Getting to Sandycove

luckat

What's the best way to get from town to Sandycove on public transport?

In the days of civilisation, it was possible to hop on a number 8 bus and travel from O'Connell Street straight out through Ballsbridge, Booterstown, Blackrock, Dun Laoghaire and Sandycove to Dalkey.

But it seems that there is now no direct route from town to Dalkey, except on the Dart, so anyone wanting to nip over to the Forty Foot for a quick snámh has to include a large hike.

Is this right, or am I misreading the strange website of Dublin Bus?

luckat

Bleaghh! And they call that a service? Open the buses to competition straightaway, please!

In the 1930s, when Dublin's population was under a quarter of a million, there was a really good tram service, a great bus service, and a fabulous train network. Now the government just stands around waving its hands and wailing while the streets turn into a massive traffic jam...

loyatemu

the number 8 was cancelled due to low passenger numbers - i guess people in dalkey use the Dort.

MarkoP11

Number 8 died due to lack of passengers, the DART really killed it, given the DART was more frequent and quite a bit faster (half the journey time). The whole route was parrallel the whole way out. There is a stop in Sandycove its not really that far a walk

There is a bus from Dun Laoghaire which serves Dalkey and Killiney

luckat

It's not that far a walk if you're young and fit; lots of people who swim at Sandycove aren't.

Funny thing about the Dart - it's actually slower than the old train service, which used to stop at every second station (alternating each train whether it stopped at first, third, fifth, etc or second, fourth, sixth, etc).

strassenwolf

Seapoint's probably not a bad option for those who aren't young and fit. Blue flag, lifeguards on duty all through the summer, showers for washing off the salt water, and pretty decent toilet facilities.

The windsurfers pier at Salthill is probably the most accessible from the DART line, but it doesn't have lifeguards.

John R

There was very low numbers on the 8 for years before it was cancelled and most of the passengers to Sandycove/Dalkey were only from DunLaoghaire and the 59 bus now caters for that traffic.

For the next few weeks the 7 is being diverted through Glasthule/Sandycove as Glenageary Rd Lower is closed.

luckat

The 83 used to be almost empty most of the time. People just didn't like it. It was too irregular, didn't arrive on schedule; you couldn't rely on it.

Then it was replaced by an Imp (remember those? Go minic anseo, go tapaidh ansiúd - obviously the concept didn't suit Dublin Bus, which prefers go h-annamh anseo, go mall ansiúd) - and suddenly they were packed the whole time. The Imp 83 would arrive fairly reliably every 15 or 20 minutes ("Imp 83s run every seven minutes...") and get you into town fast.

Of course, they were quickly got rid of. Part of the reason was that the drivers hated them - their cabin was roasting all the time because of the design of the bus, and was cramped. Instead of getting a better-designed Imp-sized bus that would be pleasant to drive but have the advantages of the Imp, Dublin Bus put back double-deckers on the 83 route...

I bet the same customer service thinking was involved in the death of the beloved Number 8.

Victor

luckat wrote:

It's not that far a walk if you're young and fit; lots of people who swim at Sandycove aren't.

If they aren't fit enough to walk, are they fit enough for a sea swim (arthritis aside)?

Funny thing about the Dart - it's actually slower than the old train service, which used to stop at every second station (alternating each train whether it stopped at first, third, fifth, etc or second, fourth, sixth, etc).

So If I wanted to go from the first to the fourth stop????

luckat

A dip in the sea is easier for an elderly person than a mile's walk.

If you wanted to go to the fourth stop you got the train to the third, then took the bus, AFAIK.