Whats with the new DB decker bus colours? The yellow seems to be exactly the same colour as City Link and the blue, exactly the same as Aircoach. Is this intentional? And why is it 747 drivers wave to us Aircoaches and no other DB's bother? Am quite hurt :-)
[posted by: Aircoach Man]
BUSRAGE Discussions » Fleet
Bus Colours
(18 posts)-
Posted 4 years ago #
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They have to use every excuse they can to claim that there is no money for improving actual service.Posted 4 years ago #
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I always wave at some of my former colleagues,but they usually seem to be in such a hurry that they never see me....Posted 4 years ago #
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Its impossible to be in a hurry in a Setra!
[posted by: Aircoach Man]Posted 4 years ago # -
Al,
As has been pointed out to your before (though you do have a penchant for not listening to that which you do not wish to hear) the change of colours is not taking any additional funding that the company could use for other things, in fact, it is saving the company money on their existing repaint bill.
All Dublin Buses, in line with best practice in other major companies of the same size, go through a three-year refurbishment cycle (i.e. when 3, 6, 9, years old).
Buses have intense usage, with multiple drivers, and by the time each three-year refurb comes around, the bus will have clocked up a quarter of a million Km (even up to a quarter of a million MILES in some cases).
To see what the refurb programme involves, use the following link:
http://www.allaboutbuses.com/40130-dbrook.html
As you can see, at the end of the process, if the buses were not repainted, they would look pretty stupid. And doubtless people would bitch.
Now by changing from a variety of different colours and brands (failed marketing idea imported from the UK in mid-90s) to one single standard livery for all vehicles (except Airlink/Tours) the outside contractors who do the respraying are able to offer the company a reduced rate for the same number of vehicles. This applies particularly over the old "City Swift" branding, the painting of which was more expensive than the other liveries.
And as I mentioned here before, the new livery was designed by Dublin Bus staff, at no outside cost (other than the cost of having a couple of trial resprays done).
Al, there are many, many, many other ways in which the company wastes money.
But the new livery is NOT one of them!
SoS
[posted by: Steve O'Shea]Posted 4 years ago # -
I`m sure you mean ANOTHER ("failed marketing idea imported from the UK in mid-90s") And thanks be to Seamus we shall import plenty more of them.......!Posted 4 years ago #
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WADR, the repaint cycle seems to still bespeak "porking up" the operational/maintenance budget—and I am speaking of changing paint schemes every aforementioned three-year cycle, which requires hiring graphic designers and consulting firms and all that. Not to mention that perhaps they are skimping on the quality of paint used? Even after a half-million kilometres (or miles, as noted), the paint job of the bus (assuming that the body has survived relatively intact) should need touching-up and not a whole re-do.
Posted 4 years ago # -
You're ignoring both the fact that the new livery was designed in-house by the ordinary operational and management staff - no consultants involved - and the fact that the very large amount of body refurbishment involved in these refurbs is such that a respray is neccessary, otherwise even with re-touching, the thing would look like a patchwork quilt.
The paintwork itself is usually fairly decent after three years, but the body somewhat less so!
Again, this new standard livery is intended to sweep away all the marketing gimmick liveries - City Swift, City Imp, Core - which *were* ill-thought out marketing gimmicks of the 90s.
Their introduction belied the operational reality of running bus services, that vehicles can, and will have to work on any given route in a garage due to operational neccessity. The company further devalued the supposedly "premium" City Swift concept by retro-painting some of the oldest buses in it as a stopgap for new deliveries.
They then imported another silly idea from the UK - route-branding, with "Stillorgan Flyer" and "Fingal Flyer" etc - further tying buses to routes, and further devaluing the branding as the Stillorgan Flyers could be found on the 14, and the Malahide Road ones ended up on the 130.
The new livery is actually one of the better, and money-saving ideas of the company, and unlike the others, it came from the people on the shop floor - the maintainence workers tired of having to use a different colour for every repair job, the drivers tired of being asked why they were not flying to Stillorgan, and the junior bean-counters, who realised that paying extra money to painting contractors for several complicated liveries was a waste of money.
SoS
[posted by: Steve O Shea]Posted 4 years ago # -
As regards route branding btw, it works very well for small operators with one or maybe two routes, it's just that trying to apply it to a garage with 280 vehicles on dozens of routes never works . . .
SoS
[posted by: Steve O'Shea]Posted 4 years ago # -
A graphic designer might cost a few bob but one should have been used. The colour's are awful,in particular the yellow.
[posted by: Graham]Posted 4 years ago # -
They also tried a similar scheme with white instead of yellow, but they decided that the end result looked "too cold".
http://www.allaboutbuses.com/30909-av84.html
SoS
[posted by: Steve O'Shea]Posted 4 years ago # -
Funny how everybody here in Ireland thinks all state decisions and ideas are "awful".
Luas, Port Tunnel, M50 extension and even the new DB bus colours!
Just an observation.
Just my opinion:
Dont take Ireland for granted. Compare it to a s**te hole like the UK and you will see we all actualy live in a pretty nice place.
[posted by: Aircoach Man]Posted 4 years ago # -
Yeah I seen the white version,thought it was the business.
I've been to England on numerous occasion's and always thought it was a bit of a run down kip meself.
You have to admit the organisation of the Luas construction and the port tunnel on top of the M50 debacle takes away from the pleasure of the place.DCC planners have their head up their arses
However good Ireland may be to live in it's far from perfect and our on the take politicians are a shower of git's.
Yet the rich will keep voting for Bertie's mob while the rest of us moan about it and go the pub on polling day.
[posted by: Graham]Posted 4 years ago # -
Yep..AC Man speaks a bit of common sense,or even cop-on sense.
There is an increasing and very palpable unease with some of what is happenin in this Republick.
One wonders where the likes of Brennan and more particularly Ms Harney believe their support base lies.
The numbers of people returning from visits to the UK with horror stories of non existent Public Transport after 19.00 or at Weekends is becoming embarrasing.
Local Councils forced to assume responsibility for Bus Services "Vacated" by the high-flying First`s and Stagecoaches are now having to withdraw even those supports because they have no money.
Even New York City has had to call a halt to its Bus Franchising operations because they DID NOT WORK.
If Mayor Bloomberg and Gov Pataki cannot get the thing going then what makes Seamus Brennan think his capatalist instincts are more finely honed than theirs......Unless Ms Harney is filling his empty cranuim full of helium gas..????Posted 4 years ago # -
Funny how everybody here in Ireland thinks all state decisions and ideas are "awful".
Luas, Port Tunnel, M50 extension and even the new DB bus colours!
The first three I do take partial exception to. The fourth I stand corrected on. However, we can add one very valid one to the list, that of the reduction of DB services...how does the state think that will help anything?
And as far as taking Ireland for granted, that's just what Leinster House is doing—they want to make it worse than the UK with their car-oriented transportation policy. But we'll leave that for the appropriate threads (of which, on this forum, there are numerous)...Posted 4 years ago # -
YO...Al Ma Man..!!!
Real juicy stuff to be found lurking behind The Dept of Transport`s decision to rescind permission for Bus Eireanns massive upgrade of the Dundalk/Drogheda/Dublin service,route 100/101.
The upgrade would have delivered a Low Floor Easy Access 20 min peak service with 30 mins off peak from 0530 to 0030 Mon to friday.
A 30 Min all day Sat serviceand an hourly service all day Sunday.
26 new driving jobs and in excess of 20 NEW LFDD buses.
A total expenditure of circa E20 million.
This would have been the First Inter-Provincial QBC and had great beneficial potential for towns such as Laytown,Bettystown,Stamullen,Balbriggan and many other new emerging communities en route.
The reason for the last minute change of heart......Well Seamus does`nt like Monopolies (Even if they work) and the licencing section of the Dept luckily had an application for a largely peak time Dundalk-Dublin COACH service via Drogheda from a company called Matthews Coaches of Iniskeen Co Monaghan.
SO.....as long as you are not a mobility impaired resident of any of the above towns or a present user of the Bus Eireann service you will indeed see some merit in the new service.
maybe it`s a good thing too as it once again shows up the Minister and his Department as a shower of cynical shysters who beat their breasts concerning disability access and the rights of that section of the community,before scurrying off to facilitate yet another NEW commuter service utilising a variety of bog standard high-floor touring coaches.
Well, if I was a resident of those dormitory towns I would be standing on the FF/PD canvassers toes as I asked them the question...."Were yiz all taught by the Flynn Family " ????Posted 4 years ago # -
Just to put Alek's point into even starker perspective:
The Bus Eireann service had been planned for more than 9 months, and would have provided a massivly improved service to people in all the expanding towns between Drogheda and Dublin - including the ever expanding Balbriggan and Balrothery.
The new buses had been delivered, when the licence was recinded by the Department of transport just FOUR DAYS before the proposed start date.
And this is so that a private operator, who will serve only two stops - central Dundalk and central Drodgeda - and ONLY at peak times - can be given preference.
A similar licence for a much improved Dublin-Derry service to be jointly operated by Bus Eireann and Ulsterbus was also issued, and then quashed just 2 days before it was due to come into operation.
The stench of dirty doings emenating from the department of Transport is getting unbearable . . .
SoS
[posted by: Steve O Shea]Posted 4 years ago # -
I am of the firm belief that the actions of the Minister for Transport in this matter are inconsistent with ethical practice vis a vis Mr Brennans position as the shareholder and effective overseer of central company policy.
I also understand that some consideration was given by Bus Eireann management to unilaterally introducing the service but this was dismissed after mature reflection.
I however believe that the Trades Unions (Especially the ICTU Itself) could and should seek counsel`s opinion on the Ministers actions.
On the surface it would appear that certain officials in the Dept of Transport are using their official powers to demand confidential commercially sensitive information from Bus Eireann.
The events to date then suggest that this information is finding it`s way to the competing Private Sector operators who,as a result,are able to frame licence applications in such a manner as to give the impression of a new and competitive service.
Again,the reality to date is that the subsequent approval of such services is being used by sections of the Department to undermine the trading position of Bus Eireann.
In some cases the Department can be accused of "Hawking Around" Bus Eireann plans in the hope of stimulating private applications and of continuing to unduly delay pre-existing Bus Eireann Applications even when the "Privates" failed to respond.
The worrying aspect in this and potentially the most damaging is the growing suspicion in some circles that "Understandings" are in place between certain industry members and the responsible sections within the Dept.
As yet these are unfounded and possibly even malicious and thus must be regarded with scepticism BUT the Departments persistence with it`s present policy in regard to Bus Eireann can only attract more questioning as to the Motives of Departmental Higher Officials and finally the Minister himself.
I believe that the courts should now become involved to rule on the Ministers powers to force Bus Eireann board members and management to undertake actions damaging to the good standing of the company,it`s employees,and customers.
Time for the Minister to come clean I think !!Posted 4 years ago #
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