Ulsterbus

You can’t help but really appreciate this service, without it Belfast would really be in the dark ages. When I was a school I had to get a combination of two buses and whilst school was a depressing experience it was nice to avoid that sinking feeling for twenty minutes sitting on the bus. However they would usually be really cold or really crowed and sauna like.
But that was then when I had a bus pass, now Ulsterbus whilst they have modernized their buses and caught up with itself. It has gotten so expensive. When you go to Europe you experience public transport services that are much cheaper.
In the past did we have it really easy or now are they just having a laugh… I cant tell

It’s hard to be excessively harsh on olé Ulsterbus. They ferried me around the north of Antrim for many years in my school days and I wasn’t involved in any serious collision.
That said there is much to criticise the service for, notably the cost of travel. I’m not sure if it’s due to part nationalisation or our local culture but the costs for short-​medium distance travel is ridiculous.
£10 single for a 50mile journey from Belfast to Ballymoney. For that anywhere else in Europe or the developed world you would get an awful lot farther in a higher level of comfort.
Ulsterbus/​Translink is responsible for all travel essentially across the north of Ireland and I can understand that it’s a reasonably high level of responsibility, however hen you travel and compare and contrast systems of transportation you feel ashamed. Spain for example, and I’m talking about southern Spain, not the main cities have an exceptional, air-​conditioned two story train that travels across the country at 140mph… we need improvement…

Ulsterbus is the element of Translink which is responsible for bus transportation all around Northern Ireland, except the centre of Belfast. The buses are instantly recognisable by their light blue and white design, and come in two different sizes. The regular buses are those which transport people between two different towns /​cities, for example Belfast and Bangor, Bangor and Newtownards. The smaller, ‘easybus’ style buses are town service buses, and usually transport people around a single town, such as Newtownards or Comber. Some towns (such as Bangor) use the larger buses.
You will now see why, for a good few years, my dad used to ‘rake’ (make fun of in Northern Irish speak) me about my knowledge of buses. I was, on occasion referred to as a ‘walking timetable’, and if any enquiry in relation to buses should arise, the ‘raking’ was taken further, with my dad insisting that I be asked. Being the fount of bus knowledge, you see.
Ok, so it wasn’t entirely unwarranted, and I did take an interest in buses (only mildly… I’m certainly no equivalent to those strange trainspotters, honest), but this was only because I did enjoy a good bus journey. And I still do. Sad I know, but since I do not drive, I have become heavily reliant on these wonderful modes of transportation.
No really, they’re not all that bad! I know buses have are reputed for being late, but Ulsterbus is usually a very reliable service, and the prices are still pretty decent despite having risen twice the past couple of years. Despite this, a good tip is to by a Smartlink card (available at the main bus stations — Laganside, Europa and the like), and top it up with a certain number of journeys (10, 20 or 40). They work out a whole lot cheaper than buying an actual bus journey on the day, and you simply place your card on the reader above the ticket machine each time you hop on the bus, and that’s you done. Simples (to quote the infamous and most wonderful Aleksandr the Meerkat).
Eh, I reckon that’ll do. Before I start looking like a super nerd. Though it’s quite possibly far too late for that…

I took the Goldline Service from Dublin Airport to the Buscentre. It had a camera so you could see the bus’ view of the road on an overhead monitor but it looked like a tour bus. The cost was a little over 11 pounds one way. This transportation service operates in the major towns of Northern Ireland. You have to wait at a stand then show your ticket.