Bus Eireann vs Mathews

Asporadic

I was introduced to Mathews years ago by a friend when I first started commuting to Dublin (which wasnt all that often anywho). So I guess I always just stuck with Mathews anytime I had to go anywhere because its what I knew and to be honest its a good service.

Then last week I got the Mathews bus to drogheda (9euro one way) and then unexpectedly my lift home fell through and I had to get another bus.

To keep a long story short, I missed Matthews and the next bus was BE. I was ever so shocked when I got on and he only charged 6euro.

If I had have got BE up and back I would have saved 6euro that day. Do that a few times a month and those 6euros start to add up.

I dont get it. Why does everyone hate on BE so much? Granted they dont have wifi and they arent as customer orientated... but to be honest Im not there to have a chat with the driver and for that kinda savings I think I could make do without Internet for an hour or so.

Peppa Pig

Matthews 10 trip ticket is €60, which is €6 per trip.
Buseireann.ie have the fare at €6.65, so maybe you got a bargain?

Asporadic

Peppa Pig wrote: »

Matthews 10 trip ticket is €60, which is €6 per trip.
Buseireann.ie have the fare at €6.65, so maybe you got a bargain?

Didn't realise Mathews did a ticket like that? I wonder do Bus Eireann?

BTW: I wasnt actually basing this thread on Mathews is more expensive so dont use them.... Im more curious about why BE have such a bad rep when apparently they are the same price (or in my case cheaper) then the competition and IMO offer a pretty good service (well obviously minus the wifi but thats neither here nor there)

And just to clarify incase anyones gonna start pointing fingers, Im in no way associated with (or benefit) from BE or likewise have anything against Mathews. Like I said I actually like Mathews service and would recommend them. Im just wondering where all the hate for BE is coming from.

indiewindy

B.E 10 trip tickets have a limited validity period, Matthews have no restriction on theirs. Most BE buses coming back from Dublin only use the motorway as far as Drogheda, it takes them at least 10 minutes longer from Drogheda to Dundalk.
Try using BE for a few weeks and see if you still prefer them. I only use BE for airport runs, I would never consider them for going into the city.
I also find the Matthews buses much more comfortable

DundalkDuffman

Also the Matthews tickets are any direction which is a big help in the case where you miss a bus and next available is a BE. Flip that round and you're waiting so as to use up your return!
I think BE's 100X is a good service, bit of a pain when you've got to come back through Dunleer/Kilsaran after 6 where invariably 1 person gets on or off.
To be honest they're both decent enough although I'd take the Matthews over it from choice

Asporadic

indiewindy wrote: »

Try using BE for a few weeks and see if you still prefer them.

Well Im not a regular traveler. It seems from some of the replies Mathews has the winning hand due to their ticket systems.

So I guess for me, as a person who only travels once or twice a month it would make a bit more sense to change over to BE (I know I could buy the Mathews ticket and get the same price but knowing me Id lose the damn thing ).

vickers209

The newer BE Coaches have wi-fi think the 12 reg ones do and are installing it in there older fleet too.

On a side note ive noticed irish rail have it installed in alot of there cars too seems fairly good on train anyway.

gipi

The last time I travelled from Drogheda to Dublin on BE (February this year) I bought a return ticket which cost me €14 (same as the Matthews return ticket).

€6 one-way was a bargain!

Scotty #

I don't use buses but FYI....

BE have spent €30 MILLION so far fitting wi-fi to 88 buses.

BE are heavily funded by the tax payer (€150M/year) (and still losing millions !!)

BE's prices are currently being raised due to their drivers refusal to take a pay cut

A 10x Journey (7 Day) ticket with BE is €42.28 (Very good value if you work in Dublin IMO)

Darksaga87

I commute for work in Dublin. I use the B.E 100x service daily and get a weekly ticket which costs me €44.50. It's not too bad I guess as it terminates basically outside my job so I don't have to alk far or get Dublin buses. If I got the Matthews I'd be on the other side of the city and still have to get a connection.

My main gripe with B.E over Matthews are the seats. I'm 5'11 and my legs are crushed most of the time and my back is starting to get a pain from them. Mathews are luxury in compassion.
Although the 9am service I get some weeks are run by anchor tours on hire to B.E. oh man are they comfy. I don't mind people sitting beside me on them coaches!

Irish Aris

I live in Grangerath and I use both of them - though I use the Bettystown-Dublin route.
I usually travel during weekends.
For me, the advantage of Matthews is, it is quicker because they hit the M1 after City North hotel. It takes 55-60 minutes to get to Parnell street. BE 101 takes 20-30 minutes more-100X from town is a much better option. The advantage with BE is they run more frequently.
Fairs are similar. With Matthews I pay 5.5 each way (as they accept the leapcard in the Bettystown route) and I think the day return to Dublin is 11.50.
And as previously mentioned, BE is the only option for the airport.

Porridge7

Darksaga87 wrote: »

I commute for work in Dublin. I use the B.E 100x service daily and get a weekly ticket which costs me €44.50.!

Darksage, you should really speak to your payroll dept about getting a taxsaver ticket.

At the moment its costing you around €190 per month, but with a taxsaver depending on the tax rate your on, assuming you may be on the higher rate it would only cost you around €90 which would be a significant saving per month.

Plus you don't have to go purchasing tickets every week.

http://www.taxsaver.ie/Ticket-Types/Bus-Eireann-Point-to-Point/

Karona

I usually travel on Matthews but I am finding that their service isn't that great into Dublin City anymore, they have been late by at least 10 minutes the last 5 times I travelled with them and their Wi-Fi service isn't anything to write home about, as it keeps disconnecting. And as for their fare it just keeps going up and up.

Bus Eireann I know have their problems but I think they are getting better.

Raffo69

I don't think Matthews Wi-Fi has ever worked for me any time I have used them for travelling to/from Dublin

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Raffo69 wrote: »

I don't think Matthews Wi-Fi has ever worked for me any time I have used them for travelling to/from Dublin

Works every time for me and those travelling with me. Strange that!

MugMugs

Raffo69 wrote: »

I don't think Matthews Wi-Fi has ever worked for me any time I have used them for travelling to/from Dublin

Works for me but is annoying. It keeps putting a banner above my sites making boards un use able really! I just go with my 3g

Reekwind

Asporadic wrote: »

BTW: I wasnt actually basing this thread on Mathews is more expensive so dont use them.... Im more curious about why BE have such a bad rep when apparently they are the same price (or in my case cheaper) then the competition and IMO offer a pretty good service (well obviously minus the wifi but thats neither here nor there)

BE have a reputation for pursuing very aggrssive pricing strategies when priviate companies muscle in on a route. They're not stupid - the shock of Matthews pretty much killed their Dundalk-Dublin business and since then they've been playing catch-up with rejigged schedules, new coaches and better prices

Personally I don't travel the route any more (so I can't comment on whether BE's operations have similarly improved) but the service does seem to be leagues better than it was in the mid-2000s

CMpunked

I use the 100x daily and have to say in rush hour its miles ahead of matthews once it hits the motorway. No waiting around in drumcondra watching old grannies and cyclists fly by you.

One of my main gripes with Matthews is their ticketing prices.
14 euro dundalk to dublin? Bargain!
14 euro drogheda to dublin? Overpriced.
If you live in dundalk its an easy choice, you are getting a good service and the added extra that some of the bus times are direct so you will be home in no time. Different story if you're from the 'other town' though.

For me its BE all the way. More regular buses on evenings and weekends to go where I need to go in south Dublin.
My job shifts ends at the half hour and there is a bus that leaves at 20 to the hour only 5 minutes away. Personally, it cant get better than that.

Darksaga87

Porridge7 wrote: »

Darksage, you should really speak to your payroll dept about getting a taxsaver ticket.

At the moment its costing you around €190 per month, but with a taxsaver depending on the tax rate your on, assuming you may be on the higher rate it would only cost you around €90 which would be a significant saving per month.

Plus you don't have to go purchasing tickets every week.

http://www.taxsaver.ie/Ticket-Types/Bus-Eireann-Point-to-Point/

Yeah ive got one ordered.

Still works out around 2k a year.

Kaylee

I'm a happy user of Matthews Buses..... I can always get the wifi to work but (and this probably isn't the right forum) but any ideas why Apps like InTune Radio and Spotify (premium) won't work for me on the bus they are constantly looking for a lost connection... if I can't get Spotify to work on the bus I'll probably cancel the premium payment because that's what I paid up to it for. (I'ts nothing to do with streaming content is it?)

Anybody... please...

neacy69

Kaylee wrote: »

I'm a happy user of Matthews Buses..... I can always get the wifi to work but (and this probably isn't the right forum) but any ideas why Apps like InTune Radio and Spotify (premium) won't work for me on the bus they are constantly looking for a lost connection... if I can't get Spotify to work on the bus I'll probably cancel the premium payment because that's what I paid up to it for. (I'ts nothing to do with streaming content is it?)

Anybody... please...

I think Matthews restricted the connectedfor downloading/streaming/youtubing types of services a while ago when the connection was slow it was barely usable...

Kaylee

Oh ok.. thanks neacy69... that seems a bit backwards...

bren_mc

MugMugs wrote: »

Works for me but is annoying. It keeps putting a banner above my sites making boards un use able really! I just go with my 3g

The size of the banner made browing on my netbook a real PITA. So I did a bit of googling and found a way of disabling it.

MugMugs

bren_mc wrote: »

The size of the banner made browing on my netbook a real PITA. So I did a bit of googling and found a way of disabling it.

Ya gonna share?

bren_mc

MugMugs wrote: »

Ya gonna share?

yeah no problem. i was just throwing it out there to see if anyone was inetersted. don't have the netbook with me at the moment so i'll post it up this evening when i get home

bren_mc

ok, if you want to block the banner you need to edit a file on your laptop. its called the hosts file and can be found in different locations depending on the operating system that you're using. I use windows 7 (32 bit) so my hosts file is located at

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

For other operating systems check this link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosts_(file)

its just a plain text file but has no file extension so when you go to open / edit it you might be prompted for what program you want to use. Just choose notepad or some other text editor. Add the following line to the end of the file

127.0.0.1 proxy.moovbox.icomera.com

Then save the file and you're done.

Basically, the script that injects the banner into your pages is at proxy.moovbox.icomera.com. By specifying 127.0.0.1 you're telling your computer to look for the script locally (on your machine) rather than on the internet. It'll fail to find the script there and so won't load the banner. I can't recall if you need to restart your computer for the change to take effect or if you just restart the browser.

hope that helps;)