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Unread 29-03-2017, 15:44   #31
comcor
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Cork-Dublin, Cork Commuter and occasionally DART and Dublin-Wexford
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomas J Stamp View Post
You have to wonder why BE use full sized coaches for many of their routes as well. The old service form Cork to Athlone was ended some years ago, it was a full sized coach and was always mostly empty. Locally we now have a kavanaghs mini coach which serves Thurles/Templemore/Roscrea. That was a profitable part of the route because it was part of the timetable which hit the rush hours, the rest didnt. Maybe this is the way. The BE north south service I see in Nenagh is never anything near full either and is another massive coach.
The only saving on going to a smaller coach is in fuel, which accounts for about a third of the cost of running the service. And then they'll only save a quarter of that third. Against that they save by not having to maintain multiple types in their fleet and not having to train drivers on multiple types.

All that said, the only coaches (as opposed to city buses) I ever see full in Cork are on the PSO routes to Kinsale, Macroom and Fermoy/Clonmel. Otherwise, the Friday evening departures to Galway/Limerick may fill the coach. It all suggests that maybe their coaches are too large in general. I'd also question why they retire coaches when they do only to see them reappear on a private competitor's services.
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