Nitelink
 

Slightly off topic, but given there are no late night Darts, the Night Bus is effectively its substitute along its route.

Twice in the last 3 months I have put my hand out at a number 7 stop along Nassau Street / Merrion Square for the 7N, and it has just gone sailing by.

What is the justification for not stopping at all daytime stops? All night buses in London stop at all stops.

In one instance I walked on to Pembroke Road, where I met a fellow traveller who confirmed the bus did stop there, so I caught the next one 30 minutes later. It was as equally unmarked at that stop that the 7N would stop there as any other stop I had passed en route. On the second occasion, the 2am was the last one.

I did write to DublinBus after the first time, but heard nothing back.

Can anyone offer any insights / advice?

Long standing nitelink procedure is NOT to pick up enroute, there are some designated pick up points. These are clearly shown in the timetable

http://www.dublinbus.ie/en/Your-Jour...Timetables/7n/

For 7N, pick ups are

1. Opposite US embassy
2. Blackrock Park (Blackrock village end)
3. Dun Laoghaire (Shopping centre not the train station despite what is said in the timetable)

It's been a long time since I've been on a Nitelink - do they set down on request at all stops?

Every stop

They may be selective to avoid drunks who may try to get on and drop you 20 metres further on.

As there doesn't seem to be a great deal of enthusiasm for amending the pick-up procedure, I think its best that I erase the possibility of further utilisation of this service from my mind.

Invariably when in town I would catch one of the all stops day buses that leaves before the midnight watershed. This, together with the fact that I'm used to the more flexible UK Nightbus structure, means that it doesn't really spring to mind until it's too late that I need to spend up to 30 minutes or longer walking back to D'Olier Street or on to the Embassy to placate the procedure makers at Dublin Bus.

In my view the limited pick up points on Nitelink can be partly accounted for by the fact that they originated in the era before CCTV was on buses and thus pick-up points were broadly limited to strategic places with some level of presence/security at hand for the security of personnel and customers.

I wonder has Dublin Bus conducted a review in recent times with a view to augmenting Nitelink pick-up points, particularly in the central area. On the face of it it would seem a good idea to add a few further pick-up points. While there may well be valid ongoing concerns for not adding particular points, equally some concerns may be historic/no longer applicable.

Not sure if Nitelink falls strictly under PSO or if it is classified on a stand-alone basis as a commercial operation.

well, they have in a way. when nitelink started the only pick up point was the westmoreland/dolier/college street triangle, they have been added to at some outward stops.

Reduction in said Nitelink service from next weekend to hourly.

Still no sign of increasing the pick up points that might have kept passenger numbers higher.

Not only are the number of possible pick-ups less than daytimes Xpressso services, they're significantly less than the Dart too.

i would imagine that it is down to the fact that demand in the city centre coupled with the vast numbers of taxis had squeezed the service?

Essentially. Fewer people are going out, they are spending less and those that can afford to go out can afford taxis. Convenience is another factor when 'tipsy'.