On the 24-hour bus: ‘You cannot get a taxi at this hour, if you’re able to hail one in the first place’

It’s just after midnight on Thursday evening, and the queue for the 15-bus southbound is steadily growing on Dame Street. Young people heading home from a night out and workers gather for their journey home.

The 15 is one of eight routes operating 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

Most of the passengers travelling on the bus were dressed casually in jeans and t-shirts. But Camillo Marin, seated in a window seat halfway down the bus’s upper level, is wearing a dark black men’s suit with a name tag affixed to the left side of his chest. He listens to music and stares out the window.

Mr Marin is returning home to Knocklyon after the evening shift working at a hotel in Dublin city centre. This is his daily routine.

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‘You can take a bus all the way to Maynooth for example for just a couple of euros, whereas a taxi would cost you upwards of 60′

“At this time of night, the bus is often crowded and loud as people return from a night out,” says Mr Marin. But taking a taxi is not an option.

Although Mr Marin has never had any issues riding the bus, “sometimes when you’re tired after a long evening working, you just want some peace and quiet”.

Next to him sits Thomas Gleeson. He’s holding a pizza box and chatting with his flat mate John O’Brien seated across the aisle. The two are taking the bus back to their house in Kimmage after meeting for a few drinks after work. They don’t normally take this bus as the closest stop to their house is still about a ten-minute walk.

“There’s another bus that gets us closer to our place. This is only the second time taking this bus,” says Mr O’Brien. “We usually take a taxi at this time of night. It’s only €15 or €16, which is worth it. Even if I was out by myself, I wouldn’t mind paying for it.”

As it gets later in the evening, Mr O’Brien said the buses become more crowded. “The buses need to be more frequent and there need to be more route options.”

[ Nitelink bus fares drop by up to 43% ]

[ Public transport journeys hit highest levels since start of pandemic ]

“If there was a way the bus could tell you if they’re full, it would be great,” says Mr Gleeson. “You wait ten minutes for a bus and then they fly by you.”

But hailing a taxi from the city centre can often be problematic. Drivers turn off the taxi apps so you then need to compete with others to hail a taxi and have the more appealing fare. And then, they’ll only accept cash.

Most passengers riding the bus were in their 20s except for an occasional older person, like Daithí who is riding the 15-bus home to Donaghmede after work as a concierge.

“The bus is hard to catch, so you have to walk a while to catch it before it gets full. It’s hit or miss. Certain nights it can be more full than others. But a taxi would be too expensive,” says Daithí, who declined to give his surname.

It’s a similar story for friends Eoin Conlon (20) and Fortune Igiebor (19) who were travelling home on the 39A northbound from a night out in Workman’s.

“We’re having an early night,” they say at half past one in the morning.

“This bus drops me at Blanchardstown village and then I have about another 40 minute walk home. It’s the only option. It’s either that or pay god knows how much for a taxi,” Conlon says.

‘Sometimes there are lots of drunk people in the streets and they’re loud so I feel uncomfortable but I’m the lucky one because nothing has ever happened to me’

Conlon and Igiebor will go their separate ways after reaching Igiebor’s house, at which point Conlon will continue another 30 minute walk by himself.

“I’d normally get the 37 which brings me much closer, but that finishes at 11. You cannot get a taxi at this hour. If you’re able to hail one in the first place, you have to pay whatever they say — take it or leave it.”

The “majority of the time” Conlon and Igiebor feel safe on the night bus, and while they’ve “heard the odd story” about some rough incidents, they haven’t experienced anything personally.

“Often there’s someone drunk or high who’s p*ssed off about something just having a go at anyone they can,” Igiebor says.

It’s having to walk for so long after the bus that sometimes makes them feel unsafe, and they suggest that more bus routes or transport options, like the Dart, should operate 24 hours a day. Currently, routes 15, 39A, 41, C1,C2, C5, C6 and N4 run round the clock.

While they talk, a couple at the back of the 39A lock lips, as the man across the aisle from them nods off, oblivious.

The night routes have grown in popularity in recent months, in part due to the newly reduced fares, Gary Kelly, chief inspector with Dublin Bus, says.

Kelly has worked with Dublin Bus for 27 years, the last seven as chief inspector. Often, at weekends, he’d work on the night service.

“They have become exceptionally busy, especially because it’s hugely discounted now. You’d have a lot of people waiting for over an hour for the next bus to come and I mean, why wouldn’t you, when you can take a bus all the way to Maynooth for example for just a couple of euros, whereas a taxi would cost you upwards of 60,” Kelly says.

There will be more night buses coming on stream as Bus Connects rolls out, he says.

Kelly’s role entails patrolling the city centre at night, helping load the buses and assisting with customer information. He’ll occasionally check tickets, and be called to the scene “if god forbid there was a car accident or something like that”.

While he’d heard of the young man in his 20s who was attacked in an alleged homophobic assault on the 15 earlier this month, such incidents are “few and far between”, he says.

[ Man (26) assaulted in suspected homophobic attack on Dublin Bus ]

“Your heart would go out to him getting abused like that on the way home from a night out. We’d often go on the night buses with the community guards from certain areas and it’s a great reassurance for us. Could we do with more of them on the streets? Absolutely.”

The worst Kelly has experienced is “people with a few drinks just being mischievous trying to get on without paying the fare or being a bit boisterous”.

“Occasionally some spark up the odd cigarette, but thankfully with all the CCTV, I think that has died off.”

Overall, he describes the service as a “huge success” as there is “a big demand” for them. The 41 from Abbey Street to Swords will often be full at 4am in the morning with workers on their way to the airport and revellers heading home to Swords.

“That one was badly needed over the years. Two years ago, all those workers would have to drive to the airport and pay for parking, or take a taxi. I can’t even imagine.”

“We’d have a lot of workers that have taken up travelling on the 24-hour service — young people not on a lot of money, or migrants.”

Berna Gul (26) from Turkey is one such worker. She’s on the bus with a large suitcase and backpack. She is on her way to stay with a friend before a flight to visit their home country in the morning.

Ms Gul works as a cleaner and finishes her shifts after 11pm every weekday. She takes the 15 night bus every weekday. The bus is not her preferred option at this hour, but she takes it because it would be “impossible” to take a taxi.

“Maybe twice in a month I’ll take a taxi if I get lucky and have enough money that month,” she says.

In the background is the sound of three drunk men in their 20s singing football anthems. On their way off the bus, one of them asks Ms Gul: “The size of that bag. Do you have a body in there?”

Ms Gul ignores their remark. “Sometimes there are lots of drunk people in the streets and they’re loud so I feel uncomfortable but I’m the lucky one because nothing has ever happened to me. I usually feel safe.”