I've had enough.
Seriously.
Not only do I not have a car, I can't drive. Which means I am totally dependant on public transport. Which is the cause of my desperation.
I've lived on the Swords side of the 41 bus route for almost 8 years now. And its always been terrible. Never the most frequent bus service in the world, its levels of service have now deteriorated to appalling lows. Its the sort of bus that you have to go out for a certain time, coz if you just go out on the off-chance of getting a bus, you'll be waiting ages. But now, the bus drivers appear to change the route depending on the traffic, or their mood at that particular time. And I'm sick of it. And I don't know what to do. I'm sick and tired of waiting for over an hour because 5 drivers in a row decided that they didn't want to go around the pavillions roundabout, and took a short cut through the village instead, bypassing my stop. And I'm sick of coming home from town late at night, and adding a 15 minute walk down a badly lit road, coz of the same reason. And if I decide to get the bus home from the airport on a sunday, why of course the drivers will leave it out of their route coz traffic was heavy and they were behind schedule.
Is the 41 the only route that drivers can arbitrarily omit parts of their route because they can't be bothered sitting in traffic ? And if the traffic is such an issue, why don't they post notices at the bus stops that are left out, advising passengers to go to the village at certain times ? Or advise passengers on boarding the bus, that they will be making a change to their route ?
And what can I do about this ? If I write yet another letter to Dublin Bus customer service, it will be ignored. If I call their customer service lines, no doubt I will receive some standard line about how they are looking into the matter, but nothing will change. How can I effect some real change and get the sort of bus service that my friends have ? Buses that actually arrive a decent interval apart, and go the route they are scheduled to take. Advice please ! Coz I really can't take this anymore....
BUSRAGE Discussions » Timetables and Routes
41 route service deterioration
(23 posts)-
Posted 4 years ago #
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Your best bet may be to look up the number of Summerhill Garage, store it into your mobile and the next time your bus doesn't turn up, ring them immediately. There is no excuse for drivers taking shortcuts on any route for any reason. I drive for DB and like most drivers, would never dream of making unofficial alterations to my route. Occasionally though, when traffic in a particular area is very heavy, my inspector may tell me to take a shortcut or two in order to remain on schedule. Generally, bus drivers don't mind sitting in traffic because if it causes us to run over time, we are paid accordingly. In fact, I find that sitting in traffic gives me a good opportunity to manually evacuate the contents of my nasal estuary. Others prefer to do the Herald crossword.
[posted by: Mr Angry]Posted 4 years ago # -
Record everything and then write the head office with the list.
Phoning Summerhill Garage is probably a good immediate solution but writing will hopefully inspire long term changes.Posted 4 years ago # -
The same happens on the 210. Its supposed to turn right at ep mooney from long mile road and then left onto Naas road but usually continues up longmile road to Naas road junction leaving 3 stops of people stranded. Happened again last Thursday at 14.30pm.
[posted by: a2000]Posted 4 years ago # -
The same happens with the 49 and 77A heading to Tallaght, coming from Old Bawn Road they go up the Tallaght BY-PASS and by pass the whole of Tallaght Village including the college and also the entrance to the hospital...
I agree the best thing to do is ring the garage - not the customer help line (which you'll usually find is answered by some untrained employee who could'nt care less if you're stranded on mars)...
Ringing the depot is generally the best thing - get the name of the person you are talking to and make a note of it - if the problem continues use these details to further your complaint, it also helps to have the reg no. of the bus as this can trace the driver and duty.
It simply is not acceptable for a bus driver not to do his/her job - its no different from paying for any other service, you boarded the bus with the advertised information that your bus was going to a particular part of Swords - if the bus decides mid-journey not to go the proper route then you should be compensated or refunded. If i was in a restaurant and my ordered food was changed to something of lesser quality because the kitchen was too busy i certainly would'nt pay the full price - its the same thing - if Dublin Bus can't bring you the proper routing on the 41 they should inform you on boarding so at least you can make the choice there and then......
[posted by: P]Posted 4 years ago # -
As another BAC driver,I agree totally with Driver Angry.
This sort of ad-hoc nonsense is making our Job a whole lot worse for those who DO try to work within the regulations.
Not only does it leave us with disaffected passengers to deal with but it also means that the Root cause of the problem (IE: The mess around the Pavillions SC) will NEVER be addressed simply because Fingal Co Co/The Gardai/ and BAC will look up their Duty Print Outs and see everything running tickety-boo and will flatly contradict the complainant.
Most of this type of nonsense is a direct result of cack-handed traffic planning courtesy of University Graduates poring over red-hot PC screens and making educated guesses based on the Info coming from numerous "Studies" etc etc. Result Garbage in=Garbage Out.
In addition BAC has given up totally on the concept of efficient and visible En-Route Supervision relying now on our new Tait Radio system which while admirable in many ways,leaves individual Drivers totally isolated from the general sense of how their Route is running.
Drivers no longer have the ability to hear the general control conversation which under the old Storno system allowed them to suggest or advise alterations based on Actual situations as they developed.
Swords is a location which could be served with a ten minute headway service Mon-Sat and this should be the Goal.
Any situations such as the Pav should simply be Sorted out Tout Suite with no faffing about.
In the meantime,keep your mobile fully loaded and the holster flap open....Posted 4 years ago # -
I just hope that DB’s solution is not to get rid of the 41/A/B/C and replace it with the 16 and 16A extended north from Aerphort Átha Cliath…although the 16/16A do run more frequently than any of the 41s/alpha suffixes, they do have to come all the way from Ballinteer or Churchtown first…
(Sure, they can always extend the number 2 bus from Parnell Square to Shanard Road… :- )Posted 4 years ago # -
swords_resident I really sympathise with you, I grew up from Swords and lived there for 27 years and the service was mostly really bad. The worst thing about it was that most users have been forced off public transport into buying cars or car pooling. When I was going to school in the city in the late 1980s, the buses from Swords were so jam packed, that you had difficulties getting on at JCs. There was actually a more frequent service in or around 1987 than there is now. Yet the population of Swords has probably doubled, and bus usage has collapsed.
I agree with your point about the drivers altering the services but there is a real need for commuter services from Swords to the airport. There is a huge population working there and as far as I can see every one of them seems to have a parking space and drives to work. Also now that there is a QBC, surely the service should be made more frequent to get people to use it?
As for the mess that is the Pavillions roundabout - this was always a bad spot - used to be particularly dangerous before they put lights on it, too. The problem is the Pavillions for anybody coming from outside Swords (ironically there seems to be a huge increase in pedestrian traffic as lots of people living within a 10 minute radius seem to be walking).
When I moved to Cork first I couldn't help noticing that Douglas, with a population of 1/3 of Swords, has a more frequent bus service. The service in Swords is pathetic and there is a real need to demand a better service as lots of people would use it.Posted 4 years ago # -
I am so sorry to be ignorant, but despite the terrible bus service, is there a bus that goes from malahide to Hertz Europe in Swords in the business park?Posted 2 years ago #
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The 41 does not connect Swords and Malahide.Posted 2 years ago #
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I am not sure of this, but is the 41 (etc) the only route from Dublin to Swords? I really think thet the Airport detour must be grossly disruptive to Swords people, and that there should be an alternative route which skips the airport completely.Posted 2 years ago #
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Be patient word is that there is more buses going on the bus corridor,and as for Malahide to Sword,s the 230 serves bothPosted 2 years ago #
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I saw on the noticeboard in Harristown at the CIE Rally that the 102/230 joining together was approved and it awaiting clearance from someone/thing!
The 41C does not serve the Airport but operates via Borimhe, River Valley Swords Vilage, Glen Ellan, into Swords Manor.
The 41 operates via the Airport direct via Swords Village to Swords Manor.
Therefore the 41/C mainly serve Swords Village, and as for more buses, this will probably happen when we get the new 200 buses this year, the first 100 AX's [449- 548] are expected to arrive by the start of April/May
Dublin bus Forum
[posted by: D42C]Posted 2 years ago # -
By the way I believe if the 102/230 were to be joined together they would connect Swords to the Airport hence no need for the 41 to do so!
The 16A coudl always connect the City to the Airport as could the 746/7/8
[posted by: D42C]Posted 2 years ago # -
16A would be too unreliable as there is no way to time a bus leaving Nutgrove to arrive in city centre. Same for 746. At 5 euro 747/748 too expensive.
[posted by: a2000]Posted 2 years ago # -
the 43 has a terminus in swords business park, but operated thru feltrim and has recently got a frequency increase
[posted by: 122]Posted 2 years ago # -
amalagate the 41 & 77 togetherPosted 2 years ago #
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Nope too long!!
[posted by: D42B]Posted 2 years ago # -
Hello D42B how was my post on 25/03/06 at 11:08 be too longPosted 2 years ago #
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why do you think? - the journey time on that route would be way to long, well over 150 minutes...
[posted by: D42C]Posted 2 years ago # -
amalagate the 41 & 1 togetherPosted 2 years ago #
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Makes ense to have a bus every 20 minutes in Poolbeg doesnt it??
[posted by: D42A]Posted 2 years ago # -
when is db gonna amalagate the 41 & 1 together as it will keep dublin city council happy
[posted by: qvc]Posted 2 years ago #
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