Generally speaking, I am very happy with the public transport system in Dublin. I just love the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) and living only a few minutes away from the nearest station it would be my public transport # 1.
The LUAS (apparently standing for "speed" in Irish), Dublin's light rail tram system, is also a great invention and always got me safe into town when I first came to Ireland and lived in Dundrum. If I missed one, I sometimes only had to wait five more minutes for the next one (That's even better than in Germany!).
But what about those mysterious estates that are not covered by DART or LUAS lines? They will probably remain secretive to me, as long as I haven't overcome my fear of Dublin Bus!
I know, if you're an Irish person reading this post you will probably wonder what this confusion is all about. I know that, because everytime I actually had to take the bus, lots of indifferent faces would stare back at my desperation and wrongly identify me as a Dublin novice, or even worse, a tourist!
How come people consider it the most normal thing that minor bus stops don't have a time table, let alone a sign that tells them which buses actually leave from there or even the slightest information on the name of this very bus stop? So, just for my many German readers out there, who have problems picturing that: Just imagine you want to take a bus to a certain place and come to a bus stop. So far, so good. The only problem is, that this stop won't tell you where you are, which buses stop there, what times they leave at or which direction they go.
If you finally made it and got on the bus, you will face another problem. No, I don't mean that nothing in the bus tells you which stop is next (needless to mention that actually). You have to pay the exact fare and if you don't, well, you just won't see any change. Now, here the good news though: You can ask the bus driver for a receipt and claim your change with the next tax return (How ridiculous is that?).
So, what about these mysterious estates only covered by Dublin Bus ? I guess, I'm gonna handle it the way its' residents do and just take the car ;-). I had my second driving lesson today and can't quite see myself on the road yet, but my fear of the bus will get me there in the end...
Dublin Bus: What more information could you ask for?
That's me for the moment. I'm going for a short quality break over the weekend but will be back next Wednesday and keep you up to date on latest toddler group developments and other random thoughts of mine :-).
oh gott, ja. das kenn ich. vor allen dingen diesen irrglauben, dass jeder weiß, wo er wieder raus muss. schrecklich. vor allem im dunklen. aber ich erkenn selbst städte nicht in denen ich schon hundertmal war. meist gibt es ja auch keine stop-knöpfe und man muss vorne zum busfahrer wenn man aussteigen will.
ReplyDeleteAlso Juliane hatte das total gut drauf, mit den Bussen in Irland. :)
ReplyDeleteVielleicht frag ich mal, wie sie das immer gemacht hat.
Warst du mal in dem Park, wo die dears frei rumrennen? Ist zum Glück auch eine Endstation ;) Da kannste ohne fear mit dem Bus hinfahren und üben ;) Besooooo
@ Sarah: Ist das in Schottland auch so?
ReplyDelete@ Anonymous: Du meinst Phoenix Park? Ja, da war ich schon mal. Ist aber am anderen Ende der Stadt und wüsste nicht was ich da soll ;).
Nur falls Du Deine Angst vor dem bus überwindest und dummerweise wirklich nicht das passende Kleingeld da hast: Die gesammelten Gutscheine kannst Du im DublinBus Büro in der O'Connell Street wieder gegen Bargeld eintauschen. Das mit dem tax return hab ich noch nie gehört...
ReplyDeleteVG, Julia ( aber Northside ;-) )
Ups, das habe ich dann wohl verwechselt :-/. Ist mir trotzdem umständlich genug und ich drücke mich lieber davor ;). LG
ReplyDeleteHi ihr,
ReplyDeleteja, 10 Jahre habe ich schon das mysterioese Dubliner Bus-System bewundert. Jetzt haben sie es ja wenigstens mal geschafft, diese Terminals anzubringen, die anzeigen, wann der Bus denn auch wirklich an der Station ankommt... This is promising, girls!!!
Gruesse,
Lisa