I was in NI over Christmas and some of the local councils had left grit boxes at the entrances to some estates for this very purpose
Weather Disrupts Bus Services
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I was in NI over Christmas and some of the local councils had left grit boxes at the entrances to some estates for this very purpose
Oh my Gawd! Walk to school, are you serious??? Their Ugg boots might get dirty and as for the effect on their GHD straightened hair!!! Anyway, why did mummy and daddy buy that big huge SUV, if not to park in clearways and on double yellows so that their little darlings won't have to walk an inch more than necessary?
Again, Dublin Bus lets us down. Standed 100,000s of commuters in Dublin City Centre today by pulling all its services with no warning just before evening rush hour. Bus Eireann buses seemed to be coping well with the conditions, but DB wouldnt run buses along the very same city streets that BE was driving along. Weather was bad, but all the main arteries were driveable.
They could have moved the Ice Skating from Smithfield in Dublin up to O'Connell Street this afternoon thats how bad things were there. Dublin Bus would have put the safety of all passengers, other road users and their drivers at risk and I think they made the right decision.
+1 No way buses could have made it on my route. This despite being landed with a 10 mile walk to get home.
I suppose the problem for Dublin Bus is that those other services stick to major roads, whereas a lot od DB services divert through some estates etc. I can only speak from what I saw yesterday and the Malahide Road (especially up to Marino and then past Clare Hall) would have been way too dangerous for a bus.
I'm sure some limited service could have been provided, but not sure how big that service could have been.
I agree but yesterday was chaos and while I am not blaming Dublin Bus I am just not sure what sort of contingencies are in place for things like this. Maybe there is nothing that can be done but Dublin is so reliant on bus services that there should be some sort of plan of action. Even if we closed all the main routes into Dublin for a hour or 2, gritted them and then got traffic going again. There would be chaos but at least people would have a way home to the main areas.
I think the simple asnwer is: none whatsoever.
Not entirely sure what contingencies could be in place bar regular gritting through the day, which would be a start.
I know it's a lame excuse to play the "unprecidented" card, but it'll be a month soon without any true thaw. Yesterday was snow, hail, sleet lying on ice then getting compacted by vehicles. You'd probably have needed several inches of grit down to prevent that.
Looks like we're due more over the weekend, heading over from East.
How can you make a large snowfall out of this picture?
To be honest I am hoping for a decent snow on higher ground because I'll be climbing this weekend, its magic up there.
I'm missing something, why can't buses travel if cars and trucks can? If it's a case of housing estates being too difficult can't they bypass them and take an alternative route leaving people to have a bit of a walk home but a lot closer than having to get home from city center. Does Dublin Bus not have contingency plans for 2 cm of snow and some ice?
I agree that Dublin Bus put up a poor showing yesterday. The bus I was on was suddenly pulled off the road mid route and everyone just had to get off and find another way of getting home. In fairness, though, given how quick people are nowadays to scream 'compensation' you can understand how DB might be very nervous of even taking the slightest risk of a skid or slide. There would be bound to be someone on the bus claiming whiplash and looking for a big handout.
truthseeker
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Ceist Beag
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For anyone travelling by bus this evening, this is from dublinbus.ie
Due to the deteriorating conditions and in the interest of safety last departures outbound and inbound will leave at 20:00hrs on all services. Dublin Bus would encourage all customers to travel as early as possible. Both DART and Luas will honour Dublin Bus Tickets after 20:00hrs.
Due to the deteriorating conditions and in the interest of safety last departures outbound and inbound will leave at 20:00hrs on all services. Dublin Bus would encourage all customers to travel as early as possible. Both DART and Luas will honour Dublin Bus Tickets after 20:00hrs.
[quote To be honest I am hoping for a decent snow on higher ground because I'll be climbing this weekend, its magic up there.[/quote]
That probably would not be adviseable, mountain rescue teams have been on the radio, asking people not to go hill walking etc, as well as putting themselves at risk you are also putting the recuse services at risk, its very easy to trip & fall in this weather & accourding to the guy from Kerry, if you fell,its on hard ground so it easier to injure yourself.
Go for a walk in your nearest park & enjoy that
That probably would not be adviseable, mountain rescue teams have been on the radio, asking people not to go hill walking etc, as well as putting themselves at risk you are also putting the recuse services at risk, its very easy to trip & fall in this weather & accourding to the guy from Kerry, if you fell,its on hard ground so it easier to injure yourself.
Go for a walk in your nearest park & enjoy that
teatime, unless you are really well equipped and very experienced, don't try any climbing + getting there might be challenging at the moment
add to that that mountain rescue teams over here may not be as experienced and equipped to deal with a potential rescue situation if need arises ...
you're missing the fact that a double decker bus is a lot bigger, less stable, and harder to control on ice. Plus carries a lot of passengers, with no seat belts. Would YOU drive a double decker bus on sheets of ice, on slopes and hills and windy roads? No, but you expect others to do it so as not to put you out.
Buses cannot drive when it is not safe to do so. Its not rocket science. And as for contingencies, what exactly do you expect Dublin Bus to do when its not safe to drive buses? lay on some helicopters for you?
Well isn't a truck bigger? Why is a bus less stable, what if you go really slowly and carefully on the main routes with passengers only on the bottom wouldn't that be ok? I presume a double decker is worse than a normal bus, how about using normal buses if they are safer?
Where I am we have an inch of snow and -6 today but I've brought the kids to school all week and I've not heard of any public transport not working so I don't see how Dublin Bus is any different, this doesn't happen in Stockholm, Minneapolis, Bonn etc.
What if this continues for another 3 weeks, does it mean no public transport and no schools open?
Instead of a helicopter how about an army truck to do the bus routes, I'm sure people wouldn't mind as long as they could get to and from work.
At least there should be some solutions or even a plan of what do do when there is 'some' snow and ice. You'd think it was the ice age instead of 2 cm of snow.
I was in the West and South over xmas and there was snow and ice for days on end (by now nearly 3 weeks in some places) but I don't recall any city buses stopping in Sligo, Galway, Limerick or Cork, why is Dublin different? I would have thought with the volume of traffic day and night that if the buses and cars are constantly on the roads it would keep them clear?
DublinTexas
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What is more amazing is that our government did nothing to prepare.
With mid-term weather forecast still being more a prediction game than a 100% guarantee it is still amazing to hear that the European Center for Mid-range Weather Forecasts gave about a month warning that we are going to see a very heavy snow fall.
So our government would have had weeks to ensure that we stockpile the salt/grid needed, that our gas reserves are filled up and that plans are made to utilize the army (isn’t this a reason why we keep an army) where needed.
In true reactive fashion it takes them days of snow and heavy criticism by public to finally get the National Emergency Response Committee into gear, nearly 2 weeks since the deadly snow/ice combination started bringing down our country.
I can understand that Dublin Bus has no choice to abandon some areas because the local council is unable to keep secondary routes free of ice because it’s too dangerous but why was this not planned better?
Anything in which our government has it’s dirty fingers is a reactive business, we live from emergency (floods) over emergency budget (because we can't see the obvious) to emergency (snow/ice).
What makes it even worse is that the failure of our government to provide adequate services (for which I pay a large share of my salary) is having major effects on private businesses which are struggling anyhow due to the depression we find ourselves in.
With no traffic possible restaurants will get no business (which they need), shopping is keep to a minimum (thanks goodness I always keep a 2 week emergency supply) and other parts of our economy can’t get their vital supplies.
Sure in true reactive fashion the CER gives us a 8% decrease in Gas bill, after the current emergency is expected to be over. What a relief….
With mid-term weather forecast still being more a prediction game than a 100% guarantee it is still amazing to hear that the European Center for Mid-range Weather Forecasts gave about a month warning that we are going to see a very heavy snow fall.
So our government would have had weeks to ensure that we stockpile the salt/grid needed, that our gas reserves are filled up and that plans are made to utilize the army (isn’t this a reason why we keep an army) where needed.
In true reactive fashion it takes them days of snow and heavy criticism by public to finally get the National Emergency Response Committee into gear, nearly 2 weeks since the deadly snow/ice combination started bringing down our country.
I can understand that Dublin Bus has no choice to abandon some areas because the local council is unable to keep secondary routes free of ice because it’s too dangerous but why was this not planned better?
Anything in which our government has it’s dirty fingers is a reactive business, we live from emergency (floods) over emergency budget (because we can't see the obvious) to emergency (snow/ice).
What makes it even worse is that the failure of our government to provide adequate services (for which I pay a large share of my salary) is having major effects on private businesses which are struggling anyhow due to the depression we find ourselves in.
With no traffic possible restaurants will get no business (which they need), shopping is keep to a minimum (thanks goodness I always keep a 2 week emergency supply) and other parts of our economy can’t get their vital supplies.
Sure in true reactive fashion the CER gives us a 8% decrease in Gas bill, after the current emergency is expected to be over. What a relief….