Riding on the buuus

Dublin Bus' night service is called Nitelink, and is put on for the partygoes who stay out till very, very late (Friday and Saturday are the big nights to go out in Dublin, but Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are pretty busy as well). While Dubliners may complain about late buses and awful service from the drivers, it's good to see that Dublin Bus' advertisers have a sense of humour. Their Nitelink buses have allegedly been running amusing campaigns like these for the last two or three years.

In a way, the advertising campaign is a brilliant way of saving money. Why put on more services or friendly drivers, when a good advertisement might keep the passengers from thinking about how late they are?

Sadly though, it's clear that Dublin Bus remains the inefficient hopeless service that it was when I lived there in 2002. See this blog (April 2008) from a passenger:

"This morning i was getting on a 145 in stillorgan. The bus in question didnt even have 1 person standing up. I was just about to enter my ticket into the machine when the bus driver started screaming and i quote "get off the bus, get off the bus" "we are full!!! I said GET OFF". (There was only me left to get on-how much space can one person take up?) At half eight in the morning tell me who could put up with that." http://busrage.com/forum/topic/5304#post-5348

When Kerryn and I lived in Dublin, bus drivers drove past frantically waving people standing at different bus stops (in the rain). The bus services were always running late, and to make up time, some drivers would shortcut their route. This cut several minutes from their time, but it also cut several passengers off from their intended destination!

It's true that passengers say thanks as they pass the driver to get off a Dublin bus, but in my case this was short for 'Thanks, driver for not abusing me' or 'thank God I'm still alive.'

Comments

Congratulations Barack Obama - the dawn of a new day

He's done it - or rather, America has. Today will go down as a historic moment for America and the world, one that the rest of the world was watching intently. And if the rest of the world could have voted, they would be happy. A recent international poll by the BBC World Service found that the 22 countries surveyed preferred to see Obama win the election. For me, it means hope. The U.S looked stuck in old approaches to ongoing problems. Problems in Iraq - throw more troops at it. Banks losing hand over fist - throw more money into them. Doing more of the same thing seems to guarantee getting more of the same results. Fear, misunderstanding and mistrust were the order of the day. But now I see a man who wants to embrace everyone. A man who wants to understand. A man who wants to build trust. The mettle of any organisation, including a country, is set by its leader. I can't wait to see what can be achieved with this man as an example to the people of the U.S. and the world. Let...

George - one of the most successful fraudsters in history

This man has successfully posed as the American president since 2001. He has pulled off an incredible variety of politically suicidal stunts and his latest effort is possibly one of the best. Thousands of people lose their homes. George appears to do nothing, apart from talking up the US economy. A little while later, millions of people have lost their homes. Still nothing. A few bankers lose their shirts. George and the Federal Reserve hand over billions and billions of dollars to prop them up. Suddenly, lots of bankers and stockbrokers have lost their shirts, and George is looking to hand them nearly a trillion dollars . What I don't understand is this -> if he has a trillion dollars to spare (and I think the only way he could is to get the U.S mint printing 24 hours a day), why doesn't he buy up the houses that have been foreclosed, and rent them back to the previous owners, or even more radically, give them back. Surely the same amount would be spent, people would have a...

Engineers practising medicine?

The office I work in is located above an X-ray and Imaging centre, and a Doctor's practice. Because the local Council won't allow large or numerous signs on new buildings, it isn't uncommon for people to get lost and end up at our door. Annie, our secretary, usually redirects them to the right office. Yesterday, she walked past my desk. 'There was a man at the door who wanted to give blood. I said to him this was the wrong office. He said the sign downstairs was pointing up at our office, so this must be the right place. He wouldn't leave. I think he must have thought I didn't understand what kind of office I worked in." "Well, we can take his blood if he really wants us to," I replied. "Ask him to sit down and say someone will come out shortly. And let's leave him there for hours," added a colleague, smiling. "You're missing a new opportunity, Annie. Ask him which vein he wants the blood taken from and then prick him with ...

Chris Dowding - writer

Search This Blog