Fare Glitch Hits Some Dublin Buses 27/01/2012

DUBLIN BUS reported this morning that due to a software glitch on their ticketing system, some buses operating from Donnybrook and Ringsend depots were unable to accept cash fares this morning, Friday 27th Jan 2012.

Passengers affected by the problem, which followed an overnight software upgrade, are being allowed to travel for free, and the company says it is working to resolve the problem.

The two depots between them amount to around a third of the overall fleet of just under 1,000 buses operated by DB.

RV on route 61 25/01/2012

An unusual RV working today, RV596 on route 61, which has been fully lowfloor since its launch last year.

VCs on service work in 2012

Some of Bus Eireann‘s VCs survive into 2012 on regular service work, despite their age.

VC109, seen here in Kenmare, is nominally a school bus, but works a once-a-week public service (route 282) from Ardgroom to Kenmare on Fridays.

RA257

Spotted former RA257 outside the polling station in Ballinteer today – it used to frequent this area on the 14s about 10 years ago.

End of an era in Ballinteer as 48A bows out

AV 257 arrives at Ballinteer last stop, as the final outbound 48A.

Pics from Cultra rally today (17 April 2010)

Some pictures from the busgathering at Cultra, uploaded from site by iPhone.

GoBus new coach

New 10-reg Volvo coach seen at Eden Quay in Dublin

End of the line for Ardcath service

Last Stop - the last bus to Ardcath pauses in the tiny village as the regular driver leaves, and a spare driver prepares to return the bus to headquarters at Broadstone

END OF THE LINE FOR VETERAN SERVICE

The tiny rural village of Ardcath lost its bus service to Dublin at the weekend as phase 1 of Bus Eireann’s cost-cutting plan took effect, eliminating dozens of lightly loaded rural routes around the Republic, and cutting frequencies on others.

The 102 service from Dublin to Garristown and Ardcath, which ran for the last time on Saturday 27th February 2010 was one of the longest running bus routes in the country, dating back to at least the 1920s, and possibly earlier according to locals

Operated after 1945 by CIE’s provincial department (which later became Bus Eireann) the service was at one time so popular that on Saturdays a double-decker from the Dublin City Services fleet (later Dublin Bus) would cover the route as far as Oldtown. This practice continued until the early 1980s.

In recent years passenger numbers declined drastically as car use increased, to the point that when the final journey operated on Feb 27th, the sole passengers for the entire trip were CBW reporter Gabriel Conway and a transport historian from north Co. Dublin.

The driver for the last trip had been marked in on the route for the past 7 months, since the previous driver “Paddy” had retired after 35 years service. Normally the bus is outstationed in the area, so an extra driver was brought on the trip to allow SC202 to be returned to Broadstone.

More progress on Cherrywood LUAS

Progress continues on the extension of the Green LUAS line from Sandyford to Cherrywood.

Major structures have been in place for at least 18 months, and most tracklaying was done in 2009, but now work is progressing on the overhead electric wiring.  The photos below show the wiring in place at the “Bride’s Glen” stop, in Cherrywood Science & Technology Park, and were taken on Saturday 20th February 2010.

A note: Somewhat confusingly, the “Cherrywood” stop will be in the Tullyvale residential area, while the last stop, actually in the Cherrywood campus, is “Bride’s Glen”.

Much work remains to be done, and I’d estimate empty testing to take place from summer, with an October/November opening date for the line.

Overhead wiring now installed at Bride's Glen terminal stop in Cherrywood

Cherrywood: services to start late 2010.

Matthews take more Volvo coaches

from the Volvo Press Release files

Co Monaghan based Matthews Coach Hire have taken five Volvo B9R coaches with Plaxton Panther bodywork, just weeks after taking their first ever new Volvo – the B12B with Plaxton Elite body which was exhibited at last year’s Euro Bus Expo 2008.

Noel Matthews, Fleet Manager of Matthews Coach Hire explained, “There are a number of reasons for choosing Volvo products this time, not least because the Volvo name is associated with reliability. When we demonstrated the B12B tri-axle Plaxton Elite it returned excellent fuel figures, along with the outstanding driveability of the I-Shift. The fact that the B9R is lighter and the driveline incorporates the I-Shift will hopefully give us even better fuel returns.”

Noel continued, “Volvo coach products come with competition beating warranty terms – two years, plus third year driveline – and the products benefit from superb support through Volvo’s aftermarket, which, where we are based, means that we can utilise both Irish Commercials and Dennison Commercials.

“A quarter of our 24 vehicle fleet is now Volvo and we will be closely monitoring the six new vehicles’ performances, but from what we have seen from the B12B we are very optimistic for them all.”

The B9Rs are specified with Volvo’s 9.4 litre D9B engine rated at 380hp and I-Shift combination. In a theatre-style configuration, the 57 seats have leather headrests and three-point seat belts, climate control air conditioning, audio/visual system, a seven camera CCTV system, GPS tracking and fleet management system, Wi-Fi capability and are fitted with electronic destination equipment.

Matthews Coach Hire are proud of their 100% safety record. So committed are they to promoting road safety that they were the first operator in Ireland to introduce Alcolock starter inhibiters, which immobilise the vehicle on detection of alcohol, and they are now fitted across their entire fleet.

The Volvo B9R comes with safety as standard, with all round disc brakes, ABS with ASR and their latest generation of Electronic Braking System incorporates Hill Start Aid, Emergency Braking Assistance and Brake Blending, whilst Volvo’s VR3250 compact retarder offers very powerful auxiliary braking, resulting in considerably reduced brake wear too.

James Hyde, Regional Coach Sales Manager commented, “We’re delighted to have our first B9Rs in operation in Ireland. The product has obvious benefits such as the weight advantage and the clean and efficient driveline, making it a versatile option for operators for a number of applications.”

Matthews Coach Hire was founded in 1995 by Paddy and Mary Matthews and remains family owned and operated by them, their three sons – Noel, Paddy Jnr and Gerard – and a team of 45 employees. The company specialises in private hire, daily commuter services and their own tour programme throughout Ireland and Europe.

View from the 59

For more than 60 years, route 59 was a wholly single-deck service, however more recently double-decks have started to feature.

Here we can watch from the upper deck as AV80 negociates the narrow and leafy roads around Killiney Hill, including the very tight turn at the former terminus.

Galway 06/06/2009

Bus Eireann’s VWL172 taking a good load on city service 9.

Ex Dublin Bus Olympian RH98 now with Lallys of Galway on thecity tour.

Well Done, Dublin Bus!

Customer information on diversions at Hawkins Street

Dublin Bus has often let us down with poor quality or non-existent information on changes, but they have done themselves proud this St. Patricks Day with well-produced, professional looking, and easy to understand information on services diverted or curtailed due to the parade.

Well done Dublin Bus, this is the standard we want to see in the future!

Happy St. Patricks Day everyone.

Halpenny stick with Volvo for coaching needs

Halpenny's new Volvo B12B (photo: Volvo Bus)

(from the Volvo Press Release files)

Halpenny Travel of Dundalk has just taken delivery of another Volvo B12B Jonckheere to join its all-Volvo fleet.

The new vehicle will be used for touring around Ireland on behalf of a number of operators and Halpenny are confident it is ideal for the task in hand. “We love the new Jonckheere bodywork. Not only does it create a really strong first impression, the interior boasts high levels of passenger comfort – two essential factors in this business,” explained John Halpenny, General Manager of Halpenny Travel .

Specified with Volvo’s fuel efficient DH12E 12 litre engine – rated at 420hp and coupled to the I-Shift gearbox – the 12.2m  51/53 seater vehicle features full climate control, toilet, CD/DVD player with two monitors and facilities for hot and cold drinks.

“We know from experience that our customers will love it, but the B12B Jonckheere is just as popular with the drivers,” continued John Halpenny. “It’s a pleasure to drive. But also, the back up we receive from Volvo through Dennisons at Newry and Irish Commercials at Naas is excellent – one of the major reasons we keep coming back to them.”

Volvo’s Regional Coach Sales Manager, Duncan Crosby commented, “We are delighted by Halpenny’s continued loyalty and satisfaction with our products and services. We’ll be working hard to ensure that both live up to their high expectations!”

Established back in 1920, Halpenny Travel is a third generation family-owned operator specialising in luxury private hire. Its customers range from local organisations and community groups to corporate clients and international travel operators.

Finally, track-laying at Cherrywood

Track sections await installation on Cherrywood new viaduct

Close-up of shot above.

Finally, after more than 9 months of inactivity, work seems to have resumed on the Cherrywood LUAS extension, with the delivery of rails and the start of tracklaying on the bridge which has itself been complete for almost a year.