Recent content by danm14

My understanding is that the 700X was originally meant to be re-routed via Dublin Port Tunnel once the new buses went into service - there are images online which show the buses with "3Arena" printed on the side where they now say "Drumcondra Station". The rumour I have heard is that they were...

The current North Highland line timetable PDF still references the free taxi transfer, but states to book with Ormlie & Violet's Taxis rather than Highland Taxis.

The limit of travel for Zone 1 on Ulsterbus is generally slightly beyond the last stop also served by Metro buses. I've forgotten most of them but a few I do remember are the Ivanhoe Hotel on the Saintfield Road routes and The Cutts on the 530/532. More might come back to me in time. On the...

I question the logic of doing this. Surely it would be more customer friendly to just have a policy of allowing a ticket to X to be honoured as part payment for an iLink card at X. A requirement that the redemption happen within an hour of arrival and the card will be activated immediately at...

5+ years ago it was at least theoretically possible to buy an "iLink single" ticket from a bus driver or train guard if you did not have an iLink card to top up and started your journey other than at a manned station. This was the same price as a regular single ticket, but the value of it could...

The Wayfarer TGX150 machines are capable of handling multiple currencies - they are what Ulsterbus used from the early 2000s until a few years ago. Bus Eireann just chose not to do that in favour of allowing their drivers to cream off the top.

Ulsterbus ticket machines are dual currency with one button press needed to switch currency (incidentally, until recently they used the same model used by Bus Eireann, just programmed differently). If a fare is sold in Euro the Euro fare is printed on the ticket below the Sterling fare. The...

They can pay in Sterling. The general arrangement is that a 1:1 exchange rate is used, and any change is given in Euro. The driver pays the fare in in Euro and pockets the difference. The company is aware and chooses to turn a blind eye. For example, if a passenger tenders a £20 (€23) note for...

Dozens of them between Ireland and Northern Ireland - including Ulsterbus Route 270/271 which crosses the border ten times on its morning return journey from Belfast to Cavan and back.

You can also use the return leg of an Ulsterbus return ticket on the train (and vice versa), without payment of any difference in fare, after 6:30pm every day.

The Belfast Visitor Pass is just a Zone 1 iLink card at a slightly higher price that also entitles you to a small discount on some of the main Belfast tourist attractions.

You can also upgrade any ticket or pass (without exception) which is valid in Standard Class to First Class on Irish Rail by booking a First Class "Reservation Only" ticket online. It is very often cheaper to buy a Standard Class ticket and a First Class upgrade than a First Class ticket. For...

Have you checked that Interrail actually makes financial sense for your journey? If you haven't travelled by train in Ireland for some time, you may be surprised to learn that Irish trains are now relatively inexpensive, even if tickets are purchased on the day (as long as you do so online...

"Dangerous Bend" was the name of a fare stage between Woodenbridge and Arklow on the former twice daily Wicklow-Avoca-Arklow variant of Bus Eireann Route 133. As Route 133 offered online tickets, it was also one of the possible origins and destinations to choose from a very long drop-down list...

Ireland's Public Services Card is only mandatory to claim social welfare benefits, and doubles as a Free Travel Pass for those entitled to Free Travel. Some online Government services, such as applying for a driving licence online, are only available to holders - but there is always an...