We have been SO shocked by the prices for public transit here. We made the decision to not have a car because it's so insanely expensive to maintain a car and also because public transit is so great in Europe.
(Aunt Janet and Marissa, I'm very interested to hear your thoughts on this so hopefully you'll see this post. And fyi, Aunt Janet is a bus driver in London, Ontario and Marissa is a driver in Seattle so they've got very different systems to compare this one too. And as far as I know, the Seattle system works MUCH better than this one in Dublin)
And mind you, it still works out to be cheaper than owning and maintaining a car but here are some of the issues we've run into:
1. Bus fare varies depending on where you're going, so each time you get on the bus, you tell the driver what stop you want to go to and he or she tells you how much the fare is. (EXTREMELY inefficient isn't it??)
2. Fares vary from 1.20 EURO - 2.30 EURO for each person, EACH WAY!! So, that works out to $1.58 - $3.04 per person, each way. For us, it has generally been the 1.85 EURO fare, so 3.70 EURO for Wayne and myself. So, in US Dollar's that's $4.90 each way, which makes a trip that's as short as 3 miles a $9.80 trip! And heaven forbid we needed to take three buses in a day - that'd be $14.70. Dad, if you're reading this, can you imagine what that would mean for your bus trips in Seattle?? I don't know how anyone takes public transit here.
3. And this is an offshoot of the last one - there are no "transfers" here. You don't get a daily pass once you pay for one bus which just floors me!
4. The DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit?) train costs us $8.40 EURO which is over 11 US dollars (for our 2 tickets). The upside to this is that you get a round-trip ticket with that. The downside though is that you can't just ride anywhere, it's only a round trip from the stop that you originally went to. When you buy your train ticket at the kiosk outside the station, you have to select your destination and your fare varies depending on that. Call me crazy but this seems completely inefficient and counter-intuitive.
5. Bus drivers don't know anything about their routes. I've found in Seattle that almost all bus drivers are verrry knowledgeable about routes and streets and where to get off, etc. The drivers here are not friendly and cannot provide any information about where to get off. We've run into two different drivers that couldn't tell us if they crossed through HUGE thoroughfares which we would later find out they did. When we asked "do you go through Stillorgan road?" for example, the driver looked at us like he had never heard the name and it's one of the largest intersections on their route. We found out from Andy and Caroline that Dublin Bus drivers are known to be particularly inept and have been for decades. =)
6. This has to do with Dublin as a whole as well. There are no street signs. None. Sometimes you'll see one on a stone wall next to a big road but they're somewhat hidden and you absolutely can't see them from the bus. (or usually even walking) So, I look up the bus route on the computer before we leave and I have made the mistake of noting the stop number that we need to get off at (and the big intersection/cross street). Well....good luck reading the stop numbers from the bus because they're in size 12 font (and the bus windows are completely fogged up because.... it's Dublin, in December) and there are no street signs. So, several times we've run into this and we just ask people around us, in a panic, where we are and eventually we find someone who knows. This problem is compounded when it's nighttime. So, the windows are fogged, it's pitch black by 4:30, and there are no street signs. HOW do you know when to get off the bus?
What would help with this problem?? Ooo! Ask me! Maybe the bus could have little readers that say "This stop is next" orrrr "approaching stillorgan road" orrr ANY number of easy solutions. I've seen this in several cities but for some reason, Dublin doesn't have this figured out.
Of course, these are just complaints because we're not used to the system, or the city, and we think it's outrageously expensive but we have no choice but to ride the bus. So, we'll get used to it. =)
I'm sure there will be more to come on this issue but it certainly does make me think that the Seattle transit system really does have some things figured out. (granted i've never ridden the Seattle buses because I can't, for the life of me, figure out the 5,000 routes and where to catch them but at least it's affordable...)
Also, had to add, to Ireland's credit, some of the great things about Dublin Bus:
1. 90% of them are double decker buses. That's just awesome.
2. They're spotless which is such a welcome change after Seattle buses which can be pretty 'scuzzy' and usually artfully decorated with graffiti carved into the windows and seats. Also, in Seattle, there's an honest to goodness, very real possibility that you might be assaulted or shot. My own father, at age 65, was punched in the face, (and had his front teeth knocked out), by a teenage boy after telling the young man to stop swearing in front of some older women present on the bus. They never caught these boys... So, things like that.
3. We have yet to run into any situation where we felt uncomfortable or unsafe (as opposed to Seattle where this has happened to me, literally, every single time I've ridden the bus)
4. They're impeccably on time. This is also really nice (except for when you're two minutes late and you see it drive past the stop, perfectly on time) =)
3 comments:
Interesting! That is a bit of a nightmare - reminds me of the bus service in Antigua (I will get to that later).
In London, cash fare is $2.75 regardless of destination.(Children aged 5 to grade 6 are $1.35 - under 5 is free) Tickets are a little cheaper so if you plan to take the bus more than once, buy a strip of tickets. For an adult, a strip of 5 tickets is $9.50 or $1.90 per trip. If you plan to ride a lot, get a monthly pass (you can get these Sunday to Saturday or only weekdays - good deal if you ride everyday). If you pay by cash or ticket, you can get a transfer for and hour and a half (usually two hours depending on the driver) which allows you to go anywhere, board any bus, go off and on any bus during that time slot as often as you want. A good bargain I think.
A prerequisite to be hired as a driver, is that you have a pretty good knowledge of the city of London (streets, major shopping centers, major points) and if you don't, you learn them pretty quick. I can even begin to tell you how often I get asked the same question over and over such as "do you go downtown?". We have to answer them the best we can and as far as I know, most drivers will tell you where a certain street is, if you are on the right bus or where some place is such as a walk in clinic, a store, police station and the all important jail. We also had installed a few years ago..... The Voice! She is a sexy, sultry voice (in my opinion anyway :/) that announces the next stop, where the bus goes and what bus transfers you can get at any given point. At first, she scared the crap out of me - imagine being all alone in the bus at 5 in the morning, in the dark and suddenly some voice says "next stop - Huron and Highbury Ave". I nearly had to go home to change - I was not expecting that! Anyway, I have tuned her out as I drive but she is a great help to those lost, the elderly and the blind. We also have a sign inside the bus that announces the next stop and the time. Great help for those who aren't sure of where they are going.
Everyone likes to complain about their bus system but after reading your blog, we have it pretty good.
When we were in Antigua, the bus system sounds much like in Dublin. The buses are small (some are just large vans) and the driver charges you on a sliding scale. The further you go, he will charge more (you pay when you get on). There is no set rate although it seems to be pretty much the same range. We were charge $4.50 ECE which is about double our money, for a 10 minute trip. We would ask the driver for information but they were not very helpful and trying to understand them is a challenge. They speak English but it sounds foreign to us because it is like a Jamaican English and I swear they talk so fast just to laugh at our confusion. The island also, has never heard of roadsigns or direction signs. You just have to know I guess. It was all very confusing.
Anyway, hope the bus riding gets better. One day, it will be old hat and you wonder why you were confused :)
The cost sounds comparable to Seattle. And we do have variable rates, as well, depending on time of day and distance of travel. (The enforcement of these rules vary as well:)
The winter is a hard time of year to learn to drive routes as well as ride them, I suppose. Maybe the pay is not good for Dublin bus drivers, hence turnover is high, and new inexperienced drivers are abundant?
I hate it when I'm subbing on a route and get asked obvious questions but can't come up with the answer. Its humiliating.
I'm sure as you become more familiar with the territory, the buses will become more efficient.
Take care!
Aunt Janet and Marissa, thank you both so much for your input. Marissa, you're so gracious and humble! I'm surprised to hear that Seattle prices are similar to that - I guess that shows how out of the loop I am. I just thought it was more like $1-$2 per ride as opposed to the $2.40US for a one way ticket. Good to know though.
And Marissa, I completely get what you're saying about new drivers and we would be MORE than patient and understanding if anyone ever said "you know, I'm new on this route and I just don't know" or even "sorry, I'm not sure" but instead we got these terrible looks from each driver that said "WHY are you asking me a question??". And their responses weren't "Sorry, not quite sure which street you're talking about" - it was "I don't know" and essentially "stop talking and go sit down". haha! Again, these are tiny gripes about the bus system. I mostly just found it interesting because I've seen some much more efficient systems out there and figured anywhere in Europe would have North America beat, no contest. Turns out, the US and London(ON) have some real things goin' for them. =) Namely, you two as drivers, I must say.
Post a Comment