Bus Éireann

[pdeaves]

I will shortly make a first-ever trip to Ireland. Part of my itinerary includes a bus transfer between Tralee and Limerick (calling in at Listowel for the monorail, see this thread: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/the-listowel-and-ballybunion-railway.175823/).

Now, not being familiar with how Irish integrated transport generally and buses specifically work, I have some questions with which I hope the good burghers of this forum can help.

• How does one pay for a bus fare (on or off the bus)? Does the driver/machine accept cash? Is change given?
• Does Bus Eireann do a bus network rover?

And the killer one:

• I hope to arrive at Tralee by train at 1058 and catch onward bus service 13 at 1100. This is clearly quite tight. What is Bus Éireann's policy on holding connections here? (Google Maps kindly shows that the interchange is easy, but it's still only two minutes!)

Thanks all!

 

[bustraveller]

Good afternoon.

Bus Eireann doesn't have any simple day rover tickets like some of our UK bus services have. The only one available is the "Open Road" ticket which gives unlimited travel on all Bus Eireann services in the Republic Of Ireland for 3 days out of 6 days (you choose which days) for 60.00 EURO total. It is only available from Ticket Vending Machines at bus stations (these ticket vending machines are just for special tickets like this and don't sell Single and Return tickets). Unlike all other tickets it is not available from bus drivers.

All tickets are simply bought from the driver. You can purchase Single tickets and Return tickets onboard. You just simply board the bus and pay the driver. This is the only way to buy tickets.

Bus Eireann give change on all of their services. So you don't need to worry about having exact fare. Cash is accepted and is in fact the only method of payment. You can not use contactless payments or in fact any card payments on Bus Eireann services. So make sure that you have cash on you.

There are only two bus operators in Ireland that are exact fare only and coins only as well:

• City Direct
• Dublin Bus

These two bus operators are exact fare only (no change given) and coins only (no banknotes accepted) but all other companies give change.

Fares for all Bus Eireann services can be found on their website on the fare calculator:

https://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=415

Just click on "Fare Finder" at the top and enter your origin and destination and route number.

Instead you can also use this Bus Eireann fare finder which works the same but is a bit easier to use:

https://www.busfare.co.uk/index1

It seems to have a more simple layout but it works exactly the same.

Alternatively you can download the Bus Eireann fare finder android app which works the same but is much more convenient as it works offline as well so you can find a fare at any time:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6mv8kjkfbwowfm2/EireFares.apk?dl=0

This is recommended if you are using a lot of services so you can easily find a fare.

Bus and train connections are not normally held from my experience. In fact most bus and train drivers won't even know when each others services arrive and depart. But as long as everything runs on time then you should be fine.

You may be lucky and get a driver who knows the times and waits for a few minutes or so but it is quite rare. It is most likely that they won't. You should have a backup plan just in case.

The local town buses and city buses use bus vehicles but the other services vary and quite often use coach vehicles instead of bus vehicles. So don't expect all services to be low floor unfortunately. A coach may likely turn up.

I hope that this information helps.

 

[pdeaves]

I hope that this information helps.

It certainly does; thank you for taking the time to respond so thoroughly.

 

[radamfi]

It might be worth mentioning the Leap card, which is a smartcard that can be used on most bus services in the main cities, plus some tram and train services. You can take advantage of capping in the Dublin area and lower fares compared to paying cash, and you also don't need to have exact change for each bus.

For long distance journeys, there are often alternative services to Bus Eireann which may be cheaper or more convenient.

 

[paddington]

There are only two bus operators in Ireland that are exact fare only and coins only as well:

• City Direct
• Dublin Bus

These two bus operators are exact fare only (no change given) and coins only (no banknotes accepted) but all other companies give change.

It looks like both of these operators accept the Leap card, so provided you are happy to get one there shouldn't be a p

I am confused about them not accepting banknotes. Suppose I have a €5 note and no coins, and I don't care about the change, would they not be happy to accept an overpayment? What if there is a group of 3 or 4 people and the total fare is close to €10, why should they refuse a €10 note? They are going to have to take the coins to a bank anyhow. Unless it is an automated coin machine which seems a bit too advanced for a bus company which won't accept contactless.

 

[iarnrodeireann]

Hello @paddington i have just seen this thread on this forum and thought i would comment and answer your question as i use these services all the time.

Unlike the very few remaining exact fare operators in the UK (which will take banknotes) the three (the other poster missed out the new Go Ahead Ireland company) exact fare operators in Ireland are coins only (they refuse all banknotes) and refuse banknotes even for overpayment (but you can make overpayment in coins if you wish). Even if you put a banknote in the farebox you won't be allowed to board the bus. This is especially a problem in the capital city where all the tourists come onboard the buses only to find that they are exact fare and coins only and won't even take their banknotes or contactless. For a major capital city i think this is very poor and it is noticeable that all of the tourists always get caught out by it.

I should add that there are actually three bus companies in Ireland which are exact fare only and coins only:

• City Direct
• Dublin Bus
• Go Ahead Ireland

All three of them have the same exact fare policy and the same coins only policy. None of the three will take any banknotes even for overpayment. The fareboxes are exactly the same as the ones in the UK so they are not electronic like the ones in the USA and Canada are.

As for why they don't accept banknotes (even for overpayment) i don't really know. Maybe it is because counterfeit banknotes are more common than counterfeit coins. Also in Ireland they have much higher denomination banknotes such as €50 / €100 / €200 / €500 ones but that still doesn't explain why they don't accept the €5 / €10 / €20 ones though.

But all other bus operators in Ireland (and every bus operator in Northern Ireland as well) gives change and accepts banknotes including all Bus Eireann services.

Also @radamfi mentioned the Leap Card which is worth getting if you are going to be using a lot of public transport services. It is accepted on Irish Rail within the Dublin suburban area and the Cork suburban area and on all Luas Tram services. It can also be used on most bus and coach services throughout Ireland (including all Bus Eireann / Dublin Bus / Go Ahead Ireland / City Direct service and about 20 other bus and coach companies as well). The fares using a leap card are significantly cheaper than cash fares are. You just top it up and then Pay As You Go so it is fairly simple to use.

So @pdeaves you may want to consider getting a Leap Card if you are using a lot of bus services. It will save you money. Although it's probably not worth it if you are only using a very few buses only.

 

[embers25]

Note, it is not correct to say that on all Bus Eireann services you can buy from the driver. Two examples are Cork Airport where you must use the ONE ticket machine with it's associated queue and issues accepting credit cards. The same is true in Limerick where the machine is located in the station and barely works. In both cases the drivers refused to issue any tickets despite the machines refusing to accept credit cards (even euro ones). In both cases I only got a ticket on the bus after refusing to get off and blocking the door as I had a plane to catch (the machine refused to accept cards in both cases). I had already watched others fall foul of this ridiculous and unpublicised rule and the driver tell them the machine was the only sales point and then drive off and not wait for them, leaving them to wait another hour. For clarity there are no signs I could see warning people of the need to us the machine at Cork or Limerick. Bus Eireann walk on fares are also not cheap, although at least their website does show fares.

 

[route101]

Was in Dublin , have most routes beenrebranded into a red colour ?

 

[sheff1]

All tickets are simply bought from the driver. You can purchase Single tickets and Return tickets onboard. You just simply board the bus and pay the driver. This is the only way to buy tickets.

Tickets can also be bought online - there is usually a small discount on the cash fare - e.g. Tralee - Limerick is €14.25 online for tomorrow compared to the cash fare of €15.

 

[craigybagel]

Good afternoon.

Bus Eireann doesn't have any simple day rover tickets like some of our UK bus services have. The only one available is the "Open Road" ticket which gives unlimited travel on all Bus Eireann services in the Republic Of Ireland for 3 days out of 6 days (you choose which days) for 60.00 EURO total. It is only available from Ticket Vending Machines at bus stations (these ticket vending machines are just for special tickets like this and don't sell Single and Return tickets). Unlike all other tickets it is not available from bus drivers.

All tickets are simply bought from the driver. You can purchase Single tickets and Return tickets onboard. You just simply board the bus and pay the driver. This is the only way to buy tickets.

Bus Eireann give change on all of their services. So you don't need to worry about having exact fare. Cash is accepted and is in fact the only method of payment. You can not use contactless payments or in fact any card payments on Bus Eireann services. So make sure that you have cash on you.

There are only two bus operators in Ireland that are exact fare only and coins only as well:

• City Direct
• Dublin Bus

These two bus operators are exact fare only (no change given) and coins only (no banknotes accepted) but all other companies give change.

Fares for all Bus Eireann services can be found on their website on the fare calculator:

https://www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=415

Just click on "Fare Finder" at the top and enter your origin and destination and route number.

Instead you can also use this Bus Eireann fare finder which works the same but is a bit easier to use:

https://www.busfare.co.uk/index1

It seems to have a more simple layout but it works exactly the same.

Alternatively you can download the Bus Eireann fare finder android app which works the same but is much more convenient as it works offline as well so you can find a fare at any time:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6mv8kjkfbwowfm2/EireFares.apk?dl=0

This is recommended if you are using a lot of services so you can easily find a fare.

Bus and train connections are not normally held from my experience. In fact most bus and train drivers won't even know when each others services arrive and depart. But as long as everything runs on time then you should be fine.

You may be lucky and get a driver who knows the times and waits for a few minutes or so but it is quite rare. It is most likely that they won't. You should have a backup plan just in case.

The local town buses and city buses use bus vehicles but the other services vary and quite often use coach vehicles instead of bus vehicles. So don't expect all services to be low floor unfortunately. A coach may likely turn up.

I hope that this information helps.

Unless Bus Eireann have decided to take a massive step backwards and downgrade their TVMs for some reason, they DO sell single and return tickets - and you can pay for your tickets using card if you use this method. I used to commute 200 miles every second or third weekend when I was at university, and mostly used Bus Eireann. Back then the major bus stations also had staffed ticket desks but I'm not sure if that's still the case, I graduated 9 years ago.

I will agree though that there is no coordination with Irish Rail services and that you should not expect your connecting service to be held. As with many locations in Ireland, the rail and bus stations at Tralee are co located, but I still wouldn't rate your chances very highly to be honest.

 

[DelW]

Note, it is not correct to say that on all Bus Eireann services you can buy from the driver. Two examples are Cork Airport where you must use the ONE ticket machine with it's associated queue and issues accepting credit cards. The same is true in Limerick where the machine is located in the station and barely works. In both cases the drivers refused to issue any tickets despite the machines refusing to accept credit cards (even euro ones). In both cases I only got a ticket on the bus after refusing to get off and blocking the door as I had a plane to catch (the machine refused to accept cards in both cases). I had already watched others fall foul of this ridiculous and unpublicised rule and the driver tell them the machine was the only sales point and then drive off and not wait for them, leaving them to wait another hour. For clarity there are no signs I could see warning people of the need to us the machine at Cork or Limerick. Bus Eireann walk on fares are also not cheap, although at least their website does show fares.

Hmm, I was in Cork in mid May and paid cash on the airport bus (route 26/26a) in both directions with no issues. I had the exact fare (EU2.80) each time, but other passengers were given change by the driver with no objection. I would say about a third of passengers toward the city paid cash, the others used Leap cards.

 

[duesselmartin]

It is amazing that both CIE companies don't interact in both connections and tickets.

 

[pdeaves]

Thanks everyone for your responses. My visit went well; the train arrived sufficiently early and the bus enough late that we were able to both make the connection and buy tickets in the bus booking office before boarding. The monorail museum was worth visiting, too.