Dublin Airport Bus Service Changes & Discussion

RuleNumber6

koutoubia wrote: »

Answers in bold above.....

If an operator accepts the free pass, presumably they can claim a certain amount of the lost fare back but not all of it? Does anyone know if there any information on this anywhere on how this works?

AlekSmart

RuleNumber6 wrote: »

If an operator accepts the free pass, presumably they can claim a certain amount of the lost fare back but not all of it? Does anyone know if there any information on this anywhere on how this works?

FTP arrangements between Private Sector Operators and the DEASP,who operate the FTP scheme,are negotiated and concluded on a Commercial basis.

As such,the details are not usually in the Public Domain.

However the Dept and the CIE Group do make the relevant information available,which last year did point to at least some information on the discounting applied.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/free-travel-scheme-in-doubt-amid-fears-of-overuse-1.4002887

Nunber of entitled persons...

There are currently about 948,000 individuals who have been issued with free travel passes – up from 813,000 five years ago.

According to the NTA, a total of 166,150 new passes were issued last year – up 3 per cent on 2017 figures.

The use of the word 'about' did raise as an issue many years ago,when the Northern Ireland authorities sought details of their potential addional exposure,during the 32 County Free Travel negotiations overseen by the late Minister Seamus Brennan.

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, which oversees the issuing of free travel passes, said funding of the scheme had been increased by €5 million this year to €95 million after an extra €10 million had been provided in 2018.

Annual funding of the scheme had remained static at €77 million between 2010 and 2015 before it was increased by €3 million the following year.

In response to a parliamentary question earlier this year, the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, said more than €69 million was paid to the CIÉ group last year.

“This payment reflects a range of factors negotiated over the years including fare increases, peak-time access to free travel, service improvements, changes and enhancements. A discount of 40 per cent is applied to reflect the fares-foregone nature of the scheme,” Ms Doherty said.

Private transport operators have a 30 per cent discount applied to their funding through the scheme.

devnull

It has been revealed that the offline price of tickets is €7 and the €6 price is only online.,

Also the service will launch with a special offer

To celebrate the launch of Dublin Express, if you buy a one-way ticket for travel in March you’ll get an extra journey for free.

For example, if you’ve booked a ticket from Dublin Airport to Dublin City, you can use that ticket to travel from Dublin City back to Dublin Airport. To claim your free journey simply show the driver your ticket. Please note, your free journey can only be redeemed for travel in March 2020 and is subject to availability.

This offer can be claimed either through tickets purchased online, at the airport or with one of our drivers. Drivers can only accept card payments.

Online fare: €6 per adult. €1.50 per child
At the airport or with a driver: €7 per adult. €2 per child

devnull

First one spotted in full livery
https://www.flickr.com/photos/darren_hall/49593141982/in/photolist-2iynPj7-2isrsmz-2ic4EoJ-2gizAQv-2gizAVa-2gizPMe-2hJhQSr-22Qm8Gt-EuGZo2-2gizPAs-2giA8E7-2ehyAdA-2ehyAe7-2ehyAaE-2ehyA7y-2ehyA5Q-2ehyAcJ-RC8iK4-24LQq8K-2ehqPpw-2bbkdum-2hJkpHv-2hJmuLL-2hJkpFX-24DjWLj-22Qm94F-Z4gv2E-WUmZFY-KTdLfG-L7pJNn-227uWxq-WvDZZ8-W81b5L-WHhhPg-WvE5Di-SD3sDM-LCKxKT-Jf9qPy-HWBnmR-HQfddV-HRYVPL-HuztSw-Hux3m5-GZfpRR-HRVFJ7-GZfozc-GZ8Dd5-HNA7H8-HRVGiU-HuwXdj

koutoubia

Surprised you only spotted one as there were 3 doing laps of the city routes all day today!

devnull

koutoubia wrote: »

Surprised you only spotted one as there were 3 doing laps of the city routes all day today!

I'm currently out of the country, so wouldn't have chance, not my photo anyway!

koutoubia

I did spot someone taking pics as the coach as I was on was passing him.

dublinman1990

Nice livery. It's kept in the Dublin colours too which looks decent.

odyssey06

Come on #785... will be very handy for getting to\from Eastpoint Business Park to the airport. Should be popular service.

devnull

Aircoach have now responded to the special offer by Dublin Express by offering an €8 return ticket, which doesn't seem to have any definitive time limit on it, unlike the Dublin Express offer.



In the ad above they are emphasising the each way price which works out at €4, which is clearly a slightly different marketing ploy than saying you pay €6 and get a journey free.

I wonder what the response of Airlink will be, which looks poor value now for central locations.

p_haugh

I’ve also noticed that the destination display for the 700 from the airport has changed. It now says “CITY CENTRE” before changing to “for Leopardstown” in small text. Another ploy to catch more customers perhaps??

devnull

p_haugh wrote: »

I’ve also noticed that the destination display for the 700 from the airport has changed. It now says “CITY CENTRE” before changing to “for Leopardstown” in small text. Another ploy to catch more customers perhaps??

Not sure that's a ploy that will do much.

Things like that work well when you have two operators within sight of each other and you want to emphasise that you offer something. If for example Aircoach had the Airlink stops, I'd totally see why they would do that but your average person who sees Dublin Express and Airlink won't even bother to walk further.

However the only people that would see it would be the people that have already gone past their two competitors and those have probably already decided not to use Airlink or Dublin Express anyway so it's not going to influence people much at the end of the day as the only people will see it will be the already converted or long time users.

The only viable strategy for Aircoach would be to try and push marketing of forward booking. Their walk up business is going to get hit quite a bit from next week for those who are going to the city centre, no doubt about that so the best way of overcoming that problem is to try and create a culture of securing passengers before they land.

To be fair to Aircoach, having the online price at €8 return but not cutting the cash price is very sensible. The problem for them having a good walk-up price for city centre travel is people may then feel there is no benefit to booking in advance and then they are liable to go with someone else on the day.

belfast stephen

i thought Dublin epress would have been all over facebook pushing there new serivces but they have been very quiet

devnull

Aircoach have issued a press release, although not sure how well the media outlets will take it up, as it's not exactly news at the end of the day, although it does stress a few USPs and the history of the company and it's background and what it's doing at the moment etc.

https://www.ittn.ie/news/aircoach-is-on-the-move-at-dublin-airport/

Aircoach, Airport Coach Operator of the Year 2020, which is celebrating 20 years in business, will relocate to its new pick up location at Dublin Airport’s Terminal 1 from Tuesday, March 3rd at 01.00am. The move will now see customers departing from the coach park at Zone 11, located just a minute’s walk from Terminal 1.

Aircoach is Ireland’s longest-serving provider of 24-hour coach services, operating across five key routes. Aircoach connects Dublin Airport – Dublin City Centre – Donnybrook – Leopardstown every 15 minutes which includes its popular O’Connell Street stop; while its Dublin Airport – Greystones and Dublin Airport – Dalkey/ Killiney services run every hour via Ballsbridge. For its intercity routes, Aircoach runs hourly services from Cork and Belfast cities to Dublin City Centre and Dublin Airport.

In 2019, Aircoach transported over 2.6 million passengers, an increase on 2018 numbers. The company also introduced a new mobile ticketing app in the summer of 2019, offering customers more options to pre-pay for their tickets, avoiding having to queue at the ticket desk at Dublin Airport. 2019 also saw Aircoach partner with St. Michaels’s House services for the intellectually disabled as their charity partner.

As the official coach supplier to Leinster Rugby, team members Gary Ringrose, Ed Byrne and Jack Conan were on hand to announce Aircoach’s relocation in Dublin Airport.

This March, Aircoach will also invest €1.3 million in their Cork-Dublin route, with the introduction of five new state of the art vehicles on the 24 hour, seven days a week, transport service between these two important urban centres and Dublin Airport.

Simon Goff, Interim Managing Director of Aircoach said, “We are committed to providing the best possible services for our customers, making journeys even easier and as hassle free as possible across our five routes connecting Dublin City, Cork and Belfast. Investing in new coaches and technology has enabled us to grow over the last number of years and improve our customer experience. With more people now choosing to use public transport than ever before, efficiency is key and our new pick up/ drop off location in Dublin Airport’s Zone 11 will enable Aircoach to continue to provide the most efficient service for our customers.”

In November of 2019, Aircoach received the award for ‘Coach Operator of the Year – Airport Services’ at the 2020 Fleet Bus and Coach Awards.

For all the PR that the above has, the simple fact is it won't make up for the fact they're now out of the way for walk-up passengers or those heading through the city centre. You'd have to ask why it's took being relegated from a prime spot at Dublin Airport for their PR and marketing efforts to effectively wake up.

devnull

belfast stephen wrote: »

i thought Dublin epress would have been all over facebook pushing there new serivces but they have been very quiet

Waiting for tomorrow I've heard...

Surprisingly still no response from Airlink.

koutoubia

belfast stephen wrote: »

i thought Dublin epress would have been all over facebook pushing there new serivces but they have been very quiet

They may have other things to be worrying about :P

coylemj

Anyone reading the first part of that Aircoach press release (which only mentions departures) would be forgiven for assuming that they will continue to set down at T2.

You have to wade through all of the self-congratulatory PR BS to read that Zone 11 will be for both set down and pick up.

AlekSmart

coylemj wrote: »

Anyone reading the first part of that Aircoach press release (which only mentions departures) would be forgiven for assuming that they will continue to set down at T2.

You have to wade through all of the self-congratulatory PR BS to read that Zone 11 will be for both set down and pick up.

The Press Release also mentions an Interim Managing Director,Simon Goff.

So,what has become of Dervla McKay,who's arrival at the helm was rather more well publicised in 2018 ?

http://www.donegalwoman.ie/2018/05/31/dervla-mckay-leads-way-new-career-appointment/

devnull

AlekSmart wrote: »

The Press Release also mentions an Interim Managing Director,Simon Goff.

So,what has become of Dervla McKay,who's arrival at the helm was rather more well publicised in 2018 ?

http://www.donegalwoman.ie/2018/05/31/dervla-mckay-leads-way-new-career-appointment/

She's believed to be using her entitlement to leave at the moment.

Meanwhile the Aircoach website has been given a fresh lick of paint - amazing what a bit of competition can do!

devnull

Dublin Express realtime info is up
https://coachtracker.dublinexpress.ie/

devnull

New Bus Stop Layout
Click here for the new bus stops zone map in force from 3rd March 2020.

stephenjmcd

One of the Dublin Express just passed me on the quays heading for the airport. 1 passenger on it. A full 747 behind it.

Think they need to do a bit more advertising to take off

devnull

stephenjmcd wrote: »

One of the Dublin Express just passed me on the quays heading for the airport. 1 passenger on it. A full 747 behind it.

Think they need to do a bit more advertising to take off

That's to be expected and not worrying at all.

Dublin Express will be more focused on traffic going the other way initially. Those loadings are the key in the early days as ultimately the walk up guys at the airport will be the future passengers from the city too with the free return offer.

Wonder how Aircoach 700 loads are holding up from the airport and how the bleed is distributed between airlink and Dublin Express.

devnull

Aircoach have posted quite a nifty video showing how to get to their new stops from T1.

https://www.facebook.com/147682021969449/posts/3559554237448860/

Also is it me or right at the start of the video does the screen in the lobby of arrivals appear to be showing a map of new stop too? If so that's very clever advertising booking by aircoach.

p_haugh

devnull wrote: »

Also is it me or right at the start of the video does the screen in the lobby of arrivals appear to be showing a map of new stop too? If so that's very clever advertising booking by aircoach.

It does indeed, quite a clever move!

koutoubia

stephenjmcd wrote: »

One of the Dublin Express just passed me on the quays heading for the airport. 1 passenger on it. A full 747 behind it.

Think they need to do a bit more advertising to take off

Airport outound was surprising busy.
And even if there was only one person on the return ...it being the first day it was a good result for DE/NEX.

belfast stephen

I see there is a Volvo jonkheere in full Dublin Express livery aswell. I wonder is that the jonkheere that was in full NX livery for the cork to London service

belfast stephen

Anyone know how the 3 new services are running and what the loading are like

mickmmc

My observations:

The Aircoach service I used set down at terminal 2.

There is no loop of terminal 2 to terminal 1, which saves 5 mins.

The 191 Leinster Rugby branded Panther was on the 702 City Direct service.

There is only parking for 3 coaches in Zone 11 for Aircoach. Space is tight for the size of the Aircoach operation.

devnull

mickmmc wrote: »

My observations:

The Aircoach service I used set down at terminal 2.

There is no loop of terminal 2 to terminal 1, which saves 5 mins.

The 191 Leinster Rugby branded Panther was on the 702 City Direct service.

There is only parking for 3 coaches in Zone 11 for Aircoach. Space is tight for the size of the Aircoach operation.

They've reconfigured that part of the bus park to allow a further coach in that row to what it was before the changes. Have to say that Aircoach have decorated it well though, looks good even if the majority of people won't see it.

That Leinster wrapped Panther is for 700/702/703 only and frequently gets hooked off for events for charities and Leinster Rugby team work, the rest of the 2019 Panthers are for the Cork route.

From what I've seen Aircoach have been hit ex airport for passengers by a fair bit although their to airport passenger numbers have not yet took a hit but I assume they will soon when tourists start using their free return journey to travel back to airport.