Matthews bus service

Paddy_Smith

I think the Matthews bus service is bloody ridiculous.

There's so many things wrong with the service. It being late a lot of the time, and the reluctance to fix the air conditioning being another for example.

I'll be taking the train from now on from Dundalk to Dublin, because this bus service has me distraught with the bloody problems going on around it.

Does anyone else have any problems with this service?

gernon

Wait till you get a few trains late and with broken aircon or during winter no heat and pay twice the price for privilege then maybe Matthews won't appear too bad.

tenchi-fan

Disagree, I think Matthews bus is a very good service.

calex71

They have stickers on a lot of the coaches windows with info on how to voice your complaints via mobile sms or from their website. If you don't tell then then how can they fix it

It's never been late for me but I don't take it at peak times, and with the warm weather if the air conditioning has not been working it's likely not switched on, the driver had no problem turning it on any time I had asked.

Seannew1

I agree,I've always preffered the train. I got the bus from Monasterboice to Dundalk recently and it was 12 euro return which i felt was a bit on the pricey side.I hear its also 12 euro return to dublin from Monasterboice/Drogheda and Dundalk is half the distance!

Paddy_Smith

Seannew1 wrote: »

I agree,I've always preffered the train. I got the bus from Monasterboice to Dundalk recently and it was 12 euro return which i felt was a bit on the pricey side.I hear its also 12 euro return to dublin from Monasterboice/Drogheda and Dundalk is half the distance!

Yeah this is true.

It feels like the Matthews bus service has me a poor man!

tenchi-fan

Paddy_Smith wrote: »

Yeah this is true.

It feels like the Matthews bus service has me a poor man!

Buy a ten trip ticket, or a tax-saver ticket if you travel more frequently.

I remember taking the Bus Eireann bus to Dublin. Took half a day and cost a fortune.

10green bottles

OP needs to elabortate.

BettePorter

i'd have to disagree. i think Matthews puts Bus eireann to shame. The drivers are always pleasant, the buses comfortable and in my experience on time. If you think you're broke paying 12 euro return to dublin you'll be destitute after a few trips to dublin on the cattle train ! Do you mean 'fix' the air con as in fix it to your preferred setting ? Surely every bus you're on can't be broken ?

Mr Magnolia

I've never had a problem in fact quite the opposite. As calex71 points out, you should voice your concerns and see what sort of a response you get.

They're always on-time, arriving & leaving, drivers have always been courtious. Once, there was a problem with the air-con but I've travelled with them a lot so I can certainly put up with one episode.

I really don't know how they can keep such a fresh fleet of buses on the road at only €12/pp. The fact they won that big contract for London 2012 is testament to their professionalism in my humble opinion.

doncarlos

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Once, there was a problem with the air-con but I've travelled with them a lot so I can certainly put up with one episode.

I think you may have been on the same bus as me. It was a horrible journey but the first bad one in over 100.
The next bus I got was one of the luxury buses with the tables in the middle and lots of leg room so all was forgiven.

20 Times 20 Times

I think.its a quality service at the right price .

CMpunked

Cost of train(return dublin): €15
Loud, cold, not gaurenteed a seat, drops 10 mins away from the city centre. (drog station is also a few miles out of town)

Matthews coach: €12
comfortable, reliable, have any queries you can ask the driver, ridiculously nice drivers, no expiry date on return tickets and they drop you right in the city centre.

There's no comparison in my mind, boggles me why anyone would go by train.

delly

I use them the odd time from Drogheda if heading into the city for a night out and have always found them to have an excellent service. Always on time, friendly drivers and buses that are only a year or two old.

neacy69

Cant disagree with you strongly enough.

I think the matthews bus is a great service. Always on time, friendly, cost effective, wifi on board, clean....i could go on.

If you arent happy then send them an email.
Thats what I did a couple of weeks ago when they stopped the 6.30pm Dundalk Direct service and it was back on the next day!

Atomic Pineapple

Agree with the sentiments of the majority on thread, its an excellent service at a realistic price.

Complaining about a bus being late and not having a/c (in Ireland, seriously?) is a bit pedantic.

bigneacy

I don't use it often, but I found the bus staff to be very very nice and they seem to want to bend over backwards to help you out.

Send them an email expressing your concerns - I'd say they'll have it sorted before you give it another thought.

petes

Never had a bad experience with them. Quality service. Granted OP with a service something might slip through the cracks but I have never seen it with Matthews!

Only problem I have with Matthews and with Bus Eireann is they don't have a bar on the bus :pac:

Enterprise for me this evening!

gipi

I use Matthews from time to time and have always found the service to be comfortable and for the most part, on time. Naturally with any road-based service in this country, there are bound to be delays here and there.

They update their facebook with news of delays (e.g. traffic or other road incidents) - if you can log onto it, it might remove some of the frustration if a bus is delayed.

I remember asking on FB if one of the Saturday buses to Dublin picked up at City North (it suited me to board from there on the day) - got a reply within minutes to say that normally it didn't, but that the driver would be asked to swing by and collect me! And he did!

Can't beat that for service, in my opinion!

amacachi

I commute with them to college and in three years a bus left about 5 minutes late once and other than that and the snow I can remember pretty much no other time-keeping issues I've had with them.

Also glad to see the amount of posts in favour of them, was worried I may look like a shill. :pac:

I also think they provide an excellent service. As above, courteous drivers, on-time, and whenever they fill a bus, there's always a second one a few minutes behind it to take the excess passengers.

For €12, you can hardly complain.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Great service, excellent time keeping, cheap fares, lots of buses, clean and comfortable, safety conscious, pleasant drivers, speedy trip...

What the heck more does the OP want??

Took the train one day this week. It arrived late, people had to stand, it was stuffy and uncomfortable. Also cost me more and had to wait 2 hours for a train home.

I honestly wonder at the motives of the OP with this thread.

**Timbuk2**

amacachi wrote: »

I commute with them to college and in three years a bus left about 5 minutes late once and other than that and the snow I can remember pretty much no other time-keeping issues I've had with them.

Also glad to see the amount of posts in favour of them, was worried I may look like a shill. :pac:

Completely agree, use them to get from Dublin to Dundalk and have never had a problem with them! The only time they were late was during the snow in mid-December (Parnell Street to Dundalk direct took nearly 2.5 hours) but that's understandable - they left Parnell Street precisely on time though!

rugbyman

Superb service, full stop.


on a technical note ,how did the post at 14.47 fom mr magnolia have the previous quote from amachi appearing to come from matthews?

i have rently had qotation sent to me as though I had said it ,but i did not. sorry thats a bit garbled.

Rugbyman

Mr Magnolia

rugbyman wrote: »

Superb service, full stop.


on a technical note ,how did the post at 14.47 fom mr magnolia have the previous quote from amachi appearing to come from matthews?

Rugbyman

When I selected to quote amacahi I edited his/her name in the text to 'matthews' coaches', kinda poking fun at the thought s/he was worried about being seen as a shill. I'll delete it as it may cause confusion...

PinkFly

i love the matthews buses and agree with all the good points noted here the only niggly problem is that they charge 12 euro for a child too. i know its still a seat they are taking up etc etc, bus usually childrens tickets are cheaper..aren't they?

bigneacy

PinkFly wrote: »

i love the matthews buses and agree with all the good points noted here the only niggly problem is that they charge 12 euro for a child too. i know its still a seat they are taking up etc etc, bus usually childrens tickets are cheaper..aren't they?

Usually kids fares would be cheaper, even though it's still a seat taken.

Maybe it's due to the fact that 99% of Matthews customers are commuters and students? Just a guess, perhaps amachai, the shill working on behalf of Matthews can clear it up for us? :pac: :-p

tenchi-fan

PinkFly wrote: »

i love the matthews buses and agree with all the good points noted here the only niggly problem is that they charge 12 euro for a child too. i know its still a seat they are taking up etc etc, bus usually childrens tickets are cheaper..aren't they?

I used to commute on the Matthew's bus. It was funny seeing people getting on and asking for a kid's fair when the bus was full and there were people still waiting to get on... they still take up a seat and if they reduce kids prices adult ticket prices will have to increase.

PinkFly

tenchi-fan wrote: »

I used to commute on the Matthew's bus. It was funny seeing people getting on and asking for a kid's fair when the bus was full and there were people still waiting to get on... they still take up a seat and if they reduce kids prices adult ticket prices will have to increase.

It only happen because usually there is a childrens rate on bus and train fares hence why i asked for it when getting on with my son, it is hardly that amusing to see it occur?

20 Times 20 Times

Is there ever a case where there are people left behind ??

Reekwind

As someone who used to be totally reliant on CIE buses I can only say that Matthews provide a fantastic service. Never hand any problem with them and they make travelling to/from Dublin a breeze