The Travel Apps You Need When Travelling around Dublin and Ireland

Bleeperbike App

Beeeperbike is another bike hiring scheme, again operating in Dublin. Although they have a pilot scheme in Sligo. The difference with Bleeperbikes and Dublinbikes is that Bleeperbikes is stationless. Using their clever locking system, Bleeperbikes allows you to park at any recognised public parking stand in Dublin. You can use their app to identify these spaces. You must park the bike within the Green Zone, which you can find on their app. If you park the bike outside the green zone for collection you will incur an additional cost.

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Dublin Cycle Planner App

The Dublin Cycle Planner provides information on the best cycling routes in Dublin based on individual cycling capabilities. If you are new to cycling or getting out on the bike after a long break, the Cycle Planner will find a route that avoids roads with heavy traffic and also avoids difficult turns at busy junctions to help you get comfortable cycling your bike around town.

For the more advanced cyclists the cycle planner will tell you about the most direct route to take whilst still recommending cycle tracks where they exist. The cycle planner covers Dublin city centre and all the larger towns around County Dublin.

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Travelling by bus

Dublin Bus App

The Dublin Bus app provides real-time information. It estimates the time your bus is due at your stop. You can also calculate your fare, get bus timetables and a route planner. There doesn't seem to be an official Dublin Bus Android version of the app but I found an alternative that has received a lot of good reviews. Check it out for yourself on the Google Play store.

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Travelling by Luas

Luas App

Dublin’s tram network has its very own app. It provides real time forecasts of tram arrivals at each stop. The app also allows you to identify your nearest stop and get directions to it, calculate fares between two stops and check operating hours. It also provides live travel updates regarding its service.

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Travel Apps For Ireland

Travelling by rail

Irish Rail App

The Irish Rail or Iarnród Éireann app provides real-time information on train arrivals, including delays and remaining time to departure. You can check train timetables, station locations including finding your nearest station based on your current location. It saves your last search so it’s there on reentry or re-starting the app.

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Travelling by bus, dart, rail or Luas

Real Time Ireland

The Real Time Ireland app integrates all real time arrival information services from Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Go-Ahead Ireland, Dart, Iarnród Éireann and Luas.

You can see up to date information of when your bus/Luas/train will be at a stop or station. You can also view stops and routes on a map and navigate through the map for additional stops and information. The app allows you to set up favourites so that you can quickly access real time information for your regular stop. It creates reminders to notify you when a bus is approaching your stop, or when you are near a certain bus stop. You can set alerts when your bus is 10, 20 or 30 minutes away from a certain bus stop, so you can plan when to leave home or work. It also informs you when you are approaching a particular bus stop (GPS dependent).

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Journey Planner App

The National Journey Planner app provides journey planning and timetable information from all licensed public transport providers across Ireland. The app provides information on train, bus, tram, ferry and taxi services. It provides door-to-door route plans integrating scheduled departures near your current location to any specific destination point.

It covers the whole of Ireland including rural locations and all modes of public transport. Examples of which include; Dublin Bus, Luas, Bus Eireann, DART, Commuter Rail, Air Coach, GoBe and Matthews Coaches.

You can see the next departure and arrivals at a specific point. You can also save your favourite locations and recent journeys and use dynamic zoom and scroll mapping.

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Leap Top-App App

The Leap Card app allows you to pay for public transport in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Sligo, Althlone and Wexford. Fares are up to 31% cheaper using a Leap Card. Dublin users also have additional benefits, such as capping and leap 90 discount. If you travel a lot in one day or one week on Dublin Bus, Go-Ahead Ireland, Luas, Dart and Commuter Rail, they’ll automatically cap the price so you don’t spend any more than you need to. Once you’ve reached the cap you travel for free.

The app is a free app for NFC enabled Android phones. It allows you to instantly top-up your Leap Card, check your balance and collect tickets. Once downloaded, simply hold your Leap Card to the back of your NFC-enabled Android smartphone to instantly check your balance, collect a pre-paid ticket, or top-up your Leap Card – anytime, anywhere.

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Travelling by car

GoCar App

GoCar is pay as you go driving. They have 450 cars and vans across Ireland and you can drive for as little as €8 per hour. All you need to do is signup, upload your license and a photo of yourself and then download the app. Insurance, fuel, tax and city parking are included in the price.

Once you’ve signed up you book the car you want for the time you need, unlock it using their app/membership card, take the keys from the glovebox and drive it as normal. To finish your booking you just drop the car back to where you picked up.

You can get a list of the costs

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The AA app

If driving your own car and it breaks down it’s easier and quicker to report the breakdown through the AA app than giving them a call. The app also provides real time traffic updates and a journey planner using their Routeplanner. Once you become a member you can also save 4c per litre on petrol or diesel when using their app at Circle K stations.

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Toyota FaceIt Down App

The Toyota FaceItDown app uses your phone’s location tracking GPS to track how many kilometres you have driven without picking up your phone, and tracks that your phone is kept in a screen down position whilst tracking is active – hence ‘FaceitDown’! When you are finished your journey, each kilometre you’ve travelled without picking up your phone will result in a point, and when you have accumulated enough points, you will be given rewards!

When you have built up enough points, the reward will show in your ‘Available Rewards’ list. Tap the reward you want to redeem, the points will be deducted from your total, and the reward will move to your ‘Saved Rewards’ list. When you’re ready to redeem your reward in a Topaz Restore store, go to your ‘Saved Rewards’ and tap on the one you want to use. You’ll get a unique QR code, which you then show to the cashier in store.

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Travelling by taxi

MyTaxi

Mytaxi app; Europe’s biggest licensed taxi and black cab app. It works in three simple steps; enter your destination, choose a licensed taxi, tap to book and you are sorted. You can pre-book your taxi by choosing the date and time. It allows you to book up to four days in advance through the app. You can get a fare estimate and pay within the app using your preregistered credit/debit card. You can also track your taxi and rate the driver.

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Driver Check App

Ireland’s taxi driver check app allows you to check the license details of the vehicle of the taxi you are travelling in. You are able to see the details of the driver along with a photo of the authorised driver. The app allows you to forward these details without the photo to a friend. This provides reassurance to taxi customers that they are travelling safely and that there is a record of their trip. The app covers licenced taxis, hackneys, limos and PSVs throughout Ireland. There is a history section that stores all of your searches.

The app is easy to use; all you have to do is launch it on your phone, and then input one of the following:

Ordinary vehicle registration number;
Vehicle licence number (displayed on roof-sign and on door signs);
Driver licence number (displayed on the ID card on the dashboard of the vehicle); or
Scan the QR code on the vehicle which is located on a disc on both the front and rear
windscreens.

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