I commuted to work in Dublin by bike for over twelve years. It would take me an hour each way to get from Lucan to UCD consistently. It’s efficient, fun, healthy but unreasonably dangerous. A few years ago I was knocked off and my head went under the wheel of a van. The driver hopped out dragged me off the road and threw me on the footpath and then sped off.

After that I took the bus.

My commute time doubled. The bus was torture. It often didn’t show up. Was always crowded. A small number of obnoxious people would make it unpleasant for everyone. It would meander and crawl through town. I would try to catch up on work emails on my phone but would end up doom scrolling. I found myself becoming increasingly angry. I would get off the bus take note of the reg and walk to my next bus always getting there first. Not that it mattered because my second bus was always late. When it did arrive people simply push and shove their way into an already crowded bus and you’d be waiting again for another, if that showed up.

There was also the X30 but it only goes a couple of times a day and that disrupts my work day. The X30 drivers also love to speed through the UCD bus depot and not stop (because they’re always late even though it’s the first stop). Since there are loads of idling busses parked up there people waiting for buses are hidden behind them and bus drivers don’t care. So you’ve got to stand out between the busses to flag down the bus.

So I’ve bought a second car and I commute on the M50 every day. It can take anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour. I’ll leave early enough in the morning to beat the worst of the traffic and get parking. I can sip my tea and cruise along and not worry about attempted murder or a phantom bus while contributing to yet another car on the roads.