Passenger left in the dark despite real-time information in Wicklow
BUS Eireann has come in for criticism for failing to properly inform passengers when certain services have been delayed or changed, leaving customers high and dry.
Robin Heather of Wicklow town has shared his frustrations after encountering difficulties while trying to get the 133 bus from the terminus at the back of Wicklow Gaol to Dublin.
Robin arrived at the terminus at 3.50 p.m. in order to catch a 133 bus to Dawson Street at 4 p.m. on January 6.
‘There was no bus at the stop and the electronic board said the next bus wasn’t due for another 69 minutes. I waited in the car and shortly after 4 p.m., a 133 bus arrived. However, the driver advised me that he was not going to Dublin, that there was nobody available to drive the 4 p.m. service, and the next bus was indeed as the electronic board stated at 5 p.m. He then drove off and within a few seconds, the electronic board displayed a message ‘No Real time information available’ and then re-booted to advise that the next bus 133 Dublin was now at 6 p.m.
‘Having booked my ticket through the Bus Eireann website, it clearly states that the passenger must present the e-mail at the stop listed to obtain a valid ticket from the driver. So, as I had booked a day return leaving Wicklow at 4 p.m. and returning from Kildare Street at 10 p.m., my e-mail booking was therefore useless.’
Robin was fortunate enough to be able to get a lift from someone to Greystones Dart Station to catch a dart at 4.30 p.m. so he could make his 6 p.m. appointment in Dublin.
However, when attempting to make the bus journey home to Wicklow, he encountered further difficulties.
‘I walked to the bus stop in Kildare Street to catch the 133 back to Wicklow, which is scheduled for 10.06 p.m. I was at the stop at 10 p.m. and the electronic sign stated there was a bus due in six minutes, so I decided to wait and try my luck with the unused e-mail and explain to the driver my predicament.
‘As I was waiting at the stop, watching the electronic board count down the minutes, a person at an adjacent stop advised me that I had missed the 133 as it had passed the stop just before I got there.
‘I looked again at the electronic information board which now had the next bus at 58 minutes and then it switched off with the message ‘no Real time information available.’ Given my experience in Wicklow earlier, I decided that it would be safer to get a DART to Greystones and arrange a lift from there.’
After contacting Bus Eireann customer services, Robin was advised to email on his receipt and DART tickets for a refund. However, Bus Eireann weren’t in a position to pay the costs of the two round trips from Wicklow town to Greystones by car.
‘Wicklow town needs a reliable bus and train commuter service to Dublin,’ said Mr Heather. ‘Irish Rail really only have trains at peak times with one service around lunchtime daily, and with huge gaps in their timetable one has to rely on the 133.
‘On that Saturday there were queues at most stops out of Wicklow as we drove to Greystones, mostly people going to the Leinster rugby match at 6 p.m. in the RDS.
‘As there are no information boards at the interim stops, they would have been left high and dry.’
In reply, Bus Eireann said that the 4 p.m. service to Dublin on January 6 was operated by a private contractor.
A spokesperson said: ‘These sub-contracted vehicles are currently not fitted with the Bus Éireann Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) GPS system and the real time passenger information (RTPI) for this trip was not displayed on the RTPI sign, as a result. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused to customers.’
Bus Eireann also said records show that both the 5 p.m. service from Wicklow town and the 9.40 p.m. from Dublin Airport operated on time.