Public Transport at Christmas

S

Sunny

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That time of year again when CIE decide that because they don't want to work, nobody should have to work. Can anyone explain why Irish Rail are operating a Saturday service today (normal working day for most people), no commuter trains or darts at all on St Stephens day and no service on New Years Eve after about 8pm. Is it any wonder these guys are losing money. :mad:
 
from the traffic this morning coming into Dublin, I got the impression that no one was working today.
Given what CIE would have to pay staff to work on Christmas Day and the low numbers travelling on that day, would it actually be worth their while financially to run a service?
 
Financially it should not matter, it's a public service that should service the public. If it was a private company then fair enough but it aint.
 
St. Bernard said:
Financially it should not matter, it's a public service that should service the public. If it was a private company then fair enough but it aint.
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And here's me thinking the govt wanted to cut public service spending and get value for money??
 
Hear, hear. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all the men and women of C.I.E. Good job you all did over the last year.
 
Fingalian said:
Good job you all did over the last year.
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In what way exactly did they do a 'good job?' Other than turn up for work, do the job they are paid for ( just about in many cases) and ensure transport is roughly on time I certainly didn't see anything that would constitute a ' good job' :confused:
 
My apologies Caveat, I should have phrased that ‘good job you did for me’. Over the course of a year I do a 30 mile + roundtrip commute, 5 days a week for roughly 48 weeks, I was late for work twice and that was because of bridge strikes. That constitutes a ‘good job’ in my book. So well done CIE.
 
Posters are reminded of PG 10


pg10 said:
Controversy and argument are welcome. But please keep your comments civil. Attack an opinion by all means, but please don't attack the person expressing the opinion.
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I have no problem with there being no public transport on Christmas Day. I agree that drivers deserve a day to spend with their families - and before anyone jumps on me, all those in the emergency services do too, but unfortunately, patients have an annoying habit of not making miraculous recoveries in time to shut down the hospitals for a day, nor do other emergencies schedule themselves very well.

What does bug me, however, is Dublin Bus's tendency to not provide the expected service on the other days around Christmas. A couple of years ago, my DH waited in vain for over an hour to get the first of 2 buses home from work (for him, being in retail, it was a normal working day). Although the bus service was advertised to run until 9pm, by 6pm the drivers were ending their runs and returning to the garage - passing my husband, who was waiting to catch a bus into the city centre. He eventually gave up and had to take a taxi instead.
 
My original post had nothing to do with public transport on Christmas Day. It was the days around it that I don't understand. Why on earth is there no rail service on Stephens Day considering all the sporting events etc that are on that day? Imagine people in London or Paris been told that their rail system was being shut down for 2 days.

And Complainer, Christmas Eve is a normal working day for most people and it is rubbish to suggest that it is not. Maybe you are one of the fortunate people who doesn't have to work it but banks, pubs, shops, hospitals, etc etc etc were still open.
 
Celtwytch said:
What does bug me, however, is Dublin Bus's tendency to not provide the expected service on the other days around Christmas. A couple of years ago, my DH waited in vain for over an hour to get the first of 2 buses home from work (for him, being in retail, it was a normal working day). Although the bus service was advertised to run until 9pm, by 6pm the drivers were ending their runs and returning to the garage - passing my husband, who was waiting to catch a bus into the city centre. He eventually gave up and had to take a taxi instead.
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I had this too, on New Years Eve some years ago I was to meet my girl friend who lived on the Northside, when for a bus (46a, 63, 84 or 86) at 6 waited an hour gave up and had to get a lift from my folks. Called CIE next day and was told that buses had been running normally.

Here's a test.

Call Donnybrook garage today and ask if buses will be running normally, then wait at a bus stop for an hour (say between 8 and 9) and count all the buses you see.
 
Sunny said:
And Complainer, Christmas Eve is a normal working day for most people and it is rubbish to suggest that it is not. Maybe you are one of the fortunate people who doesn't have to work it but banks, pubs, shops, hospitals, etc etc etc were still open.
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As it is the panto season, I have to say 'Oh no it's not'. Having been in my bank branch on Xmas eve morning, it was nothing like a normal working day. It was mince pies and wine and lots of chatting. They closed at lunchtime. Is that your definition of 'normal working day'. Indeed retail and emergency services continue to operate as normal, but most office and manufacturing companies will NOT have a normal working day on Xmas eve.
 
Complainer said:
As it is the panto season, I have to say 'Oh no it's not'. Having been in my bank branch on Xmas eve morning, it was nothing like a normal working day. It was mince pies and wine and lots of chatting. They closed at lunchtime. Is that your definition of 'normal working day'. Indeed retail and emergency services continue to operate as normal, but most office and manufacturing companies will NOT have a normal working day on Xmas eve.
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How were the mince pies?
 
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