Over 60,000 music lovers converge on Punchestown Racecourse, County Kildare this weekend, as top international acts perform.
A large proportion of the fans will use Dublin Bus to get them to & from the venue. In an extensive logistics operations, Dublin Bus, after years of experience, are operating shuttle buses from Dublin City Centre ( Parnell Square West ) from the Friday evening & right throughout Saturday & Sunday.
There is also a special Nitelink service on Sunday as fans return to the Capital & need to get home. Here is a snapshot of some of the buses used on the Friday night & Saturday morning.
Summerhill Olympian RV 636 fills up fast on the Friday evening. Shuttles have been operating from 1 pm & continue till 9 pm that evening, with plenty of users.
Broadstone euro buses & drivers are always a flexible option for extra weekend special duties. Broadstone RV 570 recently sprayed into the new corporate Dublin Bus Colours moves to the top of the queue. Its now 7 pm on the Friday evening. As soon as buses fill up, they are sent off to Punchestown. The crowd is a steady flow, yet nobody is kept waiting long & spirits are high between both revelers & the Dublin Bus Logistics crew.
Elderly Summerhill Leyland Olympian RH 129 still shines as the evening darkens. This batch in Summerhill was originally resprayed back to Cityswift livery for the revamp of the 13/ 13A to Ballymun but is likely to receive the new yellow/ blue core colours later this year.
Its Saturday morning & Broadstone RV 624 heads up O' Connell Street towards the pick up point. Its probably just worked back special from Punchestown. RV 624 was previously in Cityswift livery & would usually spend its weekends in the Garage.
Back at Parnell Square, Volvo Olympian RA 226 which was originally delivered to Conyngham Road Garage for route 25A. Its last in the queue on Parnell Square, but not for long as the crowds head for the first bus.
Despite the minibus fading from Dublins City streets over the past few years, they have found a niche role as ticket sales buses. Used primarily for late night " Nitelink " ticket buses, events such as these, they are used to control operations, providing a high visibility outlet & security for cash handling. ME 21 stands at the top of Parnell Square issuing the 20 euros return tickets to Oxegen.
Last view of Parnell Square. A constant supply of 4 to 5 buses queue up on the Square.
Departures are advertised as every 20 minutes but buses pull off as soon as they load up & nobody is left standing around & there is no crowd problems. By 3 pm, most of the fans have already left & operation are wound down.
Bus Eireann was also operating a shuttle service from Mountjoy Square, at reduced frequency & departure windows, using a fleet of sub contracted mish mash fleet of private operators, using fairly elderly & embarrassing coaches. Their operation was nowhere near as slick as the Dublin Bus operation on Parnell square.
Oxegen Festival, Punchestown Racecourse Friday 9th to Sunday 11th July 2004.
