU regulations state Victor!

When I looked at them at the weekend the 4.5 hour limit was the only one specified.

It certainly is not 2 hours as that would render Citylink's non-stop services impossible.

Stark

It could certainly take over 3 hours to reach Urlingford on a bad day before the motorways took most of the traffic off the old roads.

BenShermin

KC61 wrote: »

That's what the EU regulations state Victor!

When I looked at them at the weekend the 4.5 hour limit was the only one specified.

It certainly is not 2 hours as that would render Citylink's non-stop services impossible.

Without a doubt, one only has to look at the 002 Dublin Airport to Rosslare Harbour service. I do believe that route is timetabled to take just under 4 hours with no designated breaks for the driver nor his/her passengers.

SandyfordGuy

I was on Aircoach this weekend and it appears they are now installing Wifi on their older coaches. I was on a Setra on the way to Cork and a Scania on the way back and they both had Wifi access although my brother was on the coach after me that didn't.

Driver told me that they were in the process of fitting wireless to all the older coaches and should be complete in a few weeks, and they are around about half way through on these, whilst all the 08/09 ones had Wifi as standard when delivered.

Chris_5339762

4.5 hours is overkill especially when bladders fill up. Citylink Cork - Galway was bad enough at 3, 3 1/2.

markpb

SandyfordGuy wrote: »

Driver told me that they were in the process of fitting wireless to all the older coaches and should be complete in a few weeks, and they are around about half way through on these, whilst all the 08/09 ones had Wifi as standard when delivered.

Remember that when Irish Rail are telling people that Wifi isn't needed and if they really, absolutely have to provide it, they should pay for it. Truly a company in touch with their customers.