Travel – Page 2 – Slugger O'Toole

Translink to bring back a trial of later bus services

David McCann on August 19, 2021, 12:26 pm

| Readers 570

Translink Chief Executive, Chris Conway has responded to a tweet saying that the company will be resuming a trial of late night bus services. Responding to SDLP Councillor, Seamas DeFaoite he said; A range of later night services were trialled in 2019 but Covid19 did stall any further plans, we’ll start trials again in Nov/Dec as part of recovery. — Chris Conway (@CEOTranslink_NI) August 18, 2021 The transport provider has been trialing this during the latte part of 2019 …

The tricky task of getting home after a night out…

Brian O'Neill on August 16, 2021, 8:14 am

| Readers 3665

bar, lounge, cocktail

A friend went out for a meal and some drinks in Belfast City Centre on Saturday night. Being a sensible fella he left the bar about 11 pm to head home to his house in the Four Winds area of Belfast. Unfortunately for him, he missed the last bus home by a few minutes. Not a problem he thought, he would ring one of our big two taxi companies – an hour later, still no taxi. At this point, he …

Belfast Rapid Transit (Glider) Phase 2 announced

Brendan Heading on August 1, 2021, 1:25 pm

| Readers 6304

This week, Minister for Infrastructure Nichola Mallon launched the public consultation for Phase 2 of the Belfast Rapid Transit (Glider) system. I think this is a welcome development and will improve connectivity, access to and uptake of public transport in the city. I remember when Glider was first launched on the east/west route a few years ago. Before it got off the ground, it was fashionable to dump on it (a common pattern for public transport projects on this island). …

Reimagining Enniskillen…

Brian O'Neill on June 2, 2021, 8:13 am

| Readers 6362

I am just back from a short break in sunny Fermanagh. As my main photo shows, when the sun is shining there are few places more beautiful. Fermanagh has massive potential to increase tourism, it could be a real growth industry for an area that has had its economic issues in the past. I had some thoughts I wanted to share about the main town Enniskillen. These are only my impressions as a visitor; I would appreciate input from locals. …

Tackling Northern Ireland’s Infrastructure Apartheid – Part 1 – The Problem…

Steve Bradley on March 18, 2021, 10:15 am

| Readers 9638

Infrastructure has become a hot topic in NI since the London government established a ‘Union Connectivity Review’ (UCR) to recommend projects to strengthen links between the UK’s constituent parts. Since then the media has been consumed by the possibility of a physical connection between NI and Scotland – first in the form of a bridge and more recently an undersea tunnel, christened the ‘Boris Bridge’ and ‘Boris Burrow’ (though I would suggest a more appropriate title should incorporate the name …

Build Belfast Back Better – #imaginebelfast wants your ideas

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on March 15, 2021, 1:01 pm

| Readers 1048

Ahead of next week’s packed programme, Imagine! festival are calling for your ideas to imagine a better post-pandemic Belfast. How would you Build Belfast Back Better? You can submit up to three ideas that reimagine the city in the face of the pandemic and the challenges presented by Brexit, increased poverty, loneliness and mental health issues.

The State of Us … Previewing the seventh annual Imagine! Festival of Ideas and Politics (22-28 March)

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on March 13, 2021, 10:01 am

| Readers 399

A quick rummage through the Imagine! Belfast programme coming up between 22–28 March. Under the strapline of The State of Us, there’ll be exhibitions, workshops, lectures, film, comedy, music, spoken word, lectures, theatre and quizzes. Voices from at home and abroad. The festival isn’t afraid to challenge. It doesn’t expect participants to agree with everything that is said. It’s about making people think. Widening their horizons. Broadening their understanding. Developing their empathy. Helping them figure out why – and if – they truly believe the hunches and biases they may have been living with for a lifetime.

Boris’s burrow? Boring in more ways than one.

Andy Boal on February 19, 2021, 8:01 pm

| Readers 3000

I do not promise an absence of any further puns in this piece. So last Sunday the big news was: we can’t put a bridge over the top of the Beaufort’s Dyke, so sure we’ll just build a tunnel round it. It’ll only be 25 miles long. Except… The Channel Tunnel is 37.92km (23.57 miles) from the English coast under Shakespeare cliff to the French coast at Sangatte. It takes a further 9.14km (5.68 miles) to reach the tunnel mouth …

Rant I – Handbrake Turn Tourism and Visitor Centres…

Am Ghobsmacht on October 21, 2020, 12:36 pm

| Readers 1893

seamus heaney

This is the first in the series of posts regarding tourism, its under-exploited potential and the wider implications of our current strategy, these posts are effectively bit-sized rants from one epic length, foamy-mouthed, ganshing session. To the best of my knowledge Handbrake Turn Tourism was coined by my late uncle, anyway, what it pertains to is the type of tourism where tourists flock to a must-see spot (usually a visitor centre), take a few selfies and then head off to …

#SluggerTV – The Role of Tourism #TheReset

David McCann on October 3, 2020, 9:30 am

| Readers 689

Our latest episode of Slugger TV looks at how the local tourism industry can be reset. Brona Moffett (National Museums NI) and Michael Stewart (hospitality consultant) joined David McCann to discuss the sector which is worth 4.9% of Northern Ireland’s GDP, sustains over 40,000 jobs, and has taken a real battering since March.

Change here for Ballinderry, Glenavy, Crumlin and… Aldergrove?

Andy Boal on September 23, 2020, 1:09 pm

| Readers 2079

Wesley Johnston very kindly gave me some old NIR, UTA, GNR and even NIRTB timetables owned by his father, and it got me thinking. I’ve long been an advocate of reopening Lisburn-Antrim for commuter services, but what would a train service look like? The 1977 NIR timetable is the benchmark, rather than the much slower timetable which applied by the mid-1990s. 10 minutes Antrim-Crumlin, 5 minutes Crumlin-Glenavy, 6 minutes Glenavy-Ballinderry, 9 minutes Ballinderry-Lisburn including a stop at Knockmore. Trains call …

The challenge of Infrastructure…

Soapbox on August 5, 2020, 5:12 pm

| Readers 2452

In 1948, just 3 years after the end of World War 2, the NHS was born. At a time of deep financial uncertainty. In 2020, another time of deep uncertainty, the NHS has led the way. Just like in 1948 a dramatic change in direction is possible post Covid19. Health service reforms need to happen, education as well, but suddenly the pressing need is our economy and infrastructure to support future growth. At the end of May our Alliance council …

In praise of slightly boring, family-friendly seaside towns…

Brian O'Neill on August 2, 2020, 10:04 am

| Readers 2877

Years ago we were on holiday in New Jersey. At the time I was a fan of the HBO show Boardwalk Empire. If you are not familiar with the show, it is set in the world of gangsters during prohibition in the 1920s. Most of the action takes place in Atlantic City, which is a traditional American seaside resort that was a popular destination for visitors from New York. I was looking forward to paying a visit to Atlantic City. …

Happy Swiss National Day…

Robert Campbell on August 1, 2020, 7:30 am

| Readers 1533

A long established Slugger tradition is the annual posting on Bastille Day of the clip from Casablanca showing the emotional singing of La Marseillaise (here). Perhaps I can start another similar tradition. Today, 1 August, is Swiss National Day and a public holiday, but only if the date falls during the working week. It commemorates the events around the foundation of the country, and the struggle for freedom from the domination of the Holy Roman Empire. There is documentary evidence …

The Bridge to Scotland. A Unionist Umbilical Cord or A Link to a Celtic Union?

Brian O'Neill on July 23, 2020, 11:40 am

| Readers 5831

The proposed bridge from Northern Ireland is back in the news. Boris Bridge an utter waste of money when we should be investing in saving jobs & safeguarding public services rather than wasting time and money on this white elephant which is little more than a dead cat strategy attempt to distract from Brexit shambles https://t.co/TKhy9M9J57 — Andrew Muir MLA (@AndrewMuirNI) July 22, 2020 The idea is utterly bonkers. Very expensive, and a major engineering challenge. Not to mention the …

Born to be mild on my funky moped…

John Mooney on May 13, 2020, 9:58 am

| Readers 1412

It was a Saturday afternoon in 1977, and I was on the top deck of a bus going up the Whiterock Road. There was just me at the back and a group of lads at the front. And the bus passed a British Army foot patrol. And the lads started shouting abuse out the windows. So far… so normal. But the foot patrol gave chase, Ran after the bus shouting at the driver to stop. And as they gained ground, …

Establishment of biosecurity zones could allow different regions of Ireland to safely emerge from lockdown at different speeds

Peter Donaghy (Salmon of Data) on May 12, 2020, 11:08 pm

| Readers 2505

The Northern Ireland Executive announced their roadmap to relaxing coronavirus restrictions today, following similar publications for England and the Republic of Ireland. Unlike the Irish government’s plan, no dates were released with the plan, although there is an aspiration to progress through the plan’s five stages by the end of 2020. Progress on lifting restrictions depends on the all-important R0 figure, the number of people with Covid-19 who subsequently infect others. However, calculating R0 is difficult and necessarily imprecise. An …

Queen’s Quarter superblock – Freeing a city quarter from vehicle traffic and pedestrianising Botanic Avenue…

Jonathan Hobbs on May 12, 2020, 10:33 am

| Readers 1440

Following Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon’s announcement of a new Walking and Cycling Champion, to lead the emergency measures needed to immediately increase active travel space and priority, we take a closer look at one aspect of plans: superblocks. The term has been used to describe work to reduce traffic levels within areas of Barcelona, and Bikefast has proposed a superblock-style approach to re-configuring Belfast’s Linen Quarter. Coronavirus has claimed many lives and devastated families, and will continue to do so – in greater …

Air France ordered to curb competition with rail in France…

Brian O'Neill on May 12, 2020, 10:21 am

| Readers 1014

This is an interesting story from railjournal.com ONE of three conditions imposed on Air France in exchange for a €7bn coronavirus aid package is to stop competing with TGV services where rail offers a viable alternative. The ban on short-haul domestic air travel will apply to routes where trains offer a journey time of 2h 30min or less. This means Air France will no longer be able to sell tickets for domestic travel on flights between Paris and Bordeaux, Lyon, …

Some thoughts about countries in the Middle East…

Lynda Tavakoli on May 10, 2020, 7:10 am

| Readers 1504

None of us are going to be travelling too far afield any time soon and, even when the lockdown eases, land, sea and air travel will be something to think differently about in more ways than one. Our heads are in another place now and I suspect the prospect of holidaying abroad is the last thing on most folk’s priority list. Having said that, foreign holidays have an importance and value of their own, not least of all to extend …