Comparing Bus Éireann and Big Green Bus in a run from Galway to Kerry

[@kevincollis4768]

Nice one JH

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@kevincollis4768 thanks Kevin and thanks too for watching 👍

[@TheUncleGrant]

Thanks Johnny. It bought back great memories of my trip in 2013. I love the Irish Countryside, the colourful Houses and the quaint Towns. We were based at the Maldron Hotel (8:56) in Limerick and travelled around Co Cork, before driving North to N Ireland. I'm looking forward to your visit to Tralee, as we never made it there.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@TheUncleGrant always a pleasure to rekindle fond memories for people. Limerick is definitely a good base 👍

[@ampersand.]

Such a nice report as ever, thank you. Don`t you just love the gloriously painted buildings they have over there, just bursting with colour - an antidote to the oft grey weather perhaps!

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@ampersand. Yes I do! You are so right. The pubs especially are so brightly painted 🍺

[@Prometheus_43]

Nice video Johnny, a good honest and accurate appraisal of both services!

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@Prometheus_43 thanks! And thanks for watching 👍

[@jacquelineross5453]

STUNNING VIEWS, WELL DONE👍👍

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@jacquelineross5453 thanks, you are very welcome. Thanks so much for watching 👍

[@trailwayt9H337]

Thankyou for given this beautiful with enjoyful video.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@trailwayt9H337 no problem. Thanks to you for watching 👍

[@Timstravels01]

Another fabulous video Johnny. I’m loving your Irish adventures despite the horrors of that big green bus.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@Timstravels01 cheers Tim. The views of Kerry more than made up for the dodgy bus!

[@Timstravels01]

@JohnnyHooverTravels a very pleasant distraction!

[@raybrown2197]

Shannon was the home of BA Concorde flight crew training

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@raybrown2197 ooo... very interesting. I suppose they could get out easily over the sea and go supersonic without causing noise issues. Thanks so much for watching too 👍

[@raybrown2197]

@@JohnnyHooverTravels That was partly the reason, the other being they were able to do touch and goes without being affected by other traffic

[@johnwhite2112]

Nice video, very informative. 👍

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@johnwhite2112 thanks! And of course, thanks too for watching 👍

[@RoddyJenkins]

Oh dear, what a let down when traveling from Limerick. I’d have probably jacked in the Big Green Bistro, and taken the train to Tralee…..even if it would mean changing at Limerick Junction and (maybe?) Mallow stations - at least you’d have got a seat from the off! I’ve yet to travel the “Western Corridor “ between Galway and Limerick…it’s on the “to do” list!

[@nigelbarlow3506]

@@RoddyJenkins stupid thing is Irish rail could run a limerick to cork or Tralee direct service …. The track is there at limerick junction. There’s probably not enough capacity but perhaps running 2 two / three car sets to mallow and split to cork/ Tralee would be an idea. Limerick Colbert station is totally under-utilised

[@LetsMakeaTrip]

01:54 the Galway City Hostel - some great memories of that place and of Galway itself. The University, Róisín Dubh etc etc, can’t wait to go back but I doubt it’d be the same tbh. Great days though 👍

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@LetsMakeaTrip well i suppose the key is that neither you nor it will be the same 😉 For all its "tourist honeypot" vibe, i still think Galway (and the whole country around) is still well worth the trip. Looking forward to seeing you back "on the buses" again soon 👍

[@donl5941]

Very nice Johnny. Thank you. Back when I was in the business, Shannon was popular with business jets arriving from the northeast US. They didn't have the fuel range of the commercial widebodies and needed a pit stop to gas up before resuming their journeys into the rest of Europe and beyond. I'm not sure if that is the case now.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@donl5941 ah that one makes sense. Someone else said that you can be processed for entry into the USA at Shannon. Maybe private jet people can also do that whilst the plane is being refuelled? Thanks so much for watching too 👍

[@stevecooksley]

@@JohnnyHooverTravels BA used to operate a "business-only" service from London City to New York using Airbus 318s - due to the short runway at LCY they couldn't fully-fuel and so would stop at Shannon en-route for refuelling. The bonus was you would go through US immigration at Shannon which undoubtedly saved a lot of time. Coming back it would be non-stop to LCY. I think they scrapped the service around the time of the pandemic, it may have even been before that.

[@chrisclark1761]

Your commentary makes this footage far more interesting thatn it should be.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@chrisclark1761 haha! I think that's a compliment 😉 Thanks so much for watching too. It is much appreciated 👍

[@walterfillingham]

Crikey the first bus/coach you were on really looked grubby inside, interesting route though. Really impressed with how well bus and trains are so well integrated with the main bus stops/bus station right outside the stations, something I would like to see much more of throughout Scotland.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@walterfillingham Yes, it is handy with the buses actually stopping at the railway stations. They just need to make the trains more plentiful and a bit quicker now! Best wishes to you 👍

[@ciaramc29]

No investment in regional or some intercity buses. Dundalk has ex Galway and Donegal buses, they are beyond fit for purpose. That is one of the most profitable routes, you'd think they would invest in it. It will be a key question for my local tds for the upcoming election.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@ Nice to hear public transport is an issue for elections 👍

[@paulgibsonphotography]

Great Video Johnny

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@paulgibsonphotography thanks Paul. And thanks for watching another 👍

[@frankreidy5881]

Well done and no ‘sugar coating’ of dirty bus encounter - but Bus Eireann is good but could be a lot cleaner too

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@frankreidy5881 Yes, I've not yet had a bad Bus Éireann trip. But it is a beatable standard I reckon (but not by BGB) Thanks for watching too 👍

[@bk99911]

@@JohnnyHooverTravels Yes, the Citylink service between Galway and Limerick (and onto Cork) is far superior and faster.

[@horsehollerer]

On the greyest morning I've ever seen, well done for giving this trip so much colour with beautiful writing and pacing. Bonus points for accidentally inventing SmelliTube ... when you pulled down that first tray table, I definitely caught a whiff of 2-day-old chicken tikka massala. 🤣

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@horsehollerer ah yes. Not the cleanest of journeys that one. I rarely use the tray table on a bus. I don't think the cleaners ever flip them down to clean. It was a lovely trip even so. As others have said, the outside more than compensated for the inside. Thanks so much for keeping on returning to my channel. It is always appreciated 👍

[@bastogne315]

The Big Green Burning bus Co is great. Especially when their buses explode into flames on the M50 and shut it down for hours.

[@nigelbarlow3506]

@@bastogne315 can you tell me when that was?

[@kevinellis8869]

The rough with the smooth then, looking forward to the next instalment of your Irish travels.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@kevinellis8869 cheers Kevin. At least outside the bus it's always Ireland, which makes most journeys a pleasure even if the bus is battered ! Back on the train on next week's episode 👍

[@alan4441]

Thanks great video. Pity the weather was a bit miserable 😞

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@alan4441 well it IS Ireland, so you have to expect some clouds rolling in from the Atlantic! Thanks for the kind words and thanks too for watching 👍

[@Pulsar-1919]

A great advertisement for taking the train instead 😂 I've done the 51 bus all the way from Cork to Galway and back again. It's a very long trip

[@Therealprinceofcobh]

@@Pulsar-1919 Citylink 251 is much quicker and more direct

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@Pulsar-1919 yes. I would definitely be switching to the train at Limerick! But of course there's price and also timetables to take into account for people 🤷‍♂️ Thank you so much for watching 👍

[@katashworth41]

Buses and airports will forever remind me of being in Singapore and going to the Tiger brewery and not wanting to cross 4 lanes of traffic, my partner and I went the long way round back to the MRT station. Unfortunately the bus route went through the airbase at the back of the airport so we had to hop off, cross the road and get the next bus back to where were going. Thankfully we had local travel cards and we hit the max for the day so it cos us about 15p to go all the way across the city.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@katashworth41 ah what great memories! Pleased my video helps to bring them back for you 👍

[@nigelbarlow3506]

@@katashworth41 travel by citylink. It’s owned by comfort del gro of singapore

[@Bananacrusherpvp]

Very disappointing results for the Dublin Coach because its meant to bring passengers 4.5 hours to Dublin/Tralee so there can be a huge improvement for it to be worth while. Glad to see Expressway being almost up to standard bar the dirty tray tables. Hope you enjoyed Tralee from my experience its a lovely town with plenty to do. Keep up the good work!

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@Bananacrusherpvp Yes, i would certainly think twice about using DC again. Especially after all the comments I've read on this video! I saw little of Tralee tbf, as i was away again early in the following morning. I did have an excellent Italian meal that evening though 😁 Thanks so much for watching along 👍

[@Sim0nTrains]

Great video, nice views and County Kerry was impressive but its a shame the bus was battered. Makes a CrossCountry Train look new

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@Sim0nTrains well yes. Maybe there's an angle for XC... "ride with us, we are nicer than a big green bus"... hmm... Read the other comments from Irish people. Apparently i was lucky it got me there at all! Best wishes to you 👍

[@Fan652w]

Thanks Johnny for another extremely interesting video. Fortunately (for us viewers)) the scenery on the second part of the journey made up for other not so good aspects of that ride. Apart from serving Shannon airport, I suspect that the big value of the 51 bus from Galway to Limerick is that it gives a whole string of smaller places reasonably good public transport. (Slightly off the point, in what year did Shannon have its record 3.5 million passengers?)

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@Fan652w yes, as you say, no doubt it gives people another service. Even a bad ride in Ireland is still good, worth it being so lovely! And the answer is.. 2006 and 2007 Thanks so much for watching 👍

[@bigjj1109]

The coach service in the south is always moderate to shabby I hope you will be trying out the new Grand central station journeys both by coach (golden line) and train from the new station 😊

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@bigjj1109 Yes, i do plan to go to Grand Central, but i thought I'd wait until it was bedded in and all the retail and passenger services were open. Best wishes to you and thanks for watching 👍

[@tonys1636]

I think that Bus Éireann could get one up on Irish Rail, whilst they don't, by introducing a `Dolly with a Trolley' as National Express once had. Long routes seldom have refreshments stops, 3 or 4 hours without a snack or a cuppa is a long time for those of us that eat little and often , a warm squashed ham and cheese sarnie from one's pocket and a lukewarm takeaway tea or coffee doesn't cut it. Having a free travel pass I choose the most convenient, bus or train.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@tonys1636 haha! I don't think the trolley dolly can ever come back because having a flying trolley (and Dolly) in the cabin during an accident is a bit of a no-no these days! However on the trains I really hope the service begins to come back. Thanks so much for watching and do continue to enjoy your travel pass for many years to come! 👍

[@steeviebops]

But will she provide you with drinks and theatrical winks for a sky-high fee? 😉

[@caitrionakeane1204]

It’s good

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@caitrionakeane1204 thanks 👍

[@ubicaritasetamor]

Great video! I'm fairly new to this channel and I absolutely love trains! Do you have any updates on how HS2 is going along?

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@ubicaritasetamor lovely to hear you enjoyed the video and welcome along to the channel. There's lots of train trips on here with over 150 videos. If you fancy a challenge you could watch them all through this playlist All videos in chronological order kzbin.info/aero/PLXk1cIVnitGYvh9laP5gL9x3kPfHZnS4x I'm not up to date with HS2. Chris at Rail Focus is the one to follow 👍 youtube.com/@rail_focus?si=iPQxBCHZMRHPWTdr

[@nigelbarlow3506]

@@ubicaritasetamor HS2 is now to be a stub ….. London to Birmingham.

[@antoinehennigan4747]

The CityLink bus from Cork - Galway via Limerick is a good enough service gets to cork within 3 hrs

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@antoinehennigan4747 maybe next time in Ireland , I will have a go at that one! Thanks so much for watching too 👍

[@enricomonti156]

I did travel on both Expressway 51 and the Big Green Bus and have to agree that Bus Eireann is much better. I did use the 51 between Shannon Airport and Ennis (it was absolutelt rammed with people), and a return trip Ennis-Galway as I was staying in Ennis. On the other hand I used at timesnthe train between Limerick and Ennis and other times I used the Big Green Bus, which stops at Bunratty Castle too. Recently, Bus Eireann also reopened their X51 service between Galway and Limerick that stops only at Shannon Airport, 4 years after they discontinued it. Big Green bus also.have a city bus service route in Limerick, the 310, which I also tried out and had bendy buses on it. On the coach side, the first time I used the Big Green Bus the coach arrived over one hour late into Limerick, but on the reverse leg, it was a better journey with a doubledecker coach (of course I went to the best seat of the house). As Bus Eireann cancelled all their express routes from Dublin into Kerry, Limerick and Clare in 2021, the Big Green Bus has been the main alternative for coaches to Dublin (Limerick also has Irish Citylink and JJ Kavanagh, both great operators).

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@enricomonti156 thanks for that. Very interesting. I do need to try those other operators next time I'm back in Ireland. And thanks so much for watching this one 👍

[@WINGSANDRAILS]

Wathing! 😊

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@WINGSANDRAILS did i say that? 😯 Haha !

[@WINGSANDRAILS]

@@JohnnyHooverTravels Watching!!! :-) My mistake LOL!!

[@francisdunne8542]

The 51 goes to cork thru Limerick.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@francisdunne8542 indeed it does 👍 Thanks for watching 👍

[@caitrionakeane1204]

Kerry is great

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@caitrionakeane1204 Yes. It was lovely travelling through Kerry. I will surely return . Thanks for watching 👍

[@paulbelfastlimerick]

Johnny, the video seems to be jammed for some reason (19:00, 8/11/24). All other You Tube videos are playing as normal. I want to see it: I live in Limerick and am a daily user of the city buses here. Also, Galway is only about 62 miles from Limerick but the run into and out from the airport does add a few more.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

I think it is ok. I just had a look and it was viewed over 270 times in the last 60 mins. It doesn't seem to have been jammed for others. Let me know how you get on...

[@paulbelfastlimerick]

@JohnnyHooverTravels Thanks Johnny. I got it sorted. A great review and a shocking indictment of DC's fleet. They also operate the Public Service Route 310 in Limerick with clapped out ex-Dublin Airport P+R citaros in very stark contrast to the extremely modern and spotlessly clean BÉ city fleet. Please keep up the good work!

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@paulbelfastlimerick pleased it worked in the end.

[@adrianbenn7250]

And flights to Liverpool of course..much more preferable than Manchester of course

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@adrianbenn7250 haha! Well, i could not possibly comment on whether Liverpool or Manchester is better... i know a can of worms when i see one 😉 Mind you. I have never flown in or out of Liverpool, so i definitely should try that route! And thanks so much for watching 👍

[@nigelbarlow3506]

@@adrianbenn7250 as a Mancunian living in limerick I’d have to disagree!

[@noellillis8319]

You should have gotten out at Ennis taken the bus to kilrush and take the car ferry to Kerry

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@noellillis8319 noted! And added to my Ireland notebook pages for possible future travels . Thanks for that! And thanks too for watching 👍

[@noellillis8319]

@ Great video

[@brendanosullivan1880]

The Green bus leaves people stranded on a consistent basis.they do not show up without warning. I drove from Tralee to limerick after advising stranded passenger to take any bus from Red Cow. I submitted a complaint of incidents to TFI. Over 2 years ago. They replied and never investigated. This company cannot be taken seriously or trusted to collect you. It beggars belief that they still have a route licence. There is something extremely suspicious going on

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@brendanosullivan1880 judging by many comments, I do appear to have poked a hornets nest with a stick wrt BGB. Counting myself lucky i only arrived a couple of hours late having heard all the stories in the comments! Oh.. and thanks to for watching 👍

[@nigelbarlow3506]

@@JohnnyHooverTravels well 1 hour was due to a traffic accident!

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@ fair point.

[@phronsiekeys]

That's a long day on buses. Is there an app for that green bus so you know when it IS coming? Otherwise a tedious wait! I have flown thru Shannon back and forth to Boston, and the big appeal is the pre-border clearance there, so I can get right on transport home from the airport when I land here in Boston, with no long lines of other international travelers.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@phronsiekeys Yes. After waiting for 30 mins, i downloaded the Dublin coach app, just so i could track where the damn thing was! Yes, i hear that preborder clearance is a real boon Back on the train in the next video 👍

[@stevenmc4446]

it's just the River Clarin

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@stevenmc4446 excellent. That makes more sense than google calling it the Clarinbridge River! The internet can be wrong. Who would have thought it? 😉 Thanks so much for watching and for the clarification 👍

[@PeteG143]

Ugly green bus but the beauty outside made up for it - thank you for the views of the Kerry countryside!!

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@PeteG143 you are very welcome. Yes, the views outside made up for it! Thanks for coming along 👍

[@Luce306]

Aww lovely the route 51 is one of my favourite routes I did the full route twice before and did film it I give you a shout out in the comment of my video so you can have a look at it when you can much love to you too between I have shout out your channel on my post when I shared the video that I did I added your name in it

[@SouthwestRefuseVehiclesIreland]

If your wanting to get to the airport, do not take the Big Green Bus, they are never on time and you are lucky that it did not break down halfway

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@SouthwestRefuseVehiclesIreland so I'm hearing from so many Irish commenters on here! I will definitely be taking that advice 👍 Thanks so much for watching 👍

[@SouthwestRefuseVehiclesIreland]

@JohnnyHooverTravels i would suggest Citylink or FlightLink for trips from Limerick to dublin airport

[@nigelbarlow3506]

@@SouthwestRefuseVehiclesIreland the green bus doesn’t go to Shannon so you’d be correct. 343 from Ennis and limerick does however

[@SouthwestRefuseVehiclesIreland]

@@nigelbarlow3506 The green bus goes to dublin airport also

[@Aohalm]

The green bus is the worst bus service in Ireland. Always late, decrepit, the buses break down constantly, they are dirty and smelly and the drivers are rude.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@Aohalm haha! Well my driver was fine, but the rest fitted your description! Thanks so much for watching 👍

[@hhgttg69]

so the green bus mob run a kwalitee service

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@hhgttg69 haha! So it seems 😉 Thanks for watching 👍

[@kevindennehy7105]

BIG GREEN BUS, formerly Dublin Coach, soon to be called something else when their reputation hits rock bottom. Dangerous buses, terrible service. Accidents, breakdowns and a few of them have burned out on the motorway over the years. Possibly the worst bus service in Western or Central Europe.

[@rorydevlin22]

Couldn't agree more. They are a total shambles of an operation. Avoid at all costs!

[@yermanoffthetelly]

They run them into the ground with probably minimal maintenance cycles. Its not an uncommon sight to see one broken down at the side of the motorway awaiting recovery.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@kevindennehy7105 judging by the replies and the number of likes your comment has, I think we can safely say it's one operator i should give a miss from now on! Thanks so much for watching 👍

[@nigelbarlow3506]

I’ve travelled frequently from limerick to Dublin with dublin coach. No issues apart on one singular occasion when the bus failed to turn up. Buses are 2016 to 2021. Only recently , with public taxation has Bus Eireann updated its fleet. Dublin coach does not have that support. Yet with public funds bus eireann in whatever guise failed to run a decent and competitive service (12) from limerick to Dublin and withdrew it. Perhaps it was timings that were only slightly better than travelling by a 18th century mail coach had something to do with it. Oh and no toilets so a toilet stop at borris in ossary was required. It’s an Irish company the others are mainly uk or Singaporean owned. So stop the usual Irish whingeing and support it …. Otherwise it’ll go and be replaced (or not) by operators that charge multiples of what it costs now …. Then you can whinge. I’m not aware of any accidents caused by vehicles failure or driver error unlike bus eireann but please enlighten me if there are examples

[@bonzodog6872]

​@@nigelbarlow3506the service is total shit as you well know

[@AdrianMulligan]

Best buses in Irelpand are John Mc Ginley Travel and Feda O Donnell...Donegal to Dublin and Donegal to Galway, respectively

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@AdrianMulligan i shall bear that in mind. It would be nice to try some other operators. Thanks for that. And thanks too for watching 👍

[@Therealprinceofcobh]

Dublin Coach = pure shite.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@Therealprinceofcobh haha. Well that did appear to be the case in this sample. Not a word i could use on KZbin, but i very much could have... Thanks so much for watching 👍

[@Therealprinceofcobh]

@@JohnnyHooverTravels no problem my friend there’s a rule that I have, if it’s DC I ain’t going they’re under investigation for violations of PSV rules

[@seanocobhthaigh7096]

Iontach. Bain taitneamh Ciarraí

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@seanocobhthaigh7096 thanks! I did! Thanks too for watching 👍

[@michaelmcmullan2300]

Limerick is total dump

[@patrickkeating7074]

You guys must be amazed. There is no famine, and the people are living much better than people in the U.K. It must be a tax doge.😂😂😂😂😂😂😂enjoy being Subjects.

[@JohnnyHooverTravels]

@@patrickkeating7074 Ireland has certainly continued to grow, even given that there was a stutter during the financial crisis. The famine memorial on the waterfront at Dublin was both moving to visit and a sobering reminder of injustices of the past. The fact that in the 100-odd years since independence, the state of Ireland has thrown off its shackles to become a powerful member of the EU and the greater free world is a testament to the industry and tenacity of the people. Btw, I don't much enjoy being a Subject, but it isn't the most important thing we have to deal with in the UK right now. I would rather that everybody in the UK (royalist or republican) strived for better standards of living for all, improved relations with partner countries (like Ireland), joint security and reversal of climate change. I hope you enjoyed the video. Thanks so much for watching 👍

[@michaelbroderick6830]

Well said ​@@JohnnyHooverTravels