Public transport in Dublin. Chaos - close to breakdown?

Had to be in the city centre for 6pm (or just after0 yesterday. Starting journey at Cornelscourt stop on the N11.

Checked the TFI App just before 5pm - E1 bus due in 12 minutes. Grand, I thought - should get me in around 6pm at the latest.

Was still showing "due in 9 minutes" when I got to the stop (7/8 minutes walk from the house) It stayed stuck at 9 minutes for ages - then disappeared. Out-of-service bus sailed by...

Another due in 7 minutes - that one disappeared too, another out-of-service bus.

Eventually got on a packed/standing room only bus at 5.30pm. It crawled along, took ages at bus stops due to crowds pushing off and on and got into town (Dawson St) at 18.22pm.

Lesson: If you have to be somewhere at a certain time - leave earlier. It's not reliable...
 
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This is frankly unbelievable...

Thousands of city apartment dwellers head to Dun Laoghaire, Bray, Greystones etc on sunny bank holiday weekends. Local hospitality businesses will lose a fortune. (The likes of Howth, Malahide and Skerries will of course reap the benefits - and the massive high-spending crowds.)

www.independent.ie

Southside Dart services closed over May bank holiday weekend

Irish Rail has announced that southside Dart services will be suspended this weekend due to engineering works between Grand Canal Dock and Greystones.
www.independent.ie www.independent.ie

On May 3, 4 and 5, there will be no Dart services between Grand Canal Dock and Wicklow. Services will only operate between Grand Canal Dock and Howth/MalahideDublin

Dublin Commuter Coalition shared the news on X, writing: “For the SIXTH May Bank Holiday weekend in a row, @IrishRail will be shutting off Southside DART services.
 
Howth Head said:
This is frankly unbelievable...
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Or good planning... user numbers are lower on Bank Holiday weekends so doing the work then is less impactful than any other time. They've always reserved major interruptions like this for bank holiday weekends for that reason.
 
As part of the move to "Next Gen Ticketing"- ie the use of debit and credit cards to tap and go, all of the buses will have to be fully wi-fi enabled so that they can send the request to the bank and get an "ack or nack" message back. Currently most Dublin buses are not enabled, Leap transactions are stored on a device on the bus and uploaded when it gets back to the garage.

It should therefore be hoped that as an add on bonus of the move to contactless payments, Dublin Bus and therefore it's app, should be able to have a better idea of where the buses are in reality.

Contract to deliver the Next Gen ticketing solution was awarded to a Spanish company, Indra, in April last year and they are targetting a 2027 go live, which means knowing the NTA, sometime around 2030.

Meanwhile, if anyone wants to find out where a London tube train is, try this.

Live Tube Map - Real-time London Underground Trains

Watch London Underground trains move in real-time on an interactive 3D map. See live tube trains across all lines including Central, Northern, Victoria, and more.
www.londonunderground.live www.londonunderground.live
 
Peanuts20 said:
Contract to deliver the Next Gen ticketing solution was awarded to a Spanish company, Indra, in April last year and they are targetting a 2027 go live, which means knowing the NTA, sometime around 2030.
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Indra

Perfectly suited to doing business in Ireland then. Quote from Wikipedia link above:- "In 2018 and 2019 Indra was fined for participating in a 14-year cartel rigging the contracts for Spanish railway infrastructure and leading a 15-year cartel rigging the offers of IT services to several public administrations in Spain."
 
Peanuts20 said:
As part of the move to "Next Gen Ticketing"- ie the use of debit and credit cards to tap and go, all of the buses will have to be fully wi-fi enabled so that they can send the request to the bank and get an "ack or nack" message back.
Click to expand...

Tap and go would be nice but Leap works pretty well already.
Peanuts20 said:
Currently most Dublin buses are not enabled, Leap transactions are stored on a device on the bus and uploaded when it gets back to the garage.
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Well they are tracking their buses one way or the other.

I've been back using buses frequently enough in the last few months for the first time in about 20 years and it's been an absolute quantum leap:
  1. No pay the driver anymore and messing around with change;
  2. Real-time passenger information is reliable;
  3. Use of middle doors for alighting;
  4. Increased frequency particularly on orbital routes.
 
Dr Strangelove said:
Well they are tracking their buses one way or the other.
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They are and it works pretty well most of the time, but there are issues with ghost busses where the tracking will still show a bus for the first few stops before the system is updated to confirm it never left the depot. That's due to operators not informing the tracking system in time - two separate systems and 15 years old at this stage.
 
I travelled over the Bank Holiday weekend (LUAS Green & Red Line, bus and Irish Rail from Euston (Kingsbridge when I was a kid!)

In fairness, I have to say it worked out perfectly - although the train was packed to capacity, with standing room only on LUAS even at lunchtime from Heuston into town on Tuesday.

The mainline (Waterford) train was spotless, on time and air-conditioned - credit where it's due. Heuston was clean and efficient with plenty of shopping/eating options and clean toilets etc. (I'm old enough to remember the drab, grim interiors of Connolly and Heuston in the 1970s.) I did however notice quite visible security around the station - a de facto Transport Police.
 
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Purple said:
Did you use the free travel?
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Nope. I'm old but not quite that old!

Meanwhile...

www.independent.ie

Disruption to rail services on busy bank holiday weekends ‘must be reviewed’

A TD has called for a review into the scheduling of rail works on busy bank holiday weekends, as it is causing “disruption”.
www.independent.ie www.independent.ie

“The May Bank Holiday Weekend saw major disruption to south Dublin and Wicklow services, causing major inconvenience for those attending the Leinster game in the Aviva and the Bray Jazz Festival,” Deputy Whitmore, who is the party’s transport spokesperson, said.

“Irish Rail has now announced there will be no train services between Connolly Station and Dún Laoghaire for the duration of the June Bank Holiday weekend due to engineering works.

“This will directly impact thousands of participants in the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon, which takes place on Sunday, June 1.
 
Last week it was a bridge strike I think. This is why I switched to buses when I used to commute, because at least once a week on the DART there'd be an incident like this. Back then, you might only find out when you get to the station. Luckily I could switch at the cost of a few minutes.
 
More problems on the DART this evening - no details, just heard something on the news. (Seems to be a vehicle strike at Grand Canal Dock.)
 
Seems to be something major almost daily this week...

Yesterday the LUAS Red Line was suspended in the City Centre (service only from/to Smithfield)
www.independent.ie

Luas red line services resume to Connolly stop but further service disruption planned for later this evening

Earlier issues for Luas red line services have been resolved but further disruption will see parts of the line closed later on this evening.
www.independent.ie www.independent.ie

And today no DART between Landsdowne and Dun Laoghaire:

www.rte.ie

DART between Lansdowne Road and Dún Laoghaire reopens

DART and commuter services have resumed between Lansdowne Road and Bray, following earlier closures due to damage to overhead lines.
www.rte.ie www.rte.ie

And that's apart from the fact that the LUAS from Connolly to The Point will be likely closed for the rest of the year due to a fire under a bridge.

Not to mention the "ghost buses"....
www.irishtimes.com

‘Disappearing buses’: Passenger’s 10km commute from south Dublin can take two hours

Go-Ahead Ireland acknowledges ‘several issues’ with S8 service recently, including mechanical breakdowns
www.irishtimes.com www.irishtimes.com
 
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One of the main reasons for Luas delays and issues is cars and pedestrians behaving like morons and blocking roads or crashing into a Luas. I think at one stage it was happening at least once a month. On average, some muppet crashes into a railway crossing barrier once a week in Ireland. That's without any stoppages to deal with anti-social behaviour (there is a reason the Red line is nicknamed the Skanger Express, especially around Jervis Street down to the 4 Courts)
 
Hearing about the traffic chaos around Dublin and beyond this evening - perhaps we need to introduce "Paddystinian-ism" as an ongoing threat to transport in Dublin. (Condolences to anyone caught up in it - no doubt you'll be heartened to know it's being led by students union types. Bless their little activist hearts.... )

www.rte.ie

Gaza flotilla protest blocks Dublin Port Tunnel traffic

The southbound lane of the Dublin Port Tunnel is closed due to a demonstration in support of those on board the Gaza aid flotilla who are detained by Israel.
www.rte.ie www.rte.ie

The former president of the Trinity College Dublin Students' Union Jenny Maguire, who is taking part in the demonstration, said the protest is blocking traffic on both sides.

She added that protesters are talking to drivers about why they are taking this action.

"We are here today because we are human. The rules meant to stop this genocide are not working," Ms Maguire said.


www.independent.ie

Protest in support of Gaza flotilla blocks Dublin Port entrance and causes major traffic disruption

Protesters in support of the Global Sumud flotilla bound for Gaza are blocking the entrance to Dublin port this evening, resulting in major traffic disruption.
www.independent.ie www.independent.ie

Lines of trucks and cars are currently held up at Dublin port as representatives from Trinity College Dublin's Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Committee, along with other protesters for Palestine, block the entrance and exit to the port.

Gardaí are currently holding position between the protesters and disgruntled truck drivers during rush hour traffic in Dublin.
 
Howth Head said:
We are here today because we are human. The rules meant to stop this genocide are not working," Ms Maguire said.
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What a load of cobblers, the govt are doing everything except creating a Palestinian homeland down in offaly

Its protesting for the sake of it and will achieve absolutely nothing.

Infuriating for anyone caught up in this poundshop activism.

Gardai should retreat and let the truckers at them ;)that would soften their resolve pretty quickly.

Actually why aren't the Gardai forcibly removing them?
 
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Utterly crazy that a "protest" like this is permitted. And my guess is most of them neither know where Palestine is nor what is going on there.

Looks like sinn fein were one of the groups behind it with Ms McDonald speaking at it and thus it attracted the usual rabble that they attract.

If anything it puts you off giving any support to the issue when you see the behavior of the types behind the protests
 
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